The Duke Blue Devils defeated Florida State 79-69 to win the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship.  In the process they helped Coach Mike Krzyzewski to his 11th Championship.  Duke has now won an amazing 9 our of the last 12 ACC titles and 17 overall and have  participated in 28 of 56 championship games. 

With the 847th career victory, Krzyzewski is the 4th all time winningest coach in college basketball history with wins.

The Seminoles came into the game off an upset of North Carolina and many thought Duke would be in for a tough contest.  While the Noles refused to fold, the Blue Devils controlled the game from the opening tip in route to their 28th win of the season.

Once again, Duke used the three point shot to their advantage going 12 for 25 for 48%.  In fact they shot better from three than overall. 

Duke went on a 20-3 first half run while holding Florida State without a field goal for a long, long time.  How long?  Douglass ended hit their first field goal early in the second half since the *;04 mark of the first half.

The Blue Devils defense also held the Seminoles to just 21.7% from the field to take a 35-21 lead into the locker room.

"You win by getting stops on defense and that's what we did all weekend," said Duke Assistant Coach Chris Collins shortly after the eventual win.

Florida State warmed up in the second half and went on a 11-0 run of their own, cutting the lead to 42-36, but that's as close as they would get.

A Jon Scheyer three ended the drought and while the Seminoles scored just after that on the other end, Scheyer got fouled on the next possession and calmly hit 3 of 3 free throws which stretched the lead back to 48-38.

Then it was Gerald Henderson turn.  The junior standout drained a three point shot, had a dunk the next time down and hit 2 free throws again in succession for 7 quick points.

By that time, Duke had gone on a 23-7 run and led 62-43 with the Blue Devil faithful feeling a celebration coming on.

To Florida State's credit, they wouldn't say die and fought until the last minute of regulation.  Still, Duke for the most part coasted to the ACC Championship.

As the buzzer sounded, Duke owned Atlanta and they started the   off by wearing championship hats and T-Shirts while posing for pictures and talking to various media members.   They then cut down the nets with Krzyzewski getting the last clip as he blew a kiss to the faithful.

Duke fought through a bit of adversity during the season and gained the coveted trophy.

Jon Scheyer was named the tournaments MVP and finished the game with 29 points.  Gerald Henderson picked the right time for his offense to come full circle and tallied 27 points.  Kyle Singler, who for the most part got them to the title game with his play in the first two games added 14 points.

All three were named to the All ACC Tournament team, along with Toney Douglass and Tyler Hansbrough of UNC. 

The Blue Devils now await today's tournament pairings and will go into March Madness as the proud ACC Champions.

We'll have many player quotes and more later.  So, please check back in.

Courtesy of Duke Sports Information -

ACC Championships
• Duke won its 17th ACC Championship on Sunday with a win over Florida State. The 17 ACC Championships are tied for the most in league history with North Carolina.
• Coach Krzyzewski claimed his 11th ACC Championship at Duke. He is second only to Dean Smith (13) of North Carolina for most by a coach in ACC history.
• The Blue Devils have won eight of the last 11 ACC Championships.
• Duke played in its 28th league championship game. Only North Carolina (29) has played in more ACC Finals.

Tournament Honors
• Junior Jon Scheyer was named ACC Tournament MVP, becoming the 16th Duke player to garner tournament MVP honors.
• Scheyer, Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler were all named to the ACC All-Tournament first team. The Blue Devils now have 66 first team All-Tournament selections.
• The three first team selections give Duke three first team picks for the 10th time in school history. It is the 25th time they have had two or more first team selections.

A Winning Tradition
• Duke has now won 1,875 games all-time, the fourth-highest victory total in NCAA history. The Blue Devils have an all-time record of 1,875-814, including 758-213 under Coach K.
• The Blue Devils have won a NCAA record 289 games this decade, the most wins in a decade by the program. The previous NCAA record for wins in a decade was 286 by Kansas (286-60 from 1990-99).
• Duke is now 934-237 all-time as a ranked team, including 792-180 as a Top 10 team.
• The Blue Devils have won 25 or more games 22 times in school history with 18 of those coming under Coach K. Duke has won 20 or more games 44 times.
• Duke improved to 84-39 all-time in the ACC Tournament, tying them with North Carolina for the most wins in ACC Tournament history.

Duke In The ACC Tournament
• Duke is now 84-39 all-time in the ACC Tournament, making their 56th appearance. The Blue Devils are 29-4 in the ACC Tournament since 1998 with eighth of the last 11 tournament championships.
• Coach K has an all-time record of 46-17 in the ACC Tournament.
• Duke has played 28 championship games in the ACC Tournament with a 17-11 record in the finals.
• The Blue Devils are 15-6 all-time as a No. 3 seed in the tournament and 7-5 when playing a No. 4 seed.  
• Duke is now 1-0 against Florida State in the ACC Tournament.
• The Blue Devils are 8-1 all-time when playing in the Georgia Dome, including a 6-0 record in the ACC Tournament. Duke has won both the 2001 and 2009 ACC Tournaments at the Georgia Dome. Duke is 9-3 all-time when playing ACC Tournament games in Atlanta.

Duke vs. Florida State Series
• Duke now leads the all-time series with Florida State, 29-6. The two schools met for the 35th time on Sunday since the Seminoles joined the ACC in the 1991-92 season.
• The Blue Devils and Seminoles met for the first time ever in ACC Tournament play on Sunday. Florida State was the only team in the league that Duke had not faced in the conference tournament.    
• Coach K now owns a 28-5 career record against the Seminoles, including a 3-1 record in the month of March.
• Duke has a 26-5 record when ranked while playing Florida State, including a 25-5 mark as a top 10 team. The Blue Devils have been ranked in the top 10 the past 23 times they have faced Florida State dating back to the 1996-97 season.

Duke In March
• Duke improved to 4-1 in the month of March during the 2008-09 season. They now have a 131-54 all-time record in the month of March under Coach K.
• When playing on March 15, Duke is now 8-3 all-time, including a 7-2 record under Coach K.

Krzyzewski Climbs Victory Ladder
• Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski earned his 831st victory as a head coach on Sunday. With the victory he passes Jim Phelan for fourth all-time in NCAA Division I history for career victories. He is first among active coaches.
• Krzyzewski is now 45 victories shy of Adolph Rupp for third all-time.
• Coach K now has 758 wins as the head coach at Duke, ranking him sixth in NCAA Division I history for victories at one school and second among active coaches (Jim Boeheim, Syracuse – 797). Krzyzewski is one win shy of Western Kentucky’s Ed Diddle for fifth all-time.
• Krzyzewski’s 831 victories are the most by a head coach through 34 years of coaching. Krzyzewski passes Dean Smith of North Carolina who won 830 games in his first 34 seasons.

1,000 Career Points
• There have been 59 players in Duke history to score over 1,000 career points. The total for the Blue Devils is tied for the second most in Division I with Louisville. The only school with more 1,000-point scorers is North Carolina (62).
• Duke now has four current players with over 1,000 career points. It is only the second time in school history the Blue Devils have had four active players with 1,000 career points. The only previous team with four players over 1,000 career points was in 1985-86 with Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie, David Henderson and Jay Bilas. The four current players who have scored at least 1,000 points in their career are Jon Scheyer  (34th, 1,308), Gerald Henderson 40th (1,218), Greg Paulus (41st, 1,185) and Kyle Singler (57th, 1,018).

Offensive Notes
• Duke scored 79 points and is now 24-4 this year with scoring at least 70 points. They are 667-133 all-time under Coach K when scoring at least 70 points.
• Duke has had two players score 20 or more points in 11 games this season. The Blue Devils have had a player score 20 or more 30 times on the year. The 11 games is tied for ninth most in a single season at Duke.
• The Blue Devils matched a season high with 12 three-point field goals made. They also made 12 treys in the first meeting with Maryland and against Miami. They have 10 or more made treys six times this season.
• Duke committed a season-low four turnovers in the game. The previous low was six turnovers against Wake Forest on Feb. 22. The Blue Devils have had less than 10 turnovers in nine games this season. It is the lowest turnover total since Duke had three turnovers against North Carolina in the 2002 quarterfinals.
• The Blue Devils only committed one turnover in the first half. It is the lowest amount of turnovers committed in the first half this season by Duke. The previous low was three against Georgia Southern in the second game of the year. The Blue Devils also only committed one turnover in the second half against Florida State on March 3 for a total of two turnovers in a span of 40 minutes against the Seminoles.
• Duke outrebounded Florida State 35-34. They have outrebounded the opposition 18 times this year and are 474-55 all-time under Coach K when outrebounding the opposition.

Defensive Notes
• Duke limited Florida State to 69 points and held all three ACC Tournament opponents under 70 points. They have held 20 opponents to 60 or less on the season.
• The Blue Devils held Florida State to 21 points in the first half on 5-of-23 (.217) shooting. It is the second lowest shooting percentage by an opponent in the first half this year. The Seminoles shot .206 (7-of-34) in the first half during the first meeting this season between the two schools.
• Florida State did not make a field goal in the final 8:09 of the first half. The only points for the Seminoles in the final eight minutes were seven made free throws. The next made field goal came at the 18:18 mark of the second half, a span of 9:51 minutes.  

Duke Player Notes:

Gerald Henderson
• Junior Gerald Henderson tallied 27 points to give him nine 20-point games on the season and 13 in his career. He has scored in double figures in 29 games on the year.
• Henderson tallied at least one point, rebound, assist, blocked shot and steal in a game for the 12th game this season.
• Henderson made 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line. It is the fourth time this season Henderson has made three or more from beyond the arc.
• With four assists Henderson has recorded three or more assists in 18 games this season.

David McClure
• Senior David McClure grabbed five rebounds and now has five or more rebounds in seven games this year.
• McClure added two steals to give him eight games with two or more steals.

Greg Paulus
• Senior Greg Paulus played in his 136h career game, moving him into a tie for 13h all-time at Duke for career games played.

Jon Scheyer
• Junior Jon Scheyer scored 29 points to give him nine 20-point games this season and 15 in his career. The 29 points is tied for the 10th highest single game total by a Duke player in the ACC Tournament. He has nine straight games with at least 10 points and has reached double figures in scoring 27 times this season.
• Scheyer finished the tournament with 65 points, ranking him eighth at Duke for points in an ACC Tournament.
• Scheyer made four three-point field goals to give him six straight games with three or more made treys and 14 overall contests. He has made 30 three-point field goals in his nine games as starting point guard. He made 12 three-point field goals in the tournament, which ranks him tied for second most by a Duke player with J.J. Redick.
• At the free throw line, Scheyer matched a career-high going 13-of-15. He was 13-of-13 earlier this year against Rhode Island. The 13 made free throws are tied for the second most in a single game by a Duke player with Art Heyman who had 13 against Clemson in 1962.
• Scheyer finished the tournament going 21-of-25 (.840) from the free throw line. The 21 made free throws is tied for fifth most in a game by a Duke player.

Kyle Singler
• Sophomore Kyle Singler reached double figures in scoring for the 12th straight game with 14 points against Florida State. He now has a team-high 31 games with 10 or more points this season.
• Singler tallied at least one point, rebound, assist, blocked shot and steal in a game for the eighth straight contest and 20th game this season. The 20 games are tied for the third most in a single season at Duke. The most is 26 games by Shane Battier in 2001.    
• Singler made four three-point field goals to give him three or more made treys in nine games this season.
• His two steals give Singler 15 games with two or more steals on the year.
• Singler had one blocked shot to give him nine blocks in the tournament His nine blocks ranks fourth all-time by a Duke player in the tournament.
• Singler played all 40 minutes for the third consecutive game. He is only the second Duke player to play three consecutive complete games. The only other player to play three straight complete games in the ACC Tournament was Doug Kistler in 1960. It is the third time it has been done in postseason play.

Nolan Smith
• Sophomore Nolan Smith dished out three assists to give him eight games with three or more assists this season.

Lance Thomas
• Junior Lance Thomas match a season-high with eight rebounds. All eight rebounds came in the first half with six of the eight coming on the offensive end of the floor.

Brian Zoubek
• Junior Brian Zoubek grabbed six rebounds in the game and now has 14 games with five or more rebounds on the year.
• Zoubek blocked one shot to give him a blocked shot in 19 games on the year.