Duke Barely Escapes With Road Win
After the first half was over it looked as if Duke might cruise in this one, but BC stood strong and knocked the Devils 10 point lead down time and time again. BC did this by taking very good care of the basketball and taking advantage of size matchups on the inside. BC continued to chip away and keep this game very close and came within a last second 3 point shop of sending it into overtime. This is the kind of game we are used to seeing Duke lose this year on the road so to see one actually put into the win column is a very good thing for this team, and it was even nice to see Andre Dawkins get a little shine in the last minute. Moreover to see him on the sidelines cheering on this teammates and also at the end of the game embracing Nolan Smith and smiling, hopefully he can continue to work hard and earn some more meaningful minutes in ACC play because I guarantee you he will be needed at some point.
Duke still needs to get some production from the 4 and 5 positions in order to be considered an elite team, this still isnt happening but hopefully the minutes being played by the Plumlee brothers will pay off soon.
Next up in Carolina and if anyone thinks this is going to be a cakewalk because of the recent struggles that UNC has had is mistaken, overconfidence is for fools in this rivalry game. Carolina will play hard and Duke will have to prepare well and come out firing on all cylinders.
Danger Game at B.C.
As Steve Irwin used to say…”Danger, Danger, Danger.” With such a quick turnaround from the Georgia Tech game to this one this could be a Georgetown Massacre in the making. It will, however show what Duke has learned from what happened last week. No one should take too much comfort in the fact that Duke won by 20 in the last game. Firstly, it was in Cameron, secondly it was a close game for most of it. It was only 3 point game at the half.
This is a road game, on short rest, against a team that by all accounts is improving. Should Duke win this game it definitely will be a very good sign of things to come.
- Game Notes: at Boston College, Feb. 6, 2 PM, ESPN
- Duke trio fights fatigue
- Getting back to business
- Hotter Hand: Junior guard no longer just a Duke defender
- Boston College hoops relies in its bench to help lift the team up.
- First Take: Blue Devils Bounce Back
Singler Shoots Down the Jackets
In a game where Duke had to truly hold serve, Kyle Singler came up big. After the Duke loss at Georgia Tech there have been rumblings that this game was going to be Derrick Favors’ coming out party, that the Yellow Jackets would overwhelm Duke in Cameron. But as bad as Duke has been on the road, it has been equally as good at home and with road wins severely lacking this year in the ACC you had better be able to protect home. Duke did just that
It was hard to look at the Georgetown game in any kind of positive light, Duke was simply outplayed, outmuscled and outgunned. Georgia Tech would face a different Duke team, a well rested, practiced and an eager team looking to prove they were better than they showed last week in DC.
No one can blame either team for being upset at the officiating but I sense they were calling it tight for a reason, not only could the emotions of the moment in a supercharged atmosphere get out of hand but there have been numerous commentators, fans, bloggers and pundits talking about the physicality that has been prevalent in the ACC this year. I believe the officials thought this was a great opportunity to reign that in. Unfortunately that cost Georgia Tech in minutes for its inside tandem of Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. Duke also committed it’s share of ticky tack fouls but with smart substitutions and quality minutes from Ryan Kelly, and Jordan Davidson Duke was able to curb the effects of the closely called contest.
Speaking of Ryan Kelly it was very nice to see a shot go down for him, and to see him really get some meaningful minutes in this game, also it was nice to see walk on Jordan Davidson really put in work in this game, even pulling down a rebound in traffic to the delight of the Crazies. On the contrary fan favorite Andre Dawkins got no shine in this game, he is a freshmen that probably has had more to deal with than any of the others. We hope to see him back on the court when the time is right, he’s a quality kid and as talented as they come. Duke also got very good minutes from Mason Plumlee and Brian Zoubek in ths game, both were aggressive on both ends of the floor which I’m sure was a focus in the prep for this game.
Once again the big 3 carried Duke in this game but Kyle Singler in particular took over this game. After hitting a shot with the game clock expiring at the end of the half you could see and since his swagger returning, and the way Coach K ran off of the court point and praising Kyle it was clear the game plan revolved around getting Kyle good shots and in a position to succeed and utilize his skill much better than in previous game. One thing we will always praise Coach K on his coaching in transition, he is one of the best at making adjustments, not only from half to half but game to game as well.
Singler went off for a career high 30 points and truly shot the lights out for the first time in quite a while. Shooting 9 of 17, and 8 for 10 from 3point range. Jon Scheyer also dropped 21 points off of 5 for 10 shooting and Nolan Smith added 14.
| GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS | ||||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Gani Lawal, F | 16 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 3-8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Derrick Favors, F | 24 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| D’Andre Bell, G-F | 23 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Iman Shumpert, G | 30 | 1-7 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Mfon Udofia, G | 20 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Zachery Peacock, F | 28 | 4-10 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Brad Sheehan, C | 10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Maurice Miller, G | 9 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Lance Storrs, G | 2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Brian Oliver, F | 21 | 2-7 | 1-4 | 4-4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Glen Rice Jr., G | 17 | 4-5 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 24-49 | 3-12 | 16-28 | 11 | 30 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 67 | ||
| 49.0% | 25.0% | 57.1% | ||||||||||
| DUKE BLUE DEVILS | ||||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Lance Thomas, F | 33 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Kyle Singler, F | 37 | 9-17 | 8-10 | 4-5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 30 |
| Jon Scheyer, G | 39 | 5-10 | 2-4 | 9-10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
| Nolan Smith, G | 39 | 5-12 | 0-1 | 4-6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Miles Plumlee, F | 10 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Jordan Davidson, G | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brian Zoubek, C | 13 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Steve Johnson, F | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Kelly, F | 7 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Mason Plumlee, F | 18 | 2-5 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Casey Peters, G | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 25-56 | 12-18 | 24-36 | 14 | 36 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 25 | 86 | ||
| 44.6% | 66.7% | 66.7% | ||||||||||
Today’s Links
- Set Your Tivo: 02.02.10
- quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
- best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
- set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
- set your…Read the rest of this story…>>
9 minutes ago
- One on One With Josh Hairston
Duke commit Josh Hairston sat down with TDD’s Steve Clark over the weekend to discuss several topics ranging from his role in recruiting to what numbers he will hope to wear in Durham.
via The Devils Den
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29 minutes ago
- Battle Royale
1. A leading expert on concussions says that concussed youths should sit out three months before participating in sports again. If you were a concussed youth, what would your concussed reaction be?
Christian: I’d roll around on the ground and then heave…
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11.53a ET on 02 Feb
- President Obama thinks Clark Kellogg is better than Dick Vitale!
Well POTUS has weighed in on one of the most sensitive issues of our time the best college basketball analyst in the business.
Mr. Obama was a guest of CBS at the Duke-Georgetown game over the weekend and…
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11.39a ET on 02 Feb
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- The Layup Line — Tournament expansion links
• The Big Sky has scheduled itself to play back-to-back games this year. It’s an incredibly stupid idea. {Standard-Examiner}
• A small, short-term victory:
“Nothing is a done deal,” Shaheen, who oversees the tournament…Read the rest of this story…>>
10.21a ET on 02 Feb
- dukeblueplanet: Interesting chat between Coach K & AD Kevin White – Including discussion on future of Cameron/Duke $ situation: http://tinyurl.com/yffh99f
dukeblueplanet: Interesting chat between Coach K & AD Kevin White – Including discussion on future of Cameron/Duke $ situation: http://tinyurl.com/yffh99f
via Twitter
09.52a ET on 02 Feb
- Sleeping With The Enemy: The Running of the Bulls
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04.55a ET on 02 Feb
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Duke 77 Georgetown 89–first thoughts…
Well no sense in beating around the bush, Duke once again got what it deserved, an butt-kicking. There was nothing good to say about Duke on offense or defense. A team that did not compete, woefully unprepared, slow, unemotional…there aren’t many positive attributes you can say except maybe that the bench got some floor time.
Duke will have to rebound and rebound in a big way from this loss, I’m not sure what can be learned from this one, just as in the N.C. State game. Just becoming a bit of a trend that on the road this team seems to fold up with the first sign of adversity.
Duke was unable to defend the post, the perimeter or anywhere in between…even the subs for Georgetown had a very easy time shredding Dukes porous defense.
I hate to use the phrase phoned-it-in, but if they didn’t phone it in then the problems are worse than I even thought.
NEXT PLAY?
Some Links About G-Town and others…
Look for Dre to get some PT today, spelling Scheyer, Smith and or Singler depending on how G-town defend the perimeter.
Looks like Dawkins is ready to shake off the rust…
Georgetown favored against Duke in Washington…
Look for the Prez. at the game today…
Duke Gets Past Florida State 70-56
What Florida State brings to the table in the ACC is a very long and athletic team. They are by no means an offensive juggernaut but they generally make up for that lack of flash with extra opportunities from offensive rebounds, and a stingy defense.
First and foremost this team is relentless on the boards, Duke did not help the rebounding situation any by continually not boxing out and putting bodies on the State big men. Duke lost the rebounding battle 38-29 but it didn’t even seen that close. But as good as FL State was on the boards they were just that bad at holding on to the ball, they coughed the ball up to Duke 22 times. The other telling stats were the three ball and free throws, Duke had twice as many makes in both categories.
What Duke did well in spurts is defend. Lance Thomas put together quite a game of intangibles and things that do not show up in stat sheets, loose balls, being aware and alert on the defensive end, deflections. Lance was all over the floor. He also had 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and an assist.
As for the big 3 Jon Scheyer seems to have shot himself out of his slump as of late going 7 for 12 and 4 of 6 on 3 pointers for 22 points. Jon was the most efficient of the big 3 tonight with Kyle Singler a close second adding 20 points and shooting just under 50%. Nolan Smith only had 11 in this game but it was a strong 11 points. Nolan has been carving up defenses all year and his drives to the basket and penchant for creating shots where there seemingly are none helped Duke tremendously in this game as it has all year.
It was good to see Andre Dawkins knock down a three in this game, hopefully that will lead to him getting his swagger back and getting into the swing of things.
