BDN Rapid Reaction: Georgia Tech 38, Duke 31

Matt Daniels and the Blue Devils came up short on Senior Day - BDN Photo

DURHAM- Matt Daniels and the Blue Devil seniors made their way out of the tunnel and into Wallace Wade Stadium for the final time on Saturday, but their best efforts came up just short against Georgia Tech as Duke fell 38-31. The Duke offense had success moving the ball against the Yellow Jackets, putting up 31 points and over 300 yards of total offense, but in the end, the Blue Devil defense just couldn’t stop the Ramblin’ Wreck option offense.

Duke final drive comes up short

Senior Charlie Hatcher came up with a crucial fumble recovery with 3:31 remaining in the 4th quarter to give the Blue Devils a chance, trailing by a touchdown. But two crucial penalties stalled the Blue Devils’ final drive, and ultimately led to a controversial GT interception that sealed the victory with 2 minutes remaining. Two critical plays were reviewed in the game and not overturned in the Blue Devils’ favor.

Vernon and Varner rewrite the record books

Duke senior Donovan Varner had a memorable Senior Day, adding to his lead in the Duke record books with 5 catches for 32 yards and 1 TD. Varner is Duke’s all-time receptions leader with 199. Varner also set a new Duke record with a reception in 36 straight games. Junior WR Conner Vernon is 2nd on Duke’s all-time receiving list with 196 career catches after finishing with 9 catches, 92 yards and 1 TD. On the day, Varner and Vernon became the ACC’s top all-time receiving duo, passing Clemon’s Aaron Kelly and Tyler Grisham. The duo will look to add to their records next Saturday in Chapel Hill.

Big plays haunt Blue Devils

Georgia Tech had 8 plays of 20 yards or more in just the first 3 quarters alone, as big plays continued to haunt the Blue Devil defense. After a 3 and out on the first drive of the day, the Ramblin’ Wreck moved the ball with ease against the Blue Devils. On the day, the Yellow Jackets piled up over 550 yards of total offense, led by Tevin Washington, who finished with 185 yards through the air and 136 yards on the ground. Georgia Tech was perfect in the red zone, finishing with 5 rushing touchdowns and a field goal.

Inconsistent offensive attack

Sean Renfree threw for 4 TDs and 227 yards, but was erratic at times, finishing 26/42 on the day. Duke senior TE Cooper Helfet had himself a big Senior Day, hauling in 2 TD receptions. Vernon and Varner led the Blue Devils’ receivers, but Duke struggled to get a consistent rhythm on offense, especially on the ground. Duke’s running game was led by Varner, who picked up a 39-yard run on the offense’s first play from scrimmage. The running backs failed to get going, with Desmond Scott picking up just 27 yards and Juwan Thompson just 24 yards on the day.

One shot left

Duke drops to 3-8 and will have one last shot to get to 4 wins and end their season on a high note. The Blue Devils will travel down 15-501 to Chapel Hill to take on the rival Tar Heels next Saturday at 3:30 PM. The Victory Bell will be at stake and the Blue Devils desperately need a win to gain momentum into the offsesason.

Check back with Blue Devil Nation for full postgame coverage.

Duke vs Tennessee in Maui Invitational Game Notes

Game 5 • EA Sports Maui Invitational

[6 AP / 6 Coaches] Duke (4-0) vs. Tennessee (2-0)

Monday, November 21, 2011 • 5:30 p.m. (ET) • ESPN2

The Opening Tip

• Duke (4-0) faces Tennessee (2-0) on Monday, Nov. 21 at the Lahaina Civic Center in a second round game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (ET).

• The game is being televised by ESPN2 with Dave O’Brien (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) calling the action.

• Duke is ranked No. 6 in both the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Tennessee is unranked in both polls.

• Duke topped Belmont, 77-76, in its first round game of the Maui Invitational, while Tennessee defeated UNC Greensboro, 92-63, in its regional site game. The tournament expanded its field to have on-campus first round games in 2011.

• The Blue Devils are 13-0 all-time in the Maui Invitational, including a 12-0 mark at the Lahaina Civic Center. Duke has won Maui Invitational titles in 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2007.

Duke-Tennessee Series

• The Duke-Tennesse all-time series is tied 7-7 entering Monday’s contest.

• All 14 games in the series were played prior to Mike Krzyzewski taking over as head coach at Duke with the first contest being played in 1911.

• Duke has won five of the last seven games in the series.

• Seven of the 14 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

Duke vs. the SEC

• Duke is 113-58 all-time against teams currently in the Southeastern Conference.

• Under Mike Krzyzewski, Duke is 21-7 against the SEC.

• The Blue Devils are playing their first SEC opponent since falling to LSU, 62-54, in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

Numbers Game

l Duke is 12-0 all-time at the Lahaina Civic Center with nine of the victories coming by 10 or more points.

l Duke is 31-2 in neutral site contests since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Blue Devils have won one NCAA Championship, three ACC titles and three in-season tournaments in that span.

l The Blue Devils have won 12 consecutive non-postseason (ACC & NCAA Tournaments excluded) neutral site contests.

l The Blue Devils have won 27 of their last 29 non-conference contests. Duke is 55-6 in non-league games since the start of the 2008-09 season.

l Duke has won 32 consecutive games in November, dating back to a 73-62 loss to Marquette in the championship game of the 2006 CBE Classic. The Blue Devils are 112-10 all-time in the month of November under Coach K.

l Duke is 100-28 all-time when ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. The Blue Devils have won seven straight games when ranked sixth overall.

l Seth Curry has scored in double figures in all four games this season and is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game. He is 10-of-17 from three-point range this season and now has 74 three-point field goals in 41 games a Blue Devil. Curry is shooting 45.1 (74-of-164) percent from behind the three-point arc in his Duke career.

l Duke is shooting 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from three-point range through four games. Seth Curry, Austin Rivers, Ryan Kelly, Tyler Thornton and Quinn Cook have each knocked down two or more three-pointers in a game this season.

l Five Blue Devils (Seth Curry, Mason Plumlee, Austin Rivers, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly) are averaging 5-10 shots per game. Curry and Rivers are attempting a team-high 9.3 shots per contest.

l Mason Plumlee is tied for fourth in the ACC in blocks at 2.3 bpg. He is one block shy of becoming the 15th player in Duke history with 100 or more career blocks.

l Duke’s post rotation of Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee combine to average 32.1 points and 20.8 rebounds per game. The trio is also shooting 59.5 percent (44-of-74) from the field on the year.

l The Blue Devils scored 42 points in the paint in Friday’s win over Davidson. Duke is averaging 29.5 points in the paint per game this season with two games with 40 or more points scoring inside the key.

l Ryan Kelly has scored in double figures in three of the four games this season. Duke is 12-0 when Kelly scores 10 or more points in a contest.

l Duke is averaging 32.0 free throw attempts per game. The Blue Devils have made 16 more free throw than their opponents have attempted.

Cincinnati Bengals’ LB Vincent Rey picks against the BDN Staff in Week 12

Andrew Slater added to his lead last week and finds himself with a two game cushion heading into the final two weeks of the college football season. With ten tough games each week, it's still anybody's ball game, but time is running out.

1. Andrew Slater
2. Bob Green -2
T-3. Patrick Cacchio -5
T-3. Guest -5
5. Mark Watson -7

The Guest picker has slowly surged back into a tie for 3rd place on the season, a testament to the quality of guests we've had join us this season. The tradition continues this week as we welcome back former Duke LB Vincent Rey. Rey has seen action in all nine games this season for the 6-3 Cincinnati Bengals. He finished his Duke career 9th all-time in tackles (330) and is the Duke all-time record holder with 3 fumbles returned for TDs. Thanks for joining us this week, Vinny!

Mark - The Blue Devils have been hit hard by inuries and they'll face the option for the first time this season. The secondary has been missing assignments of late, but it'll be the very young front that will have to be disciplined for Duke to win. Tech is beatable, just not on this day. Georgia Tech 35 Duke 21

Patrick - A year ago, the Blue Devils faced three option offenses, but this season, just one. The option offense is difficult to prepare for and with a plethora of injuries on both sides of the ball, Georgia Tech will represent a significant challenge for Duke. Duke should have success moving the ball against Georgia Tech if they stick to an aggressive gameplan; expect another big day for Duke’s “Killer V’s.” An emotional pair of seniors in Matt Daniels and Charlie Hatcher will try to will the Blue Devils’ defense to an upset victory, but the explosive Yellow Jacket offense will still find its way into the end zone. Georgia Tech 35, Duke 24

Bob - Duke has lost five games in a row and if the Blue Devils are to prevent the streak from reaching six the first step is to slow down Georgia Tech's running game. Moreover, the Duke offense must open up and score points against the ACC's top rated passing defense. It is time for Coach Cutcliffe to pull out all the stops and throw the whole playbook at Coach Johnson. With Duke's injury report listing multiple key contributors as Doubtful or Questionable, I believe the Yellow Jackets will be too tough to handle. Georgia Tech 35, Duke 21

Andrew - This should be a dangerous match-up for a reeling Duke team. Georgia Tech enjoys both one of the best passing defenses in the country and one of the most disciplined offenses in college football. Although there were definitely some positives out of last week's road game against UVA, I think the mounting Duke injuries and talent differential will prove to be too much for the Blue Devils. Georgia Tech 35, Duke 21

Vinny - Georgia tech runs the option really well, and Paul Johnson has been developing it as well. However, the Duke defense has seen the option a lot, and will play it well. Led by Matt Daniels, the defense well make crucial plays. The high-powered Duke offense will put up the points needed against the Tech team. Most importantly, Duke will win the drive-starting average, thanks to their special teams players playing fast and physical. Duke 27, Georgia Tech 21.

Blue Devils earn 82-69 win over Davidson – Coach K Video

It was a heavenly like royal blue night in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Duke Family.  As you walked up to Cameron you could see a banner hanging on the front which is of course a tribute to Mike Krzyzewski who is now the all time wins leader in NCAA Basketball history.

As the students filed in they were given Nike T-Shirts commemorating the win and they were packed in and ready to welcome their coach home.  Duke came alive in the second half and  rolled to 4-0 on the young season with an 82-69 win over Davidson and after the game Coach K, fresh of his 904th win and his family, flanked by the Duke President Richard Brodhead, Athletic Director Kevin White and former Athletic Director Tom Butters.

The celebration was great and Krzyzewski enjoyed it immensely as those truly close to him payed homage to the record setting coach.  We'll have more on that later, but for now I want to concentrate on this young Blue Devil team that is improving with each game.

A killer run was sparked by defense

Ask any experienced basketball coach and they will tell you that defense leads to offense.  After trailing at the half by a 35-34 margin, Duke went on a tear.  At the 16:42 mark of the second half the score was tied at 41 all and it looked like a very pesky Davidson team would take Duke to the wire.  In less than three minutes the Blue Devils defense locked down on the Wildcats (2-1) and that translated into a 10 point lead and Duke never looked back.  The lead would grow to 17 eventually and Duke ended up winning by a 82-69 over a very good mid major team.

Defense also helped Duke score in transition

Going into this game Duke had few breakaway plays but tonight they scored 12 points off the fast break and 18 off turnovers.  And that led to some remarkable showboat plays and dunks that got Cameron Indoor Stadium rocking.  And a lot of those transition buckets came when freshman Quinn Cook was in the game and he ended the game with 9 points and had a renewed confidence in the Duke locker room.  The bottom line is good defense leads to a lot of positive things.

Mason Plumlee is becoming one of the nations best big men

Duke will take 16 points and 13 rebounds from Mason Plumlee in any game and be happy with it.  Plumlee played with emotion and made things happen on the court tonight and he helped to get his brother, senior Miles Plumlee untracked in the second half with a pass to him for a resounding, crowd pleasing dunk.  Mason is developing has stepped up to become one of the best big men in the ACC and his consistent play has to be pleasing to the staff.

Duke was able to use their depth effectively

The Blue Devils went deep in their bench and got good production as they continue to develop the freshman.  The aforementioned Quinn Cook was very impressive as he got comfortable and now he needs to find his teammates more form the PF spot.  Krzyzewski praised him for allowing him to rest Curry.  Duke got a solid 8 minutes from Josh Hairston as well and 17 from Thornton.  But it was Ryan Kelly that stepped up big too with 3 blocked shots to go with 8 points and 5 boards.  Krzyzewski said that Kelly was playing like he did in China after getting off to a slow start in practice this season.  Duke has played 4 games in 7 days to date and by the end of the Maui trip they will have played 7 games in 12 days so that developing depth will come in handy.

More notes

Duke dominated in the paint holding a 42-24 point edge, but the rebounds were even.  The lead changed 11 times, mostly in the first half and Duke warmed up in the second half from the three point line going 4 of their 5 made attempts coming in the second half.  Coach K said what he has since the pre season in that different players would step up in different games until stars are developed. Austin Rivers tallied 17 points and showed flashes of his offensive brilliance that made him one of the nations most coveted prospects coming out of high school.  Ryan Kelly got his first start of the season. Austin Rivers played all 20 minutes in the second half

By the numbers

Duke extended it's home court victory streak to 39 , Duke has not lost in CIS since Feb. 11th of 2009.  It was the Blue Devils 89th consecutive victory over a non conference opponent at home.  Duke has had four players in double figures three times in four games.  Cook had his first two career steals and sank 4 of 5 free throws.  Curry started his 17th consecutive game and has scoreed in double figures in all of the Blue Devils games.