Monthly Archives: November 2010

Duke Basketball

BDN Post Game Report – Duke tames the Tigers 97-60 – Coach K post game audio

Kyrie Irving makes his collegiat debut - Lance Images for BDN

Duke opened the season in grand style by defeating a pesky Princeton team 97-60 in their first game in the CBE Classic.  After a sluggish start on the offensive end, Duke imposed their will in the second half and ran away from the visitors.

Duke was led in scoring by Nolan Smith with 22, followed by Kyle Singler with 16, Seth Curry 14 and Andre Dawkins with 13 to round out double figure scoring.  Here are my game thoughts and observations -

Three ball still Duke's bread and butter

The Blue Devils connected on 14 of 26 three point shots which translated into 42 of their 97 points.  In the pres season I exclaimed that Duke had more three point threats than at any other time in the Coach K era and the Devils are making me look like a prophet.  When Duke nails the three to the tune of ten or better, it'll be hard to take them out.

 
 
 

A Cameron salute to Drew Everson - Lance Images for BDN

Cameron Crazies honor Drew Everson and they were on fire all night

Just moments ago, Coach K praised the Cameron Crazies for bringing the most energy in an opener than at any other time in his career and he was right.  The students were on their A game tonight it it helped propel Duke to reach deep when they struggled.  The Viking helmets were a tribute to Drew Everson who passed away far too early in life.  He was also one of the head line monitors.  His parent were on hand tonight and they had to enjoy the love the students showed their son.

Kyrie Irving and the freshman make their debut

Irving dropped 9 assists to go with his 17 points  making his debut quite successful.  Tyler Thornton had a steal and then a bucket and a couple of assists to get his name in the books for the first time.  Josh Hairston 2 points, 2 boards and a steal.  Make no mistake, Kyrie is the real deal but he is still learning and that's scary for opposing teams.  Kyrie was the first freshman PG to start at Duke since fellow New Jersey native Jason Williams.

Seth Curry made his debut too

Curry came off the bench at the 14:26 mark in the first half to make his collegiate debut and his 14 points was more than any other players debut save Roshown McLeod who actually started as a transfer in his first game.  Curry really turned it on in the second half and nailed 3 of 5 three point shots for the game.

Leaders lead and Nolan and Kyle led Duke

Kyle Singler got into foul trouble by playing help defense according to Krzyzewski.  Despite being saddled with fouls, Singler was 7-10 from the floor and 2 of 3 from the beyond the arc.  Throw in 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks and his numbers speak loudly.  Nolan led the team in scoring with 22 points and his 6 assists stand out as well.  Irving said he played off their energy, the same energy they played with in the Final Four.

Pressure defense forces turnovers

Coach Krzyzewski loved the fact that Duke forced a methodical Princeton team into 27 turnovers which was the most since 2009.  He said all along that Duke could press this year and trust me, Princeton is a well coached team that will never have that many turnovers again this season.

Cal Ripkin Jr. was in the house

The Baltimore Oriole's legend Cal Ripkin Jr. took in the action tonight along with his wife and son.  It was obvious that he enjoyed the game.  Being an Orioles fan I would have killed for an autograph but media protocol is something I adhere to.  It was still cool to see one of my two favorite players of all time.

Zoubs beard still casts a shadow

Big ole Brian Zoubek took in the action and he got a pretty good cheer from the Crazies.  Steve Johnson was there too and after my typo on twitter I cannot tell you what the Crazies were cheering about him.

Coming clean on the typo

As many of you know, we tweet observations from the game in Cameron and some road contests.  I thought I typed Duke shot 40 something percent in the first half.  The thing is that the "i" and "o" keys are beside each other and I can get in a rush with overloaded senses from being in Cameron.  Hey, I'm human!  Sign up for BDN Twitter and get lots of royal blue updates.

Marshall Plumlee and Rodney Purvis in the house

Future Blue Devil Marshall Plumlee and top prospect Rodney Purvis were behind the Duke bench tonight.  For more on recruiting, come off a few ducks and join BDN Premium where we will overload your senses with royal blue information.

Another sell out

Duke has sold out 306 consecutive home openers but that streak would be a lot longer if .... I bet you didn't know that game came in the Bobby Hurley area versus Boston College who at that time was not in the ACC.  The game was part of the pre season NIT and the Duke powers that be made the game a separate ticket from the season ticket package, meaning you had to buy it on your own.  As it turns out there were about 700 or so unsold seats due to many not knowing of their availability.  In short, had the tickets been part ff the season ticket package, that streak would be a lot longer.  BDN was on the scene back then too.  Check back in for more game coverage, but until then here are Coach K's post game comments vis BDN Audio -

Coach K's press conference comments -

Duke Women's Basketball

Duke Women Defeat BYU 69-54 in Season Opener

The Duke defense held BYU to 27.9% from the field and won their opener 69-54

DURHAM - The fifth ranked Duke Women's team settled in after a slow start to defeat a pesky Brigham Young team 69-54 in the season opener for both teams.  Karima Christmas led the way offensively for the Blue Devils tallying 20 points to go with 7 rebounds.

Jasmine Thomas started the game 0-7 from the field but hit the first two buckets of the second half and the rest of the Blue Devils played off her spirited play. Thomas finished the game with 14 points and scurried her way to a team high 11 rebounds.

Duke opened up a double digit lead early in the half, but BYU refused to fold cutting the lead to 6 with just over 12 minutes to go. But Chloe Wells and Jasmine Thomas sparked a run and suddenly Duke was up 60-43 with 4:04 to go.  That sealed the deal for Duke who coasted to a win after wearing down the visitor.

The Blue Devils dominated the paint where they out-rebounded the Cougars by a 52-37 margin and 28-2 scoring edge.  Duke also got help from Kathleen Scheer who scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.  She switched positions in the off season and looks at home in the power forward slot for Coach P's team.

Sidebar -The Blue Devils are nursing several injuries and Shay Selby sat out the contest.  Coach P was pleased with her teams defensive effort during the post game press conference and the play of true freshman Chloe Wells.  Duke next takes on Southern Cal this coming Monday in Cameron Indoor Stadium with seat available.  Coach P said that aggressive play and making things happen would earn players time on a deep team.  Coach also said that Duke will be better against the press as the season progresses and that she was excited about this teams potential.

Game Notes - Duke won it's 19th straight season opener and improved to 2-0 all time against BYU.  Jasmine Thomas posted her third career double-double.  Kathleen Scheer got her first collegiate start and had a career high 8 boards.  Chloe Wells and was the first Duke freshman since Abby Waner to start as a true freshman.  Karima Christmas scored 20 or more points for the 4th time in her career.  All five members of the #1 rated recruiting class played in the game for the Blue Devils.

Duke Football

Boston College holds off Duke rally and gain 21-16 win

Vernon hauled in 12 passes for 134 yards, but Duke falls short at home against Boston College - Lance Images for BDN

DURHAM - The long out stretched arm of Boston College DE Max Holloway batted down a Sean Renfree pass intended for Conner Vernon on 4th down and the play sealed a 21-16 win for the Eagles.  It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Blue Devils who were energized by a 95 yard fumble return by true freshman August Campbell for a score.

That play now stands alone in the record books as the longest fumble return for a touchdown in Duke Football History.  Duke then held Boston College twice after that on defense and got the ball back on their 37 yard line and started a 12 play 59 yard drive, but it ended at the four yard line where Duke turned the ball over on downs and that allowed the Eagles to come out with a close win.

Chase Retting threw two touchdown passes for the Eagles while Sean Renfree went 35 of 49 for 285 yards. , but no scores.  The Eagles defense held Duke to just 4 yards rushing but nine Duke wideouts caught passes led by Conner Vernon who had 12 catches for 134 yards.

They scored again on another Retting pass to Ifeanyi Momah putting them ahead 21-6 and the game suddenly seemed out of reach until August Campbell's big play.  After all, the Eagles were about to score again before that play but Duke swung the momentum back their way but just couldn't close the deal.

The loss knocks Duke out of bowl contention and they next travel to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech before finishing the season against North Carolina in Durham.  Duke dropped to 3-7 on the season while Boston College climbed even at 5-5.
Cutcliffe post game comments (just press play) -

We'll have more on the game and a look ahead in our weekly Sunday Quarterback article.

Duke Football

BDN’s Boston College at Duke Football Preview

Boston College is looking to shut down the Duke recieving corps - BDN Photo, Rick Crank

The Blue Devils (3-6, 1-4 ACC) host an unfamiliar ACC opponent on Saturday in Boston College (4-5, 2-4 ACC). The game will be televised on espn3.com, but tickets are still available from the Duke Ticket Office for local fans. The festivities will begin at 9:45 AM with the Blue Devil Walk, and the game will kickoff at 12 noon in Wallace Wade Stadium. BDN breaks down the ACC matchup between two teams riding 2-game winning streaks after struggling early.

Duke in Week 10

The Blue Devils outlasted the Virginia Cavaliers, 55-48 in a thriller last Saturday in Durham. Keith Payne scored for UVA with 2:28 remaining to give the Cavaliers a 48-47 lead. Sean Renfree led the Blue Devils on an impressive comeback drive, including a clutch 4th and 18 conversion to Donovan Varner to put the Blue Devils into field goal territory with under a minute remaining. The role of hero was played by Desmond Scott, who had fumbled earlier in the 4th quarter. With 40 seconds remaining, the sophomore took the handoff for a 35-yard diving touchdown run along the Duke sideline. The Duke defense managed to hold off the Cavaliers in the final 40 seconds to seal the 55-48 victory. Defensively, Duke gave up over 600 total yards to Virginia, as QB Marc Verica, RB Keith Payne and WR Dontrelle Inman all had big days for the Cavaliers. CB Ross Cockrell hauled in two interceptions and S Walt Canty added a third, as the Blue Devils won the turnover battle 3-1. For Duke, the QB tandem of Renfree and Brandon Connette scored four touchdowns on the ground while adding 259 yards through the air. TE Cooper Helfet led the Duke receivers with a touchdown and over 100 yards receiving.

Boston College in Week 10

The Eagles traveled to Winston Salem and came away with a 23-13 win over Wake Forest last Saturday. Boston College jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after an interception and a 26-yard touchdown run by RB Montel Harris. The game was dominated by the Boston College defense, which forced 5 turnovers on the day and held the Demon Deacons to just 69 yards rushing. Harris continued his All-ACC caliber year with a big day on the ground, which included 36 carries for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns. Freshman QB Chase Rettig was 12/16 for 133 yards with 2 interceptions. The Eagles finished the day just 3/12 on 3rd downs and also had an extra point blocked, but the defense was able to contain the Demon Deacons.

Analysis

The Duke offense seems to have hit its stride the past two weeks, moving the ball with relative ease both through the air and on the ground, but will face a stiff test on Saturday against the Boston College defense. The Eagles are loaded with playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, led by All-American LB Mark Herzlich. Sophomore LB Luke Kuechly leads the nation in tackles with 125, for an average of 13.9 per game. Senior Alex Albright anchors the defensive front and ranks among the ACC leaders in sacks and tackles for loss. Junior CB Donnie Fletcher and sophomore CB Jim Noel have hauled in 9 interceptions between them. Overall, the defensive unit leads the country with 17 interceptions, and ranks 3rd in the country against the run, giving up just 82 yards per game on the ground.

Offensively, the Eagles have relied heavily on junior RB Montel Harris, who leads the ACC in rushing and ranks just outside the top 10 nationally at 113 yards per game. His workload has increased of late, carrying over 35 times in each of the last two games, both Boston College victories. At QB, the Eagles are less established, with a true freshman in Chase Rettig starting under center. For the season, the freshman has thrown for 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions with a 53% completion percentage in 5 career starts. His favorite targets on the year have been fellow freshman Bobby Swigert and Johnathan Coleman. The key for the Eagles has been the play of their offensive line, and with multiple starters expected to miss Saturday’s game, they will have to piece together a unit to block for Harris and protect their freshman signal-caller. In all, Boston College ranks last in the conference in points per game and last in 3rd down conversions.

This is a matchup that pretty much features strength against strength and weakness against weakness. The Eagles rank last in the ACC in scoring offense, but Duke ranks last in the ACC in scoring defense. Duke has struggled to run the ball this season, while the Eagles are third in the country in defending the run. Boston College has given up some yards through the air, but has also pulled down 17 interceptions; interceptions have really cost the Blue Devils in their losses this season. Boston College should be able to have success running the ball against a porous Duke defense, but the Blue Devils should also be able to move the ball through the air against the Eagles.

Keys to the game for Duke:

  1. 1. Sean Renfree vs. the BC defense: Boston College will try to pressure the Blue Devils into turnovers, and the sophomore QB cannot add to the Eagles’ NCAA-leading interception total.
  2. 2. Montel Harris vs. the Duke defense: Duke will have to find a way to slow down Harris enough to force BC into passing situations, where they rank last in the ACC in 3rd down conversions. Duke will look for big plays from the likes of Abraham Kromah, Kelby Brown, Charlie Hatcher, and Matt Daniels to keep Boston College’s dynamic rusher under wraps.
  3. 3. Special teams: Duke should have an advantage on special teams, where BC ranks near the bottom of the conference in kick and punt returns. Big plays on special teams will take some pressure off the Duke offense and good kick coverage will leave the Eagles with a long field.

Prediction

Boston College will look to get out to an early lead against the Blue Devils and then rely on their stingy defense to force turnovers and keep the Blue Devils out of the end zone. Duke will have its hands full trying to contain Montel Harris, and will have to pressure Rettig to force stops on 3rd down. If Renfree and the Blue Devils can continue to roll offensively, it may be difficult for the Eagles and their young QB to keep up.

Duke 31
Boston College 30

Duke Football

Q & A Exchange with BC Interruption on Duke vs Boston College

Lance Images for BDN

On Saturday, Boston College will make their first trip to Wallace Wade Stadium to face the Blue Devils. With both teams riding two game winning streaks, Blue Devil Nation and Boston College Interruption exchanged questions to get reacquainted. Our answers can be found at the BC Interruption blog.

BDN: Many predicted Boston College to finish near the top of a seemingly wide-open Atlantic division this season. What were your expectations heading into this season for Frank Spaziani's 2nd year, and how would you evaluate the season thus far? What went wrong during the 5 game losing streak, and what has been the difference the last two weeks?

BCI: Many predicted BC to finish near the top of the Atlantic Division this year, true. And because we are homers, we figured BC would actually win the Atlantic Division heading into the season. Things seemed to line up perfectly for the Eagles. We got back our All-American ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Herzlich, who missed the entire 2009 season battling Ewing’s Sarcoma. We had four home games to start the season, and an extra week to prepare for our Coastal Division rivals Virginia Tech. From the Coastal Division, BC drew both Duke and Virginia. The pieces seemed to be in place to have a run at the Division title with a record of 9-3 or 10-2.

This season has been a big disappointment. While BC can still eke out 3 more wins to finish the season 7-5, I don’t think anyone really expected us to have that record when the season began. Certainly we didn’t expect to go through a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season as recent history has certainly been kind to the Eagles.

The difference the last two weeks was a combination of things. One is the schedule lightened up a bit. The other is that BC finally settled on a quarterback after giving Dave Shinskie the keys to the offense for the first three games of the season.

BDN: After helping Boston College to 8 wins in his first year, Dave Shinskie has been replaced by freshman Chase Rettig. Can you elaborate on the quarterback situation and give us a brief scouting report on Rettig's college career so far?

BCI: The short of it is that the BC coaching staff thought Dave Shinskie would at least be serviceable this year and that they could save Chase Rettig, arguably the future of the program, for another year by redshirting him. Through the first three games of the season, it became very clear the neither Shinskie nor Mike Marscovetra was the long-term answer for BC.

BC started Chase Rettig after the 19-0 loss to Virginia Tech, against Notre Dame on Saturday night in primetime. Basically, the coaching staff through Rettig to the fire on a week where we had a non-conference game before we entered into a stretch of five ACC Atlantic Division games that would quickly decide whether the Eagles would compete again for an Atlantic Division title. We liked what we saw from Rettig in the Notre Dame game. That is, the few snaps he took before leaving that game with an ankle injury.

Rettig didn’t play the following week at N.C. State, but did get his next start at Florida State. Rettig has played well and is slowly progressing as the week’s go by. It also helps that the competition has lessened as the Eagles have progressed through the season.

As Rettig gets more and more in-game experience, he’ll continue to develop with the offensive line and our very young, inexperienced receiving corps. He’s shown some progress and glimpses of brilliance at QB, but other times he’s certainly played like a kid who was playing high school ball last fall.

BDN: Montel Harris is obviously having an All-ACC caliber year, leading the conference in rushing yards. His workload has seemingly increased as the season has progressed, with over 30 carries in each of his last two games. How much of the offensive load is he carrying and how can anyone slow him down?

BCI: Montel Harris is indeed carrying a bulk of the offensive load. I think the combination of very tall offensive linemen and a small, shifty running back has been very successful for BC. By the time opposing linebackers spot Montel, he’s usually already broken through the defensive line, allowing him to gain 4-5 yards a run. Harris has good football instincts and can find the gaps in the line, though BC has been less effective spreading the field and running around the corner and much more effective running north-south.

Early in the season, the Boston College offensive line struggled to establish the run (or the pass, for that matter). They’ve just started to put things together. When the O-line is on their A-game, it becomes very difficult to stop Montel. The only hope opposing defenses have is to stack the box, try to take away the run and ask Rettig to beat you through the air.

BDN: Boston College is seemingly always among the defensive leaders in the ACC and the country. With talented and physical players like Albright, Kuechly, and Herzlich, how much of the success to you attribute to personnel and how much is scheme? How would you characterize the general defensive philosophy these Boston College teams seem to embrace?

BCI: There are two things that I think has made the BC defense so successful over the years. One thing is consistency. Spaziani is a great defensive mind and has been on the Heights for 13 seasons now. While he’s now HC, he still very much has his hands on the defensive side of the ball, and our new defensive coordinator Billy McGovern has been afforded the opportunity to work with Spaz for many seasons now.

Spaz has been able to build up one of the best defenses in the country over the past decade and I think that brand equity has been huge on the recruiting trail. There are clearly some inherent disadvantages to college football recruiting at a school like BC or Duke, and I think the fact that Spaz has established BC as a very strong defensive team has been huge for the program in recruiting.

The other thing I would point to is BC’s recruiting pipelines. Like I said, a BC or a Duke isn’t going to recruit the best athletes on the defensive side of the ball, but BC has been able to establish some very nice pipelines that continue to bring in very good defensive players. The Cincinnati / Ohio pipeline is one that Tom O’Brien worked to establish in the early 2000s that is still paying off to this day. (That’s where BC found tackling machine and sophomore LB Luke Kuechly). I think BC’s annual game against a MAC opponent and the ties to Catholic high schools in the area have helped develop this pipeline, too.

As for whether or not the success is a result of personnel or scheme, I think it’s a bit of both. Spaz and the Eagles D employs a ‘bend-but-don’t-break’ mentality. They give up the short-yardage plays but rarely give up the HR play. Eventually, the offense is going to get tripped up on third downs and be forced to punt. It’s been successful for over a decade now, and has been the most successful against the run. The Eagles defenses continue to rank in the Top 25 (and Top 10 this year and the past few years) in rushing defense.

BDN: Duke and Boston College last met in 2006, which is the only time the teams have played since the 1920s, so these teams do not know each other well. What do you expect to see on Saturday from Duke and Boston College?

BCI: I pretty much expect a repeat of last Saturday’s BC performance. Establish the run and control the tempo of the game on offense with a heavy dose of Montel Harris. I don’t think OC Gary Tranquill will ask Chase Rettig to do too, too much, daring the Duke front seven to stop the run first.

I think BC will get a couple of touchdowns on the ground with Montel and will probably score some points on defense too (BC is tied with Florida for a nation-best 17 interceptions on the season). I think Duke will put up more points than Wake Forest did, but I don’t think it will come anywhere close to the point total you guys have put up against the bottom tier of the ACC (read: Wake Forest and Virginia). If pressed for a final score, I’ll say BC wins 31-20.