Yearly Archives: 2011

Duke Basketball

Duke vs Washington in Carquest Auto Parts Classic Game Notes

Game 10 • CARQUEST Auto Parts Classic

[7 AP / 5 Coaches] Duke (8-1) vs. Washington (4-3)

Saturday, December 10, 2011 • 12:00 p.m. (ET) • CBS

The Opening Tip

• Duke (8-1) faces Washington (4-3) on Saturday, Dec. 10 in the CARQUEST Auto Parts Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tipoff is set for 12:00 p.m. (ET). The second game of the event features a matchup between Pittsburgh and Oklahoma State

• The game will be televised by CBS with Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Clark Kellogg (analyst) calling the contest.

• Duke is ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Washington is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 73-20 all-time when ranked seventh in the AP Poll.

• Duke is playing at Madison Square Garden for the second time this season. The Blue Devils topped Michigan State, 74-69, on Nov. 15 in the State Farm Champions Classic.

• The Blue Devils have won 13 of their last 15 games at Madison Square Garden.

Duke-Washington Series

• Duke leads the all-time series, 4-1, including a 3-1 mark under Mike Krzyzewski.

• Duke has won the last three games in the series. The Blue Devils have an average margin of victory 12.7 points per game in that span.

• The first two games in the series were both decided by two points, while Duke has won each of the last three contests by 10 or more points.

• Saturday’s game is the second neutral site meeting in the all-time series. Washington topped Duke, 80-78, in the 1984 NCAA Tournament.

Duke vs. the Pac 12

• Duke is 29-19 all-time against teams currently in the Pacific 12 conference.

• The Blue Devils are 20-11 against Pac 12 teams under Coach K.

• Duke has won seven of the last eight meetings against Pac 12 teams.

Numbers Game

l Duke is 26-15 all-time, including a 21-7 mark under Mike Krzyzewski, at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils are making their second appearance of the season at MSG and have now played at the venue in 10 straight seasons.

l Duke is 34-2 in neutral site contests since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Blue Devils have won one NCAA Championship, three ACC titles and four in-season tournaments in that span.

l The Blue Devils have won 15 consecutive non-postseason (ACC & NCAA Tournaments excluded) neutral site contests.

l Duke has won 12 straight games in December with 10 of those wins coming by double digits.

l The Blue Devils are 51-3 in December games since the 2001-02 season and are 168-26 all-time in the month under Mike Krzyzewski.

l Mason Plumlee became the fourth player in Duke history with 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and four or more blocks and steals in a game on Wednesday against Colorado State. He finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in the contest.

l Austin Rivers has led the team in scoring in five of the last six contests. He is averaging a team-high 17.3 points per game in that span, while shooting 46.8 percent (37-of-79) from the field and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point range.

l Mason Plumlee is averaging 12.2 points per game, while attempting just 7.6 shots per contest. He is shooting 64.7 percent (44-of-68) from the field with 16 dunks on the year.

l Seth Curry has made a three-point field goal in all nine games this season with two or more threes in six contests. Curry ranks fifth in the ACC in three-point percentage (.462) and tied for eighth in threes per game (2.0).

l Mason and Miles Plumlee combined for 25 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots in Wednesday’s win over Colorado State. The brother tandem finished the game 11-of-13 (.846) from the field with four dunks.

l Andre Dawkins knocked down three three-point field goals against Colorado State and now ranks fourth in the ACC in threes per game (2.2). Dawkins is averaging 1.8 treys per game over the last two seasons with 24 games with two or more made threes.

l Duke is averaging 26.8 free throw attempts per game. Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers share the team lead at 5.8 free throw attempts per contest.

l The Blue Devils had 10 players log at least 10 minutes of action against Colorado State on Wednesday. Duke has seven players averaging over 15 minutes per game on the year.

l Duke is shooting 50.0 percent (236-of-472) from the field with the Plumlees leading the way with a combined .641 field goal percentage (66-of-103).

Duke Basketball

Duke will rebound against Colorado State

The Duke Basketball team takes to the court for the first time tonight after their loss to Ohio State in Columbus where they'll face Colorado State in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  The Rams come in 5-3, having recently lost to Northern Iowa, a likely NCAA Tournament team by a score of 83-77.  The Blue Devils (7-1) are coming off some nice road wins before dropping a 20 plus point drubbing to #2 ranked Ohio State.

Wes Eikmeir leads the Rams averaging 17.5 ppg from the guard spot.  The junior is a player that the Blue Devils will certainly focus on and that will shift the load to fellow junior guard Dorian Green, who knocked down 21 points in a road loss to a tough Northern Iowa team.  Statistically, the teams are fairly even but Duke will look to improve on their rebounding totals which took a hit against the Buckeyes.

In the last outing, only Austin Rivers and Mason Plumlee played consistently and you can bet that players have been challenged to step up.  Look for some changes in the line up but nothing too earth shattering for some of the Blue Devils regulars which rode the bench in the last outing late in the game, are still the best bets for success.

It is thought by many that Quinn Cook will get a shot at the point guard spot, shifting Seth Curry off ball with Austin Rivers.  But Tyler Thornton will be in the mix as well.  For Cook to succeed, he will need to show better court awareness and make good quick decisions.  The problem in some respects have been turnovers from the distributors and getting the ball to shooters in good position, so all eyes will be glued to progress in this area.

I still feel Austin Rivers is on the verge of big things and of all the players on the team, he has the most potential to raise his assists by hitting the open men on the wings off drives.  And Mason Plumlee is playing like an All ACC player and showing off his game as he is coming into his own as a junior.

The Blue Devils will now try to extend their 89-game home non-conference winning streak and should come away with their 90th consecutive.  One thing is certain, that being you will see the Blue Devils play with a wreckless abandon wanting to get the past of their first loss out of their mouth.  While I certainly don'te expect the Rams to lay down, I do expect them to get worn down as the game goes on.  Again, this team is better than some fans might think who are demanding a blowout for redemption, still when the dust clears, I too see a good effort and an 85-64 win.

Duke Basketball

Colorado State at Duke Game Notes

• Game 9 •

[7 AP / 5 Coaches] Duke (7-1) vs. Colorado State (5-3)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011 • 7:02 p.m. (ET) • ESPN2

The Opening Tip

• Duke (7-1) faces Colorado State (5-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is set for 7:02 p.m. (ET).

• The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) calling the contest.

• Duke is ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Colorado State is unranked in both polls.

• Duke is playing its first game in seven days after playing eight games over a 19-day stretch to start the season.

• The Blue Devils are playing in front of a sellout crowd for the ninth straight game to open the season. Wednesday’s game is also the 327th straight sellout at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

• Duke, coming off its first loss of the season, has not lost back-to-back games since losing on Feb. 11, 2009 and Feb. 15, 2009.

Duke-Colorado State Series

• Duke leads the all-time series, 1-0, with a 67-57 win over Colorado State on March 20, 2003 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Duke vs. the Mountain West

• Duke is 7-3 all-time against teams currently in the Mountain West conference.

• The Blue Devils are 5-1 against Mountain West teams under Coach K.

• Duke has won five straight games against Mountain West teams.

• Krzyzewski’s only loss to a Mountain West opponent came in the 1990 NCAA Championship game against UNLV.

• Nine of Duke’s 10 games against Mountain West teams have been at neutral sites.

• Duke topped San Diego State, 92-79, on Dec. 29, 2001 in a Mountain West team’s only other trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Numbers Game

l Duke has won 89 straight non-conference home games, the longest current streak in the NCAA. The last home loss against a non-conference opponent for the Blue Devils was on Feb. 26, 2000 against St. John’s, 83-82.

l The Blue Devils have won 83 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium against unranked non-conference opponents.

l Duke is 53-1 at home since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Blue Devils went 17-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in each of the past two seasons.

l The Blue Devils have won 39 consecutive games in Cameron Indoor Stadium with 33 of the victories coming by 10 or more points.

l Duke has won 45 consecutive games against teams outside the traditional power conferences (Big Ten, Big East, SEC, ACC, PAC 10, Big 12).

l The Blue Devils have won 30 of their last 33 non-conference contests. Duke is 58-7 in non-league games since the start of the 2008-09 season.

l Duke has not lost back-to-back games since February of 2009. The Blue Devils are 11-0 following a loss in that span.

l The Blue Devils have posted a double-digit win following each of their last eight losses (does not include season-ending losses) dating back to December of the 2009-10 season.

l Duke has won 11 straight games in December with nine of those wins coming by double digits.

l The Blue Devils are 50-3 in December games since the 2001-02 season and are 167-26 all-time in the month under Mike Krzyzewski.

l Austin Rivers has led the team in scoring in four of the last five contests. He is averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game in that span.

l Mason Plumlee continues to be one of the most efficient players in the ACC, averaging 12.0 points per game while attempting just 7.6 shots per contest. He is shooting 62.3 percent from the field with 13 dunks on the year.

l Ryan Kelly has scored in double figures in six of Duke’s eight games this season. Duke is 15-0 when Kelly scores 10 or more points in a contest.

l Seth Curry has made a three-point field goal in all eight games this season with two or more threes in six contests. Curry ranks third in the ACC in three-point percentage (.500) and tied for fifth in threes per game (2.1).

l Duke is averaging 26.6 free throw attempts per game. Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers share the team lead at 5.8 free throw attempts per contest.

l Mike Krzyzewski was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year on Monday becoming the third college men’s basketball coach to earn the honor. Tennessee’s Pat Summitt was named Sportswomen of the Year by the publication as well.

Duke Basketball

Monday Musings – Taking a look ahead at the Duke schedule, Plumlee, Rivers and Okafor

Cheerleader of the Week

Good Monday morning to you Blue Devil Nation!  It's time for another Monday Musings column from BDN where we take a peek at the coming schedule, talk of Plumlee, Rivers and Okafor and of course have this weeks Cheerleader of the Week -

So, Duke made it to the title game and lost, sort of ...

I like to look at the Blue Devils 7-1 record to date like an NCAA test run.  Duke won a nail biter against a tough and veteran Belmont team in a game that simulates NCAA Tournament play to start the season.  They then took out Michigan State in New York and returned home to defeat a solid Davidson team.  In Hawaii, they rolled through Tennessee, Michigan and Kansas.  Duke then got handled easily at Ohio State, but to make too much of a big deal out of that game would be a mistake.  Duke has 6 solid NCAA Tournament resume building wins.  From a teaching standpoint, the loss at Ohio State gave the staff a chance to rethink some things and you can bet that Krzyzewski will tinker with his rotation.  For whatever reason, a lot of the Duke players just didn't show up for that game be it fatigue or just not being prepared to play in a hostile environment.   There are no excuses for the loss, no matter the perceived culprit but one can't help but note that the Buckeyes, unlike the Blue Devils had yet to play a game outside of Columbus.  What I am saying is despite this loss, the season has been a good one to date for a young team still learning itself.

Enter the next stretch, the Holiday games

It all starts with a 5-3 Colorado State team coming in this Wednesday and it ends with Penn on New Years Eve.  Coach Krzyzewski likes to break down his schedule into mini seasons or tournaments.  I'm sure his take on which games are included could vary greatly from mine, but the Holiday games generally come against the lightest competition on the remainder of the schedule.   Duke does take on a good Washington team in New York, but Cameron is home with UNC-G, Western Michigan and Penn.  While the team must muster up emotion with most of the students and band gone, there should be little trouble in handling all of the home games.  Yes, I know you take them one at a time, but even Washington, the best of the bunch in this stretch is no match for the Blue Devil in New York, a home away from home for Duke.  And then comes ....

Temple, the next tough road test

We'll see what the Blue Devils learned in the Ohio State loss, for the Owls will be lying in wait with their best effort.  See, that's another thing to keep in mind, is that Duke gets every teams best shot for the four letters on the jersey make players, coaches and teams give their best effort.  Anyhow, we'll stop looking ahead now, but Duke should be 12-1 going into Philadelphia.

Mason Plumlee

The junior center is coming into his own this season, having established himself as not only one of the ACC's top big men, but the nation as well.  Plumlee has been consistent and was one player who certainly showed he belonged on the court at Ohio State.  He showed well against Jared Sullinger on a night when his teammates seemed lost.  Plumlee will need to bring that effort every night for the Blue Devils to make a run come March.

Austin Rivers

Young Rivers is just starting to get the college game and he is showing flashes of really breaking out.  The game seems to be slowing down for him now and that is a good sign for he's had to make a big adjustment at the college level where all the players on the court are good.  His decision making is getting better and his assists should go up when he realize defenses will key on him or collapse on drives.  Rivers got questions about him being overrated in some media columns.  I snicker when I think that and those who wrote that will soon be eating crow.  Austin Rivers is just too good to not have the light go off at this level.

Redshirt chatter

Arm chair coaches amaze me when they get upset that Duke might redshirt certain players.  Nevermind a coach that has the most wins in all of history, for some will always know what is better and throw out their lack of trust in message board forums.  It's one of the reasons I rarely read message boards anymore, for the discussions are so often ridiculous in nature.  I for one trust in Coach K and his staffs judgement.  For those waiting for redshirts to be officially announced, I hope you packed your lunch for it will not happen.  However, expect Marshall Plumlee to be one provided there aren't a rash of injuries forcing him into action.  Now, Alex Murphy seems to be in the same boat and while he'd be more likely to play than Plum 3, the plan is to sit him the rst of the year, unless again, there are injuries.  Second guessing the decision of the staff is fair game for sure but silly in nature for this has been something they have sat down and given meticulous thought to before coming to the decision.

Jahlil Okafor visit

Okafor is in the class of 2014, but his size of 6-8 and 260 makes him a hot commodity.  Okafor visited the Duke campus this past weekend for an unofficial visit.  He is one of the top ranked players in his class and is highly regarded, holding offers from Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State, Illinois, Georgetown and Ohio State.  The Blue Devils are in early on Okafor who hails from Chicago, Coach K's stomping grounds where he plays for Whitney Young High School.  He is in every rating services top five.