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.