HOUSTON - Kyle Singler continues his great play of late, scoring 24 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in Duke's win over Purdue, which vaults them into an Elite 8 match up with Baylor on Sunday.
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HOUSTON - Shooters just keep shooting and that's exactly what Jon Scheyer did on Friday evening. After scoring just 2 points in the first half, Scheyer tallied 16 in the second for a total of 18 points and that helped Duke defeat a game Purdue team 70-57. Scheyer tied Nolan Smith with 4 assists as well, and it was obvious that there was a sense of relief in the face of the senior captain. BDN caught up to Jon for a one on one in the Duke locker room and, as you will hear, we were rudely interrupted by a reporter asking Jon about a "meltdown." I had just asked Jon what it was like to field questions from people who had done little homework on Duke. Before he could answer, a reporter asked Jon about the same thing that made Coach Krzyzewski bristle during the post game press conference, yet she seemingly got no hint how silly her questions were. At that point, I just rolled my eyes and turned the recording off as Jon himself gave me a little smile as if he were saying, "oh well." It was as if the TMZ had invaded the Duke locker room. Anyhow, it is disturbing how little some of the media seems to know about Duke basketball and its inner workings but, hey, they all can't be BDN, right? I will have more on the media angle later today as we continue to churn out a plethora of interviews from Houston. In short, BDN is on the scene once again to bring you some of the very best coverage available. That said, listen to the interview for yourself and check back often as we'll be adding quite a bit today. Just press play below -
HOUSTON - Brian Zoubek grabbed 14 rebounds to go with his 4 points and the big man played a key role in the Blue Devils defeat of a scrappy Purdue team. BDN caught up with Brian after the game and got his thoughts on the win. BDN will be on the scene in Houston all weekend long so stay tuned for maximum coverage. BDN is the only subscription site in Houston, yet we are bringing you 80% of our interviews for free. Join Blue Devil Nation Premium for full site access and accurate and dependable recruiting information.
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HOUSTON - Duke defeated Purdue 70-57 to advance in the NCAA's where they will face Baylor in a game that will send the winner to the Final Four. Here are Coach K's, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyers comments from where they addressed the media.
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HOUSTON - First of all, be prepared to watch Duke play on an elevated court today which, if you're Kyle Singler, may mean watch it when you go into the sidelines for there is no safe fall. As of minutes ago 40,000 tickets have been sold and the court is right in the middle of Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.
There is a serious lack of college hoops knowledge by local media. The Houston Chronicle did a player by player match up article in today's paper and they had Smith as a PG and, well, let's just say four positions wrong. During yesterday's press conference, Duke was asked not only asked some ridiculous questions, but some intended to cause a rise with sharp questions.
The media room at Reliant Stadium is huge. There are two media overflow sections, but BDN made it to the second row just across from the Duke bench. Oddly, and I mean disturbingly odd, is the fact that they have a grand total of two very small rest rooms in the area, meaning watching media members will have to be on the ball during breaks.
Coach K and Duke have pretty much stayed in their own world and there is natural concern over the long wait to play the game. Players have all assured me that this will be no problem, but you never know.
I'm a bit bothered by fans who think Duke will win easily over Purdue. Anything can happen as you have already seen by the many upsets, so looking ahead is not a good idea and Duke knows that.
They've just opened the gates to the stadium and the most colorful bunch are the St. Mary's fans who seem genuinely delighted to be here. There are a lot of green and yellow Baylor fans here as well and more than a little bit of royal blue in the stands. The North Carolina area fans can be brutal towards Duke in that UNC, N.C. State and Wake share the territory, but nationally, Duke is much more of a darling to fans than many realize. One Texan said it's like the Dallas Cowboys coming to town, and it is clear that some Texan fans have adopted the Blue Devils.
You can get upper level tickets for twenty bucks a pop and one bill and a quarter for the best seat in the house, but many of those are far removed from the action. The stadium itself is very nice and this is a test run for the Final Four will be held here next season.
And Pete Gillen, "Duke is Duke," is here and he is quite a nice guy. He'll be doing the radio for CBS and his quick wit is always welcomed.
And the game itself? Look for Purdue and Duke to lock up in a defensive battle. A game in the sixties might be what we see.
So, I go to my seat and this guy from AOL Fan House tells me #55 is his seat. What? Where is your name then pal? This guy then hovers above me until I show him the seating chart. His comment, "I'm with AOL Fanhouse and we're national, I should be dead center." Then an attendant from Rice University walked up and told the guy it was not his seat, it was Mark Watson from Blue Devil Nation's seat and I kindly asked him to leave. What arrogance! I'm AOL Fanhouse and we're the studs! Heck guys, I've never even read your stuff. As it turns out, his seat was one row up to the left and he still whined to the NCAA host that he should have better seats. Please, AOLFH, you're embarrassing yourself with behavior like that. BTW, I have a good seat.
Wojo and Collins are sitting on my same row scouting Purdue and St. Mary's.
Lastly, Go Duke!
The #1 seed Duke Blue Devils (31-5) take on the #4 seed Purdue Boilermakers (29-5) in the South Regional Semifinals on Friday night at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The two teams last met in a 2008 ACC-Big Ten contest that was dominated from the start by the Blue Devils, who emerged with a 76-60 victory in West Lafayette, Indiana. A trip to the South Regional Finals is on the line in tonight’s matchup, which will feature two of the country’s top defenses.
The season-ending injury to Robbie Hummel makes Purdue a somewhat difficult team to scout, but they have played seven games without their star forward, compiling a 5-2 record. In those seven games, the Boilermakers have averaged only 61 points, while holding their opponents to an average of 60 points per game. Clearly, their margin of error has been reduced without Hummel and his 16 points per game. However, as Duke saw recently in the ACC tournament against Virginia and Miami, the loss of a star player presents an opportunity for a team to unite and for other players to elevate their games.
Like the Blue Devils, the Boilermakers have been led by their “big three” all-conference performers throughout the season in E’Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson. Moore, a 6’4” junior guard, received first-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 16 points and 1.4 steals per game. The Boilermakers, led by Moore and sophomore Lewis Jackson on the perimeter, look to force their opponents into turnovers, ranking fourth in the country in turnover margin, forcing an average of 16 per game. Johnson is a 6’10” junior center who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Johnson is a disciplined defender in the post, having fouled out of only two games all year. Chris Kramer, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, is a 6’3” guard who has filled in admirably on offense for the injured Hummel. Kramer has averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals through the first two NCAA tournament games.
While many picked Purdue to bow out early in this year’s tournament, the Boilermakers defeated a tough Siena team in the first round and pulled out a gritty overtime victory against Texas A&M in the round of 32. This matchup should be an exciting one for fans of good team defense, as points will be hard to come by for both offenses. With this in mind, some of the keys to the game for Duke will be:
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