Normally after a loss the Blue Devils bounce back strong against its next opponent, even to the point that opposing coaches lament playing Duke after a loss. That Duke team, the one that strikes fear in the heart of opponents would not show up until after halftime, luckily for Duke a very young Georgia Tech team would not be able to take advantage. Duke would struggle in nearly every facet of the game:
Field goal percentage. Duke would shoot a lowly 27.3% from the field in the first half, scoring only 27 points. Duke would struggle from the 3 point line all the way to the rim. Duke got a lot of the shots it wanted but was unable to convert. The biggest issue offensively for Duke was getting Mason Plumlee the ball. Duke accomplished this, the senior got 12 shots in the first half, unfortunately for Duke he would only convert on 2 of those attempts. The senior also had 4 turnovers in the first half. Sharpshooter Seth Curry would have his difficulties from the field in the first half as well, hitting on 2 of 6 shots. The 2 shots Curry did hit were big 3 pointers to keep Duke in the hunt.
The bright spots for Duke in the first half were the play of its freshmen Rasheed Sulaimon and Amile Jefferson. Rasheed Sulaimon shook off the cold shooting performances he’d been experiencing since Christmas to shoot 2 of 3 from the field and 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. The freshman hit on 2 contested 3’s and Duke would need every point as they trailed at the half 28-27. With Amile Jefferson’s entrance into the game, Duke fans could feel the infusion of energy, the highly emotive freshman provided Duke 6 boards off the bench. Jefferson also hit on 2 of his 4 shot attempts.
Rebounding. Duke allowed a very young Georgia Tech team the rebounding edge in the first half 26 to 21.
Turnovers. Duke had 9 first half turnovers. The first stanza was riddled with miscues, mishandled passes and an overall lack of intensity.
Once again for Duke it was a tale of two halves. The second half started off for Duke as if scripted, going on a 21-8 run was the separation Duke would need to get past the feisty Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech.
The Duke seniors would use the second half to make amends for the poor first half play and take it to Georgia Tech. Mason Plumlee after his 2 for 12 start would show the abilities he did at the beginning of the year and finish plays. The hook shot that was being forced in the first half, had a feathery touch in the second. When Mason was in the lane he chose to finish with authority rather than fading away from the basket. One such play elicited a jump-hug from Coach K as Mason returned to the bench. Clearly words were said at halftime to challenge Mason and the fruits of pushing the correct buttons were obvious early and Mason responding and taking himself to task was appreciated by the hall of fame coach. Plumlee would finish the game with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Seth Curry would also play a redemption song in the second half scoring 16 of his game high 24 in the second half, and hitting on 6 of 7 three pointers in the game. Curry hit big shot after big show when Duke was in need.
Rasheed Sulaimon, who came off the bench for the first time this year, let the game come to him and broke out of this long slump by going 5 of 8 from the floor and scoring 15 points.
Duke would win this game with the caveat that it must play better going into Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes who are perfect in conference at 4 and 0.
KEY STATS:
Amile Jefferson pulls down 10 rebounds in Ryan Kelly absence.
Seth Curry 6 of 7 from 3 point range
Mason Plumlee goes 2 for 12 in the first half but 5 of 8 in the second half.
Quinn Cook had 5 assists to 2 turnovers
Rasheed Sulaimon goes 5 of 8 from the field
Official Basketball Box Score
Georgia Tech vs Duke
01/17/13 9:05 PM at Durham,N.C. (Cameron Indoor Stadium)
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VISITORS: Georgia Tech 10-6, 0-4 ACC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 Marcus Georges-Hunt. f 3-9 0-2 1-2 0 3 3 4 7 1 2 0 1 35
04 Robert Carter, Jr... f 3-6 0-1 2-7 1 8 9 2 8 0 4 2 0 29
05 Daniel Miller....... c 4-7 0-0 1-2 5 4 9 1 9 2 2 2 1 36
00 Mfon Udofia......... g 3-11 0-1 3-3 1 2 3 5 9 2 4 0 0 32
11 Chris Bolden........ g 7-13 4-8 2-4 0 4 4 2 20 1 1 0 0 35
24 Kammeon Holsey...... 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 6 8 3 4 0 4 1 0 15
45 Solomon Poole....... 0-8 0-4 0-0 2 1 3 2 0 1 4 0 2 18
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 22-58 4-16 9-18 15 28 43 19 57 7 21 5 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 2nd Half: 10-29 34.5% Game: 37.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 2-9 22.2% Game: 25.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 7-11 63.6% Game: 50.0% 5
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HOME TEAM: Duke 16-1, 3-1 ACC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Mason Plumlee....... f 7-20 0-0 2-2 5 8 13 1 16 2 5 3 3 40-
15 Josh Hairston....... f 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 0 1 0 0 1 11
02 Quinn Cook.......... g 3-9 1-5 0-0 0 3 3 3 7 5 2 1 3 38
03 Tyler Thornton...... g 0-3 0-3 3-5 1 2 3 1 3 2 0 0 1 14
30 Seth Curry.......... g 7-14 6-7 4-4 1 1 2 2 24 1 2 0 0 34
12 Alex Murphy......... 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 7
14 Rasheed Sulaimon.... 5-8 3-4 2-4 1 4 5 3 15 1 1 0 0 27
21 Amile Jefferson..... 3-7 0-0 0-1 6 4 10 4 6 0 1 1 2 28
40 Marshall Plumlee.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 26-65 10-21 11-16 15 25 40 18 73 12 13 5 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-33 27.3% 2nd Half: 17-32 53.1% Game: 40.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% Game: 47.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 6-8 75.0% Game: 68.8% 1
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Officials: Jamie Luckie, Brian Dorsey, Ed Corbett
Technical fouls: Georgia Tech-Mfon Udofia. Duke-Quinn Cook.
Attendance: 9314
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Georgia Tech.................. 28 29 - 57
Duke.......................... 27 46 - 73
GT - Udofia fouled out at 1:04 in 2nd
Points in the paint-GT 24,DU 32. Points off turnovers-GT 5,DU 28.
2nd chance points-GT 11,DU 10. Fast break points-GT 4,DU 12.
Bench points-GT 4,DU 23. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-GT 2nd-00:36, DU 2nd-00:45.
Largest lead-GT by 7 1st-16:33, DU by 16 2nd-04:51.
