HEAD COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI
Opening Statement: “Our kids did play really well tonight. They had outstanding defense. They shared the ball. They had the least amount of turnovers we’ve had. We’ve played a lot of guys. We beat a really good team… not only a team, but a program. Mike Young and Jay (McAuley) developed over the last decade one of the top programs at Wofford. They’re a championship level program. They’re very deep in talent. We did a good job defensively, but they’re a tough team to defend. [Storm] Murphy is a heck of a competitor. [Jordan Goldwire] fought him well. Not saying he out played him, but he fought him well. He didn’t out play J. Gold either – that was good match up. Murphy was not able to make his teammates better like he usually does because of what J. Gold did. We subbed a lot. This has been a very unusual couple of weeks for us. We didn’t practice for six days for exams. We had three days of individual work and for these kids to come back and play like they have has been really something. I’m really proud of my guys for what they have done. It’s really an outstanding performance. That’s one of the reasons I subbed so much – I never wanted them to get tired. Once they got tired, they were going to be tired. They’re not going to get refreshed. We have a lot of kids with a lot of minutes and it works if they’re playing well. And to deal with Tre [Jones] being out – if this was an ACC game, he would have played. He has a slight sprain and it’s better with this break to get well. He’ll be back and he’ll play right away.”
When asked about player communication: “This was the best game that they talked the game. They weren’t just thinking the game individually – they were talking, especially on the defensive end. Their offense is very well conceived for their personnel. We couldn’t run their offense, nearly as well as they run it. It’s a little bit unconventional for our league – although Virginia Tech runs it similar. So, having played against Virginia Tech I think helped us. Virginia Tech was beating us at halftime and then we went small. Tonight, we didn’t go small, but we practiced better. “
On sophomore Joey Baker: “The neat thing is our whole team wanted him to get the ball. In September, I wasn’t sure how much Joey could play and Joey has come every day at practice and he shoots game shots… even when he’s just shooting. He has become our quickest and most accurate shooter. The guys see it.” “My vision and what he is sometimes isn’t the same. I see him for who he is – not my vision. He’s earned that. He’s done that and he’s worked on it. If you come early, you saw Joey in there shooting the same shots. He comes early every time. He’s in the gym all the time. There’s the expression ‘trust your work’ – he’s got a lot to trust. His teammates see that.”
SOPHOMORE FORWARD JOEY BAKER
On what factors lead to his solid second-half shooting performance: “I was just getting open spots and the defense was collapsing off, so Vernon [Carey Jr.] got going a little bit inside and Matt [Hurt] had a really good game, so they were playing off [me] a little bit more. I definitely feed off of [the crowd], but in the moment, you’re just worried about the next play, getting a stop, and getting the win. I’ve just been staying in the gym. I work a lot with Coach [Chris] Carrawell on my weaknesses and trying to improve on those areas. It’s starting to translate [to games] a little more.”
When asked if Wofford’s win over North Carolina earlier in the week was something Duke thought about heading into the game: “Not really. We knew they were a really good team and a really good three-point-shooting team. We just wanted to do our best to stop that and do our job to win.”
On how having some time off between games helped Duke: “I think we got back to the drawing board a little bit and tweaked some things that had been issues as we were going through the season and playing back-to-back games in a short period of time. Practice time helped a lot.”
“We have several good drivers, especially with Tre [Jones] on the floor, and we have several good shooters as well, so we’re able to space the floor and open things up for Vernon [Carey Jr.] down inside. So I think we’re a well-rounded team and capable of beating teams in a lot of different ways.”
JUNIOR GUARD JORDAN GOLDWIRE “It’s great, knowing that we get a win like this and now we get a little break and get to go home to our families. It’s definitely a good feeling to get a win like this.”
On the play of Joey Baker and his shooting performance tonight:
“When he’s shooting the ball like that, we try to get it to him. Hopefully he can stay in the rhythm like that and it definitely helps us.”
On getting the start tonight in place of the injured Tre Jones:
“I felt comfortable. I’ve started before so it wasn’t something that was different, besides not having Tre [Jones] out there with me. I was very comfortable out there and just tried to stay poised.”
On the break from classes:
“I get a chance to get in the gym, work on my shot and work on a bunch of other things, so I think that definitely helps.”
“It’s still early in the season and we still have a long way to go, but we know who we are as a team and we know the things that we’re capable of doing.”
FRESHMAN FORWARD MATTHEW HURT
On the play of Joey Baker: “Joey’s come to work every day in practice, game shots, talking on defense. I’m not surprised at how good he’s been this year, but having that outside shooting really helps me and Vernon [Carey Jr.] and Javin [DeLaurier] and Jack [White], all down low for more space for us.”
“We didn’t practice last week but we started practicing this week, had a little break with finals and everything. I think getting back together, staying with the grind, doing what we do and playing good defense was really key for us tonight.”
WOFFORD HEAD COACH JAY MCAULEY
On thoughts of playing Duke:
“They’re really good. They’re really balanced and when they shoot like that in the second half they can be very dangerous. They have a good, balanced attack with a good inside-out presence. They’re tough. They keep coming at you in waves, rebounding the ball, coming up with 50-50 balls. Obviously, they’re a really good team and they showed it tonight.”
On if Duke took Wofford out of their game plan: “We missed some shots early and we started pressing a little bit. Obviously the missed layups in the first half where it was a tight game, maybe 16-15, and we missed a few around the basket. We were a little sped up and Duke had a lot to do with that and we have to handle that better moving forward. “Their pressure took us out of some things. In the second half, we do have some things when teams decide to switch that we need to do better. We got away from that. We need to be a lot more mentally tough in those moments. That’s what Duke does to you. We’ll learn from it.”
On what he took from playing Duke and North Carolina in back-to-back games: “We have a really balanced team. Our bench can come out and contribute. There were moments tonight that our bench team didn’t really step up for us. UNC and Duke are the best of the best; they both challenged us in a lot of ways. They did some things with their length and with pressure that I think we’ll benefit from against some of the teams in our league.”
Team Notes
- Mike Krzyzewski is in his 40th season as Duke’s head coach, and his record is now 1,069-286 at Duke, and 1,142-345 overall in this, his 45th season overall.
- Tonight’s game marked the seventh meeting between Duke and Wofford, with the series now 7-0 favoring Duke.
- Wofford led 9-5 (16:28 in the first half) – the four points representing Duke’s largest home deficit this season.
- Duke is now 987-223 when playing as a ranked team under Coach K, including 583-107 as a ranked top five team.
- Duke extended its streak of at least one made three-pointer to 1,070 games – the nation’s third-longest active streak.
- Duke is now 897-162 all-time when playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, including 539-67 under Coach K.
- In this decade (since January 1, 2010), Duke is now 298-70 (.810) – the third-highest winning percentage and fourth-most wins in college basketball this decade.
- Duke limited Wofford to 57 points – its third-fewest points scored this season – the Terriers came in on five-game winning streak and averaging 80+ points in the winning streak.
- Tonight’s game marked the 461st consecutive sellout at Cameron Indoor Stadium, dating back to Nov. 16, 1990 — the longest active streak (by time) in either men’s college basketball or the NBA.
- Duke’s bench scored 43 points, its most in a game since 43 versus Stetson last season. Duke has scored 78 bench points over the last two games. Over the last four games, Duke’s bench is averaging 32.3 points.
- Duke’s eight turnovers were its second-fewest of the season (seven in the last game at Virginia Tech). Duke has 33 assists against 15 turnovers over the last two games.
- Duke limited Wofford’s Storm Murphy and Nathan Hoover to a combined 12 points – the pair came in averaging 14.5 and 13.6 points, respectively.
Player Notes
- Sophomore Joey Baker scored a career high 22 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
- Baker is averaging 12.8 points over the last four games, including his previous career high of 16 versus Winthrop and 11 at Michigan State.
- Baker’s 22 bench points were the most for a Blue Devil since 26 by Luke Kennard vs. NC State (2/6/16).
- Baker becomes the fifth different Blue Devil to post a 20-point game this season -– only four different Blue Devils scored 20+ last season.
- Freshman Vernon Carey Jr., recorded his eighth double-double this season, which lead all NCAA freshmen. Carey scored 20 points with 10 rebounds (8/11 FG) to mark his sixth game of 20-10 this season.
- Carey is one of only three players nationally with five+ games of 20-10. Each of his eight double-doubles have been 15-10 efforts.
- Junior Jordan Goldwire scored eight points (3/3 FG), with five assists (no turnovers) and three rebounds in 28 minutes.
- Goldwire made his second career start.
- Goldwire is averaging 6.8 points over Duke’s last four games (2.0 over the previous seven).
- Senior Javin DeLaurier was 1-of-1 from the field and had made 10-of-10 from the field over the last four games.
- Sophomore Tre Jones missed the game (mild foot sprain).
Next Game
- Duke is off until a non-conference game versus Brown on Saturday, Dec. 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
