Thoughts from the United Center

[burn587]

First off the crowd was great. Damn near even for Cyclones/Blue Devils but I'll give ISU the edge 55% to 45%. I wonder if this was actually scheduled as a home game for us though, because we supplied the PA announcer and all the big screen highlights were ISU related. Cameron crazies these chicago blue devils are not. I wasn't expecting extreme loudness but most of their fans didn't even get on their feet for big plays. Maybe it should just be chalked up to not really being challenged most of the game. ISU fans except for one (drunk guy yelling at teenaged duke fans for no reason) represented well and were loud without being too vulgar.

As for the game I personally think our guys were tired out by the as advertised Duke man to man. Those guys play in your jersey and by the 2nd half both Garrett and Colvin were too tired to create off the dribble penetration. Lucca might not be suited for starting right now, he was a non factor on offense and Christopherson brings much more to the table than sitting in a corner hoping for a pass.

Anyway I hope they schedule a game at the UC again, I really enjoyed it.

 

[cyclonedave25]

I enjoyed my time there, other than the two Duke fans I sat by. They were so arrogant and rude...
Great crowd on hand, more than I expected. I would actually say there were a handful more Duke fans than ISU. But, ISU fans were louder. I also wondered if it was a "home" game for us, as we had the band and the highlights were of ISU.
Also, what happened in section 118 towards the end of the game? I saw some Duke fans and ISU fans yelling at each other, right next to the student section. The Duke fans eventually got thrown out. Anybody know what was being said???

 

[burn587]

No idea, I didn't catch that one. The one cyclone fan that was making an *** out of himself got quickly put in his place by the kids' father and a few of us cyclone fans basically told him to represent the fanbase better (but not exactly in those words).

 

[SOIllCyclone]

Both cyclone fans knew the game was over and was talking smack to duke fans. Then more duke fans got in it and I was embarrassed as a ISU fan. We all know that 99 percent of the people in the duke crowd have not attended the university or have never set foot in NC, but the ISU guys were making stupid arguments about football. Should have done a better job at arguing!

 

[ISUPoker]

Defintely was more like 60 40 in favor of Duke as far as quantity goes. We were louder tho IMO. Students were great.

 

[Skyh13]

Defintely was more like 60 40 in favor of Duke as far as quantity goes. We were louder tho IMO. Students were great.

I agree with this. Easily more Duke fans. But we had a pretty good student section, and a band. And at least were passionate about our team when we were within 8 points.

 

[SOIllCyclone]

It just showed how many bandwagon fans were there. The passion was definitely on our side and it showed throughout the game!

 

[cyclonenum1]

First off the crowd was great. Damn near even for Cyclones/Blue Devils but I'll give ISU the edge 55% to 45%. I wonder if this was actually scheduled as a home game for us though, because we supplied the PA announcer and all the big screen highlights were ISU related. Cameron crazies these chicago blue devils are not. I wasn't expecting extreme loudness but most of their fans didn't even get on their feet for big plays. Maybe it should just be chalked up to not really being challenged most of the game. ISU fans except for one (drunk guy yelling at teenaged duke fans for no reason) represented well and were loud without being too vulgar.

As for the game I personally think our guys were tired out by the as advertised Duke man to man. Those guys play in your jersey and by the 2nd half both Garrett and Colvin were too tired to create off the dribble penetration. Lucca might not be suited for starting right now, he was a non factor on offense and Christopherson brings much more to the table than sitting in a corner hoping for a pass.

Anyway I hope they schedule a game at the UC again, I really enjoyed it.

I wasn't there but based upon the split of blue/white and cardinal/gold on my TV set it appeared to be about 75% Duke and 25% ISU...I was really kind of surprised because I know a lot of friends that are alums in the Chicagoland area.

 

[delt4cy]

Duke has the "Florida State football" effect. Bandwagon fans that have no attachment to the University other than buying a hat and watching games on ESPN. (not that it's a bad thing, I wish Iowa State had that draw)

Duke was clearly the more disciplined, talented, and better coached team. As much as I hate them, they play basketball the way it's meant to be played. Fundamentally flawless. They thouroughly dominated the guard and wing play. Diante's penetration was the lone bright spot for me last night.

I too was embarrased by a few Cyclone fans. It may have been the same guy as the above poster mentioned but he was getting in a few Duke fans faces in my area for no reason. He was an idiot. (I was irritated by the two Duke fans in the middle of the ISU section that kept standing up and taunting after every Duke score as if they had thrown the assist themselves) I do agree, the Duke fans were oddly silent, almost like watching a tennis match. Kind of weird actually.

All in all, it was a good experience and I would love to schedule a few more games at the "Madhouse on Madison" haha.

 

[cjclone]

Duke was clearly the more disciplined, talented, and better coached team. As much as I hate them, they play basketball the way it's meant to be played. Fundamentally flawless.

I would disagree with the flawless part. They constantly traveled. Every time Zoubek had the ball on offense the first half he either shuffled his feet or switched pivot feet. Several others traveled often and were not called. They constantly set moving screens, grabbed jerseys, held arms, slapped, etc. They are fundamentally sound and skilled and get away with a lot because of their intensity. The intensity and doing what needs to be done along with doing what the refs will allow is the diffence between them and a lot of teams.

 

[eclone]

That's the Duke way...they've been doing it for 25 years.