Duke vs Utah Game Notes

NCAA71 Duke (31-4, 15-3 ACC) vs. 5 Utah (26-8, 13-5 Pac-12)

Friday, March 27, 2015 • 9:45 p.m. (EST) • CBS

Houston, Texas • NRG Stadium

The Opening Tip

• Duke (31-4, 15-3) faces Utah (26-8, 13-5 Pac-12) Friday, March 27 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Tipoff is set for 9:45 p.m. (EST) with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson calling the action for CBS.

• The Blue Devils were tabbed the No. 1 seed in the South Region. Duke has received a No. 1 seed 13 times, second-most in NCAA Tournament history.

• Duke is 101-34 (.748) all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including an 84-26 (.763) mark under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

• The Blue Devils enter Friday’s game ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Duke is 77-15 (.837) overall when ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll.

• Duke has seven wins against the rest of the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 field with five of the seven wins coming by 10 points or more.

• Duke is 7-2 on the year against ranked opponents, including a 4-1 mark against teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.

• The Blue Devils are 4-4 in NCAA Tournament play in the state of Texas, including a 3-1 mark in Houston (2-0 at NRG Stadium in 2010).

Last Time out

• Duke recorded a 68-49 win over San Diego State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 24th time in program history.

• Jahlil Okafor scored 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field and added six rebounds, two assists and three blocks in the win.

• Justise Winslow filled the stat sheet with 13 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and four steals. He has collected 10 or more rebounds in each of the past three games.

• Quinn Cook added 15 points and five rebounds against the Aztecs.

• Duke shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the field as Okafor, Winslow and Cook combined to go 24-of-39 (.615) from the floor.

By the numbers

• Mike Krzyzewski has guided Duke to 14 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances in the past 18 years, most in the NCAA. The Blue Devils were 14-1 in the Round of 32 in that span.

• Jahlil Okafor is averaging 23.5 points on 77.8 percent (21-of-27) shooting through two NCAA Tournament games. He is the first Duke freshman to score 20 or more points in his first two NCAA Tournament contests. Dahntay Jones (2003) was the last Blue Devil to scored 20 or more points in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

• Quinn Cook is averaging a career-high 15.8 points per game while also posting career bests in field goal percentage (.460), three-point percentage (.407), three-point field goals (2.86 3pg.) and free throw percentage (.891).

• Duke is the only team in the NCAA with three freshmen averaging double figures in scoring. Jahlil Okafor (18.1 ppg.), Justise Winslow (12.1 ppg.) and Tyus Jones (11.4 ppg.) combine for 41.6 points per game (51.7 percent of Duke scoring). The trio has combined for 40 or more points in a game 21 times this season.

• A freshman has led the Blue Devils in scoring in 25 of 35 games. Jahlil Okafor has paced the offensive attack 14 times, while Tyus Jones (7), Justise Winslow (3) and Grayson Allen (1) have also led Duke in scoring. The rookie class has also accounted for 24 of Duke’s 31 20-point games on the year (Okafor 14, Jones 6, Winslow 3, Allen 1).

• Jahlil Okafor leads the ACC and ranks second nationally with a .677 field goal percentage (260-of-384). He has shot 70 percent or better from the field 20 times on the year. Okafor’s field goal percentage is second-best in Duke history, trailing only Christian Laettner’s .723 (115-of-159) field goal percentage as a freshman in 1989.

• Quinn Cook has made at least one three-point field goal in each of the past 45 games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in ACC history. He is shooting 41.1 percent (122-of-297) from behind the arc in that stretch. Cook has an ACC-high 100 three-point field goals this season.

• Duke’s starting backcourt of Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones has combined to shoot 88.7 percent (204-of-230) from the free throw line. The remaining six players in the Duke rotation are 301-of-501 (.601) from the charity stripe.

• Justise Winslow is averaging 14.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.2 percent (85-of-154) from the field, including 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from three-point range, over the past 16 games.

• Tyus Jones leads the Blue Devils in assists (203) and steals (53). Tommy Amaker (1984), Bobby Hurley (1990) and Jason Williams (2000) are the only Blue Devils to lead the team in both categories as freshmen. Jones, Hurley and Williams are the only Duke freshmen to record at least 200 assists and 50 steals in a season.

• Justise Winslow has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in each of the past three games and is now averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. He is looking to become the second player 6-6 or under to average 6.0 rpg. under Coach K. Chris Carrawell averaged 6.1 rpg. in 1999-2000.

• Duke is playing its 289th consecutive game as a ranked team in the AP Poll. The Blue Devils are 239-49 (.830) in that span.

• Duke has shot 50 percent or better from the field 18 times, including both NCAA Tournament games. The Blue Devils are shooting 58.7 percent (64-of-109) from the field in NCAA Tournament play and are one of three teams in the NCAA shooting over 50 percent on the year.