Game 18
Duke (15-2, 3-1 ACC)
vs. N.C. State (12-6, 1-3 ACC)
Wed., Jan. 20, 2010 l 9:00 p.m. l Raycom
RBC Center l Raleigh, N.C.

The Opening Tip

Duke (15-2, 3-1 ACC), ranked seventh in the AP poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked N.C. State (12-6, 1-3 ACC) at the RBC Center on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday’s game will air on Raycom with Tim Brando and Dan Bonner calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Junior Kyle Singler scored 21 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as Duke posted a 90-70 win over Wake Forest on Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The double-double was Singler’s third of the year and the 16th in his career. Nolan Smith notched 20 points on Sunday for his team-high eighth 20+ point game of the season.

The Blue Devils received outstanding play on the interior from the Plumlee brothers as Miles and Mason combined for 30 points, on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line, and 21 rebounds. Miles posted career-highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. He also recorded his third double-double of the season in the contest.

Duke grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and posted a 48-41 rebounding advantage over Wake Forest on Sunday. The Blue Devils scored 25 second chance points and had 46 points in the paint for the game.

The Blue Devils, the ACC leaders in free throw percentage, closed the game out by going 14-of-16 (.875) from the free throw line in the second half.

Numbers Game

• Duke and Syracuse are the only teams in the country to rank in the top 10 in both the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll as well as the CollegeRPI.com Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). The Blue Devils, seventh in the AP Poll and sixth in the Coaches’ Poll, rank first in the RPI with the sixth-best SOS.
• The Blue Devils have been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 50 consecutive weeks. Duke has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last 47 polls.
• Duke has won 23 of its last 25 games in the month of January. The Blue Devils are 202-56 under Coach K in January games.
• Duke has had 21 individual 20-point scoring games this season, including eight by Nolan Smith. The Blue Devils have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game seven times on the year.
• Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 20.1 points per game, while shooting 55.2 percent (58-of-105) from the field and 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from three-point range, in the last eight games. He has topped the 20-point mark in six of those games.
• Miles and Mason Plumlee are averaging 18.6 points and 13.0 rebounds per game combined over the last six contests. The duo is shooting 58.3 percent (42-of-72) from the field during that span.
• Jon Scheyer is the only player in the ACC to rank in the top 5 in six statistical categories; scoring (second, 18.9 ppg.), assists (third, 6.1 apg.), free throw percentage (first, .905), three-point field goals (first, 2.7 3pg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (first, 4.12:1) and minutes (second, 35.6 mpg.).
• Nolan Smith is shooting 47.8 percent (99-of-207) from the field, including 50.0 percent (27-of-54) from three-point range, to rank ninth in the ACC in field goal percentage. He is the only guard to rank in the top 10 of the league in that category.
• Duke has lost three straight true road games dating back to last season. The Blue Devils have not lost four in a row on the road since the 2002-03 season.
• The Blue Devils are averaging 46.5 points in the paint over their last two games. On the year, Duke is averaging 35.8 points in the paint per game.
• Kyle Singler has three double-doubles this season and 16 in his career. He has double-doubles in each of the last two games.