Sir Austin Rivers shot will be remembered for a long time to come

Players can live a lifetime and not have a storybook finish to a game, but Duke freshman Austin Rivers knocked down a three point shot as the buzzer sounded over the outstretched arms of Tyler Zeller to give Duke a 85-84 win over North Carolina.   The shot was a dagger to the heart of North Carolina and Zeller who scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.  One fan exclaimed, “Cry me a Rivers,” as the freshman sensation stunned and silenced the North Carolina crowd as the ball dropped perfectly through the net as the red light and buzzer went off.  In the backdrop, the Duke players rushed onto the court after Rivers as their parents kissed, hugged and high fiving behind the Duke bench.  Duke played with heart tonight, but Rivers was the heart of that heart.  It’s a given that he’ll be named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the seventh time this season and his performance will now have the media thinking All ACC.  Rivers knocked down an amazing 6 of 10 three pointers for a career-high 29 points, the highest point total by a Blue Devil this season and the highest by a ACC freshman. Rivers scored 16 points of his points in the second half.  His shot is being shown on ESPN Sports Center every five minutes and was of course the Play of the Day.  Do you think a few folks will be talking about Rivers around the water cooler tomorrow or on Sports Center tomorrow?  You betcha!  It was a really big shot in so many ways and it made for a happy fan base.  “Obviously this is my favorite win I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Rivers said.

The Comeback

The Blue Devils were down 13 points before outscoring North Carolina 15-4 including the last 11 points of the game.  Duke hung in the game as the Tar Heels controlled almost all of the half and good things happened.  With  2:33 left in the game Duke outscored North Carolina 13-2 hitting 5 of 7 field goals including 2 of 5 from beyond the three point stripe.  The Duke defense cause two late turnovers while protecting the ball during the stretch and amazingly, the Tar Heels were never allowed a single shot in that time.  It was one of the most amazing comebacks in the rivalries history.

Back in the saddle again

Just when it looked like Duke would be tied for fourth in the ACC standings by there next game against Maryland, a victory over their arch rival put them in a three way tie for first.  After losses to Miami and Florida State at home, winning the conference seemed like a pipe dream but it suddenly looks within reach again.  Duke also won their 20th game of the season against 4 losses and if they win Saturday in their new Nike uniforms, they’ll surely move up in the rankings and ahead of North Carolina.

Ryan Kelly cool down the stretch

Ryan Kelly tallied 15 points, 10 of those coming in the second half. Kelly scored eight points in the final 7:05, showing great poise on a short-range jumper with 14 seconds that cut North Carolina’s lead to one point at 83-82.   Kelly had his three point shot tipped in for s deuce, missed another three and recovered for the aforementioned jumper in the corner.  He made just one of his three point shot, but that was a big one on a night when every play seemed big for the table as the game ended in a joyous celebration for Duke.

 Sweet Emotion

Emotion.  Without it you cannot win.  Rivers shot, all in one motion broke the hearts of the thousands of Tar Heel fans packed into the Dean Dome, leaving the North Carolina players and staff in disbelief while sending the Blue Devils into a frenzy of emotion.  This Duke team had lost two games at home and been sold short on having a chance in this game by everybody so it is no wonder that Coach Krzyzewski showed grand emotion as did his staff.  Krzzyzewski had another one of those leaps, like he did when Nolan Smith came off the court when Duke defeated North Carolina in the ACC Tournament a season ago which makes it two in a row now for Duke in the series.   As the buzzer sounded, Krzyzewski jumped into the air, one arm raised, Chris Collins doing the same beside him and Chris Spatola doing a high jump split as they watched their team rush the court after Rivers.  Kryzyzewski proceeds to go down the court knowing he’d just seen an amazing feat as Collins makes another jump with the number one finger held high. Then Collins skies again while the refs arms are still in the air for a made three.  By that time Wojo is into the mix.  Then Krzyzewski has one jump left in him and there goes Collins again like the Energizer Bunny as his boss looks over at his players celebrating as he then goes on to shake Coach Williams hand. Okay, you caught me.  I slowed the tape down on a shot of the bench after ”the” shot.  But wasn’t that fun? 

You want more don’t you?

After Rivers knocks down the shot, he turns in that way I have seen many times on the AAU circuit, arms down, hands popped back as he runs back down to the other side of the court.  I can’t imagine what was going through his mind.  Andre Dawkins was the first to get to him as Rivers jumped in his arms.  I can hear Nolan Smith say #pause right now after that statement but bare with me … Then Seth Curry, Quinn Cook, Tyler Thornton, Ryan Kelly, Alex Murphy, Todd Zaforovski and Michel Gbinje followed by Miles Plumlee as the players knocked a smiling River to the floor.  Whew!  I got a little giddy there didn’t I?

The Duke Campus erupted after Rivers shot led Duke to an amazing win.

More statistical tidbits

So Duke gets outscored in the paint by a 42-14 margin, but they dominate the outside scoring outscoring the Tar Heels 42 to 3 from beyond the stripe.  Duke wins the  points off turnovers by a 12-8 margin as well and win the battle of second chance points by a 17-12 margin.  Duke also held the North Carolina bench to a mere 6 points while getting 15 from their own.  And finally, Duke had it’s larges lead of 8 points at the 15:06 mark in the 1st half while two ticks later art 15:08 in the 2nd half, UNC held their largest lead of 13 points.

Bob Harris gets some ESPN burn

I was so happy to see that ESPN was playing my pal, Duke play by play announcer Bob Harris calling the final seconds as Austin Rivers drove a stake in the his opponents heart.  It was another classic called by Harris who wants you to buy his book.  So do it already.

Did you know that …

Duke has now won two of the last three meetings in the Dean Smith Center. When the first Duke-North Carolina meeting of the season occurs in Chapel Hill, Duke is 5-0 since Roy Williams took over as head coach at North Carolina. With the win, Duke improved to 15-0 when playing after a loss since February, 2009. North Carolina won the battle in the paint, scoring 42 points down low to Duke’s 12, but the Blue Devils won the perimeter matchup and scored 42 points on three-pointers to North Carolina’s three. Rivers hit a career-high six three-pointers for Duke while Seth Curry hit four.  Duke led for a total of 15:40 in the first half. Beginning at the 16:48 mark in the half, Duke did not relinquish its lead until the Tar Heels tied the game 39-39 with 1:19 remaining. The Tar Heels took a 43-40 lead into halftime, and Duke did not lead again until the end of the game after Rivers’ game-winning three-pointer.

ESPN Instant Classic and Play of the Day

You can cath this game again by looking at your local ESPN listings as it was given immediate Instant Classic status.  Austin Rivers shot is running pretty much everywhere you turn as well.  Watching the replay you would swear Duke doesn’t have a chance in Hades according to the announcers but they were then stunned just like the  rest of us in one of the most amazing comeback wins in Duke history.  And of course, Hubert Davis, Stuart Scott and Jalen Rose shed a few tears behind the scenes as most talking heads ate a bit of crow sandwich.

Whether one walks into a convenience store, sits down to eat in a restaurant, works out in a gym, takes the kids to kindergarten, somebody is likely to ask you with often times a southern drawl, “Who you got tonight?” followed by a little smack talk as they bait you into conversation.  Some fans even worry themselves into a frenzy making one wonder if their should be a new addition to the DSMV manual.  Work productivity goes way down and sports bars make a killing.

Fans gather in droves to watch the game in a mix of both dark and light blue.  Others couldn’t watch a game with the other side if they had to.  Many will put on their lucky charms and colors, some will go through rituals.  You can almost hear the pacing in households afar once the game starts and all hang on every single play, every call and ride a roller coaster of emotion that leaves them drenched in sweat from the stress by nights end. 

A bit later, I will meet with a co worker to eat and then head to Chapel Hill to the Dean Dome which is mere minutes from Duke University where car flags will be a flapping and the color goes to a lighter hue as you approach.  Once checked in, it’s off to the media area for me, setting up a good two hours in advance and then talking with the throng of reporters from both far and near as the teams begin to warm up in the background.  And while the media cannot cheer on press row and must remain professional and objectionable, you can read their faces and clearly see who they’re for and trust me, eveybody has a dog in this race if you are local media. 

Anyhow, here are a bunch of random thoughts going into tonight’s game -

UNC favored by 6 points

When the line came out it caused several folks to raise an eyebrow.  Every single media person I have spoken to this week thinks UNC will win this game easily and or that the line is too low.  Many feel they’ll go double digits on Duke and never look back and local bookies have added points to that total to try and keep money coming in on Duke.  I in no way advocate betting and only speak of this for entertainment purposes and trust me gambling has a dark side, so beware.  And while I am at it, if you are goaded into a sucker bet by the opposing fans and friends, it’s your own fault.  If you want to take the chance of wearing the other teams colors for a week at work, go right ahead;)

Numbers, stats and more numbers

Everywhere you look there are people throwing out numbers and they prove to be quite interesting.  Duke has won 20 of the last 30 against UNC, Duke is even at the Dean Dome … so on.  The truth of the matter though, is that when these two teams get together, you can throw conventional wisdom out the window.  But while I seem to be making fun of the numbers, I still read them and here is a must read article from my friend, Al Featherston at Duke Basketball Report that is well worth your time.

The biggest advantage for UNC is …

It is not their front court of Barnes, Henson and Zeller.  It is not Kendall Marshall, the league leader in assists.  It is their experience.   The aforementioned front line all returned for UNC when all of them could have gone in the first round in the NBA draft.  These guys are battle tested now and for the most part the Tar Heels are an old team.   The Tar Heels fast break finishes a close second in my book and Duke must control the glass enough against the leagues best rebounding team to win.

Who is ready to step up for Duke?

Is there a Fred Lind or Reggie Love in the group?  Lind, then a bench warmer, went off against UNC in the sixties and has become a legend for his performance when Duke starting center Mike Lewis fouled out.  Love, a former Barrack Obama aide was a walk on from the football team that filled in when Duke had injuries to Carlos Boozer, outplaying his UNC opponent which helped Duke close out the Heels in their backyard.  For Duke to win tonight, it will likely take a player or players stepping up their game to a beyond normal level.

The last time out …

Duke rocked UNC at the ACC Tournament and proceeded to cut the nets.  But that team had Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.  Nolan scored 20 plus points in that game and dished out 10 assists.  This years Duke team is averaging just under 13 assists per contest combined.  Again, I point to experience and you can bet they’ll miss those dimes and Smittys’ on ball defense.  Remembering that loss could serve a a plus side intangible for the Tar Heels, who will be hell bent on revenge.

Plumlees have had success

Duke will need to hit the boards as a team tonight but I feel many are underestimating the abilities of Team Plumlee.  Both Mason and Miles have had success against the UNC front court but that help side defense from Singler is missing and Kelly and others will have to fill that role.  The key for Duke will be to keep Mason out of early foul trouble and to adjust as a team to the way the game will be called.

Young Devils will need to step up

This will be Austin Rivers first trip to Chapel Hill and freshman past, not matter how good they are have taken a beating at times in this series.  Rivers will be a focal point for the Tar Heels defense and seeing if he can rise past that attention will be interesting.  Quinn Cook will also need to be calm cool and collected and that will not be easy in a hostile environment.  Here is ESPN on how freshman will play key roles in the game.

A Duke loss will add pressure to the team

If Duke loses to UNC this evening and Florida State and N.C. State win along with Miami and Virginia which is all likely to happen, the Blue Devils will find themselves in a three way tie for 4th place in the ACC.  That in turn will make my job hard as much of the fan base will freak out on the message boards and quite frankly I do not look forward to that happening.  So, be forewarned that this loss could be devastating but keep your composure please and be a good and supportive fan.  Also, Duke would then face an N.C State team in Cameron this weekend that is a half game ahead in the standings.  Funny how big that game has suddenly become and getting that 20th win can get harder and harder until a victory is achieved.

Nice shirt there, Harrison! BDN Photo

That darn Harry guy …

Harrison Barnes spurned Duke at the midnight hour and then chose UNC but he didn’t exactly do it in what many would consider proper decorum.  His clunky Skype lives as a reminder to other stars not to go that route and few have done so since that time.  Interestingly, Barnes immediately starting loathing Duke after his decision and he is perhaps one of the more detested Tar Heels for Blue Devil fans.  But Barnes leads his team in scoring and the talk in media rooms is if the Tar Heels will get four players on first team All ACC.  Barnes is a huge matchup problem for Duke and any other team and he took a mild shot over the bow as he mentioned that Kyle Singler was gone and that he’d gladly take shorter players to the rack.

On paper it looks like a UNC win

Everything points to a UNC victory in paper.  Duke has lost two of their last three conference games in Cameron and Krzyzewski has been looking for upper classmen to step up.  UNC has up to four 1st team All ACC players starting. That game is in Chapel Hill and the Blue Devils seem to still be coming together as a team.  But you know what?  Duke has a chance any time they step on the court.  Duke has been beat down of late but if the team plays together anything can happen and that’s why we watch the games.  My objectionable pick would be for the Tar Heels to win but my heart says Duke can pull off a shocker and make all the aforementioned worries go to the wayside.

Don’t hold me to all the numbers mentioned for everything here was off the top of my head and just random thoughts before tonight’s game.  BDN will be in the house to bring you live tweets and post game chats with the players, so stay tuned for our usual wall to wall coverage.  And yes, I am homer media, so I can get away with saying, “GTHC, GTH!”  It should be a lot of fun as the best rivalry in all sports is once again upon us.

Tricia Liston ties her career high with 23 points - Rick Crank Photo

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke Blue Devil women dominated their arch rival North Carolina in Cameron Indoor Stadium last evening and in the process pushed their ACC leading record to 10-0, 19-3 overall.  The Blue Devils zone defense stymied the Tar Heels (7-3 in the ACC, 17-5 overall) as they took a dominant 50-24 lead at the half and eventually won the game by a lopsided 96-56 score.

Tricia Liston led the way for Duke as they rolled in the first half going 5 of 6 from the field and 3 of 3 from the three point stripe.    Liston ended the game with tying a career high with 23 points and 7 rebounds from the guard spot. “She had ice in here veins tonight and was calm and cool on the court,” said Duke Coach Joanne P. McCallie.

The Blue Devil put 5 players in double figures led by the aforementioned Liston.  Richa Jackson added 17, Chelsea Gray 15, Elizabeth Williams 13 and Shea Selby 10 points respectively.  Williams ended the game with her fifth double-double adding 10 rebounds to her point total and she  dished out 5 assists.

The Blue Devils dominated the paint against North Carolina outscoring them 44-26 and out-rebounded them by a 45-34 margin.  Once Duke took a big lead in the half, they never looked back and the Tar Heels were never a threat to stage a comeback.  The Blue Devils also benefited from a stellar fastbreak  scoring 25 points.

And the three point ball was good for Duke who went 10 of 20 for 30 points opposed to 2 of 14 for UNC.  “I thought they would eventually start missing but they didn’t,” said UNC Coach Sylvia Hatchell.

Duke also dished 23 dimes and collected 9 blocks to the Tar Heels 1.  The assist total tied their highest mark in the ACC this season.  Elizabeth Williams had 6 of those blocks as the freshman sensation continued to impress.  Her block total made her the all time freshman leader in the ACC and the total of 85 ranks 10th on the all time list for Duke.

Everything worked right for the Blue Devils tonight and there was a great crowd atmosphere which Coach McCallie praised in the post game press conference.  She was very pleased with the win and said that when her team clicked and moved the ball they would be tough to beat.  Interestingly, McCallie joked that she would cook for the students if they continued to turn out, saying she didn’t even know how to.  I must disagree with her though, for tonight she served up some serious home cooking as her troops send the Heels packing with a dominating victory.

Notes of interest – The point differential was the the second largest against North Carolina and the 96 points was second to 97 in 2003.   Duke shot 54.4% from the field, the ninth time this season over 50%.  The 96 points were the most against an ACC team this season.  The 10-0 start in the ACC this season is a best for Coach McCallie.  Duke won their 28th straight ACC game in Cameron.

Auatin Rivers talks hoops with BDN - Rick Crank Images

Austin Rivers fresh off winning ACC Rookie of the Week addressed the media today and BDN was on hand to ask quite a few questions. Check out what he had to say here -

Josh Hairston goes 1 on 1 with the Nation in this BDN exclusive

Duke is preparing to face their arch rival North Carolina this week and Blue Devil Nation was on the scene at today’s press conference. Here is a one on one interview I had with Josh Hairston who has worked his way into the starting lieup the past two games -

Austin us a showe in for ACC Rookie of the Year - Rick Crank Photo

DURHAM, N.C. – Austin Rivers was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the league-leading sixth time this season, tying former Blue Devil Luol Deng for the most weekly league rookie selections in ACC history.

A 6-4, 200-pound guard from Winter Park, Fla. (Winter Park), Rivers averaged 19.0 points per game last week, scoring 18 in a 75-60 road win at Virginia Tech and 20 in a 78-74 home overtime loss to Miami. He has scored in double figures a team-leading 19 times and logged his fifth 20-point game of the season against the Hurricanes.

Rivers’ six selections tie six others, including Deng, for the third most ACC Rookie of the Week awards in league history. North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson share the ACC record with 10 selections apiece. Rivers has won his six awards in 13 weeks.

Against the Hokies, Rivers hit a career-high four three-pointers while also dishing out five assists. He followed that performance by playing a career-high 43 minutes against Miami, sinking 20 points while picking off two steals.

Rivers leads Duke and all ACC freshmen with 14.5 points per game and 31.5 minutes per game. He is on pace to become the first freshman to lead Duke in scoring since Johnny Dawkins averaged 18.1 points per game in 1982-83.

Rivers and the Blue Devils take on Tobacco Road rival North Carolina this Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Chapel Hill, N.C., at 9 p.m.

Duke cheerleaders returned for a reunion yesterday.

No more Super Bowl day games for Duke, I say!  The Blue Devils fell in overtime to Miami for their second ACC loss of the season in Cameron Indoor Stadium and their third straight loss on Super Bowl Sunday. They must now pick up the pieces for the coming media blitz and hype which is known at the Duke-Carolina game.  Monday Musings takes a look at a litle bit of everything today and with that let’s get the ball rolling.

In search of the right buttons

The Duke Men’s staff has tried to shake up the lineup and they’ve tried to figure out ways to get to this years team to play together and smart.  Early in the season it worked for Duke holds nice wins over Kansas and Michigan and Michigan State, but since that time the team has struggled a bit and of all places at home.  The reason I say, a bit, is because they could have easily won their games against Miami and Florida State with a couple of made shots or execution.  The frustration on Coach Krzyzewski’s face was evident yesterday and he is trying to figure out a way to get his team to play a full 40-45 minutes of what is known as “Duke Basketball,” and their year in and out lofty expectations.  Just when you thought the team had reached deep and turned a corner, they fell back into some bad habits.  I hate to say this, but this years team seems a bit soft at times and there were some loose balls and rebounds missed that could have turned the tide in their two ACC losses.  You see, Krzyzewski wants all his teams to win the regular season, but yesterday, those hopes took a major hit and it is not acceptable by his standards.

Growing pains for freshman

Quinn Cook came off the bench to spark Duke in a big way yesterday, but at games end he throws up an inexplicable wild runner with the outcome on the line and nobody in position to board late in the game.  It was a critical mistake and one of several which changed the games outcome.  But before you give up on Cook, realize that he now has an assist to turnover ratio of 3.33 to 1 which is the best of any freshman ever at Duke.  And just ask the assistants on the bench or go back and look at tape on any of the former PG’s in their freshman years and they all had growing pains or a lapse when the game was on the line.  And the good news is the rest of the aforementioned or former freshman I alluded to all learned and helped Duke to many victories.

Duke gets all the calls … yeah, right

You will never see the staff blame the refs for a loss, nor me for that matter.  But those who think Duke gets all the calls haven’t been paying attention of late.  It’s funny how Karl Hess is well known by the Crazies and the Blue Devils record is, well, just look it up under him.  But the real crime is with the game on the line, none of the three refs were seemingly paying attention to the Duke head coach who was doing everything he could to call a timeout.  In my experience, a ref is almost always near the bench in those instances or at least aware the game is on the line and paying attention.  That in no way caused the loss, but it sure makes one wonder of yet another what if.

The elephant in the room for me was …

The Cameron Crazies have been in the news more than I care to see this season and for good or maybe I should say, bad reasons.  There have been so many articles on this of late that I can honestly tell you I read maybe one.  But there is a problem and it is a huge one and the university itself needs to figure out a way to resolve this before the bottom tier of the stadium is dominated by average fans.  The turnout yesterday was deplorable at best and I heard many reasons from the CC’s which sit behind me.  For the record the Crazies who come on a regular basis are great and I mean that, but what on earth is happening to where students will not come to a Duke game when it is free?  I could put together a book on how they just aren’t the same anymore but that just seems a waste of time when the season is in full swing.  Maybe it’s time the scrap everything and start fresh, I don’t know, nor can I personally do more than complain that I miss the atmosphere that has made the stadium so famous through the years.  Seriously, former Crazies never used the same chant for a player in a game more than once and there was a brain trust who came up with some outrageously witty and fun cheers.  Coach stopped short of saying the Crazies had anything to do with the loss when asked by media members seeking yet more ammunition for articles.  He instead blamed his team for the loss and he was right, but he did mention atmosphere and if you have been around as long as I have, you easily read between the lines of what was said. 

Everything was off

The air was ripe for an upset in so many ways.  On message boards fans wanted to fast forward to the UNC game this Wednesday evening and overlooked Miami, a team projected #5 in the ACC this season.  Then the team looked flat and almost sleep walked through the first half and in the process dug a hole too deep to climb out of.  And then the aforementioned worst turnout of the season by the Crazies which has caused a ton of negative media towards the program didn’t help.  But I can tell you this for a fact, Duke did not overlook Miami and they were not looking ahead to the UNC game.  Nope, it was just one of those foul, unusual days where all alligned in a not so good way.

UNC at Duke Women

Before the men’s team play this week, the women get it going this evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  This is always a spirited and entertaining affair and tickets are cheap, so tuen out and cheer on the Blue Devils as they try to maintain their hold on first place in the ACC.

And the hype begins

There is no doubt that yesterdays upset loss to Miami tarnished the upcoming Duke at UNC game a bit for you always want to come off a win.  But the hype begins today with a Coach K press conference and players talking about the game and BDN will be there and remain for the Duke vs UNC women’s game, so stay tuned for a lot of coverage all the way through the game.

It’s the end of the world as we know it, but not really

As usual, any Duke loss this season is met with the Chicken Little effect from many fans and it is the end of the world as we know it, but nothing is fine.  Okay, that was a  bad play on an old song.  Duke is a few plays away from being 21-2 and there is plenty of balling left.  There are some red flags for sure, but this Duke team has 19 wins against a difficult schedule.  Some Duke fans need to suck it up, just like our team will do.  Support your Blue Devils when they need it most.  Duke was down 16 points yesterday and staged a comeback which fell short.  Krzyzewski will find a way to get his kids to play together  and  with a collective heart and make a run when it counts in March and the lessons learned will help along the way.  Remember, this team lost Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Kyrie Irving and they are young at many key positions.

Rivers had 20 points and 9 rebounds

The Blue Devils fell to 6-2 in the ACC and 19-4 overall in their upset loss to Miami in Cameron.  BDN caught up to a distraught Austin Rivers who certainly came to play with 20 points and 9 rebounds.

More to come late night.

The Duke Blue Devils took a long bus ride to Blacksburg, Virginia after a tough couple of practices and a new found focus helped them to a 75-60 victory over Virginia Tech.  After allowing St. John’s to make a comeback where a sizable lead was blown, the Blue Devils went into “Circle the Wagon,” mode and whatever Krzyzewski did behind the scenes, prompted Duke to an easy team victory.

Once Duke adjusted to the way the game was being called, they took the crowd out of the game in the first half, working their way to a comfortable 10 point lead.   And from that point they never looked back on their way to an ACC win which would keep Duke in a three way tie for first place.

There were several signs in the air which went unnoticed by some in the media and fan base, that Duke was in a bit of a lock down mode.  Krzyzewski made no bones about that fact that he was not too pleased with the Blue Devils performances of late and that he more or less thought they’d become, pampered, fat and happy.  There was no media day this week where one could get player quotes and it would not surprise me if he didn’t go as far as to lock his team out of their cozy facilities as he has done on rare occasion in seasons past.

Whatever was said or done, the Blue Devils seemed rejuvenated and in the process played with intensity from the opening tip until the end, committing a mere 7 turnovers and they constantly battled with intensity from opening tip until buzzers end.

Austin Rivers played perhaps his best overall game at Duke scoring 18 points to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.  Rivers went an efficient 7 0f 11 from the floor, 4 of 6 being beyond the three point stripe to lead the Blue Devils in scoring.

It was an ACC Rookie of the Week performance by Rivers whose production level proved extremely efficient.  But this was a team win in every way where numerous players contributed where Duke got 34 points from it’s bench.  Of course, the Blue Devils had shaken their lineup up, but it was still the workman like togetherness that helped Duke to the easy win.

One of the players who came off the bench was Ryan Kelly who was replaced by Josh Hairston in a lineup change.  Kelly responded with 15 points and 4 rebounds while Hairston finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes of play.

Seth Curry was another junior that came off the bench and he tallied 11 points including 6 of 6 from the free throw stripe.  In fact, the team knocked down 13 of 16 attempts and that was a key factor in the win making one think this was an area of emphasis of late.

Duke also outscored the Hokies by a 38-26 margin in the paint and Mason Plumlee had a lot to do with that adding 10 points, 6 rebounds and the only two blocks of the game for Duke.  His brother Miles, added 4 points and 5 boards in just 9 minutes of play.

And every other player for Duke added something as well.  For Andre Dawkins it was his big trey in the first half and his questionable technical foul seemed to fire up the Blue Devils even more.  Dawkins and Duke were so pumped up that Krzyzewski had to calm them during one timeout. 

Quinn Cook dished three dimes and added a couple of key buckets keeping the lead at a comfortable margin while the Hokies tried to stage several comeback efforts in nine minutes of burn.  And Tyler Thornton added his steadying influence which doesn’t always translate to the box score.  Again, this was a team victory for the Blue Devils who sit a single win away from yet another 20 win season with the Mimi Hurricanes coming to town on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Blue Devils were never rattled in Blacksburg despite a very hostile and vocal home crowd and after taking a double digit lead as the 1st half ended, they never looked back.  I doubt Duke will be taking a bus on too many more trips other than next Wednesday’s game in Chapel Hill with arch rival North Carolina, but maybe they’ve learned what it takes to compete at the level it will take the rest of the way this season and have gotten back to the kind of hard nosed Duke Basketball Coach Krzyzewski and the fans love to see.

Game Notes – (courtesy of Duke Sports Information)

Duke 75, Virginia Tech 60
Thursday 02/02/2012 – Duke Sports Information

Team Notes:
• Duke improved to 38-8 in the all-time series against Virginia Tech and has won 16 of the last 19 games. The Blue Devils are now 9-3 against the Hokies under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
• After falling 64-60 to the Hokies in Cassell Coliseum last season, the Blue Devils came away with a 15-point victory in Blacksburg. Duke has lost to just one team – Wake Forest in 2004 & 2005, and again in 2008 & 2009 – on the road in back-to-back seasons since the 2003-04 season began.
• With sophomore forward Josh Hairston making his first career start tonight, Coach K has used seven different starting lineup combinations in the last nine games. Mason Plumlee is the only player to have started every game during that span. Plumlee has started 43 consecutive games.
• In a game that featured the ACC’s top two three-point shooters, Duke’s Ryan Kelly topped Virginia Tech’s Jarell Eddie by finishing 2-of-4 from the three-point line and 15 total points. Eddie went 0-of-5 from three-point range and scored just six points. Entering the game, Eddie led the ACC in three-point shooting percentage (minimum 50 attempts) with a .493 (37-of-75) mark, while Kelly ranked second with a .472 (25-of-53) percentage.
• The Blue Devils held Eddie without a three-point field goal for only the sixth time this season. Eddie had connected on a trey in 12 of the Hokies’ last 13 games.
• Virginia Tech, which ranks 45th nationally in scoring defense, is the seventh opponent that Duke has faced this season that ranks among the NCAA’s top-50 in that category. The Blue Devils have are 6-1 and have outscored each of those opponents’ defensive scoring averages in those games.
• With the score tied at 21-21, Duke embarked on a 17-7 scoring run over the final 7:13 of the first half to stake a 38-28 lead. Kelly scored seven points for Duke during that run, hitting a layup and a dunk on consecutive possessions and then knocking down a three-pointer to increase the lead to 32-23. The Blue Devils maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
• Duke held Virginia Tech without a field goal over a 5:40 minute span from 8:15 to 2:35 in the first half.
• Duke continued its improved free throw shooting, finishing 13-of-16 from the line. The Blue Devils have shot 75.0 percent or better from the free throw line in six of their last eight games.
• Duke forced Virginia Tech into committing 13 turnovers while holding the Hokies to five assists. Duke amassed 12 assists and made only seven turnovers.
• With 33 rebounds to Virginia Tech’s 29, the Blue Devils outrebounded their fifth straight opponent. Duke holds a +3.3 rebounding margin per game.
• Duke improved to 9-2 when playing outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

Player Notes:

Seth Curry
• In a return to Blacksburg, where his father Dell starred for the Hokies from 1982-86 and went on to play 16 years in the NBA, Curry scored 11 points on two field goals and a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line.
• Extended his consecutive made free throw streak to 14. Curry ranks second in the ACC with a .887 free throw shooting percentage. That would rank sixth on Duke’s single-season leaderboard if he can reach the 100 made free throws threshold.
• Defensively, helped to hold Virginia Tech guard Jarell Eddie to just six points and an 0-of-5 performance from the three-point line.

Andre Dawkins
• Hit his only three-point attempt of the game. Dawkins leads Duke with 50 three-pointers on the year.

Josh Hairston
• Made his first career start and played 15 minutes.
• Scored six points on 3-of-6 shooting. Threw down his second dunk of the season on a second-half alley-oop from Austin Rivers.
• Also contributed three rebounds, including two on the offensive end. On the season, Hairston has more offensive boards (20) than defensive (13).

Ryan Kelly
• Scored in double figures for the 15th time this season and the fifth straight game. Kelly is averaging 15.0 points per game during that streak.
• Improved his team-leading three-point percentage to .474 by shooting 2-of-4 from three-point range. Kelly leads the ACC in three-point percentage (minimum 50 attempts), surpassing Virginia Tech guard Jarell Eddie whose shooting percentage fell to .463 (37-80) with an 0-for-5 performance tonight.

Mason Plumlee
• Made his 43rd consecutive start. Duke is 36-7 during that 43-game streak.
• Recorded two blocks, increasing his career total to 126. Plumlee ranks ninth on Duke’s all-time blocks list, trailing Josh McRoberts (2005-07) by two blocks for eighth place.
• Scored in double figures for the 15th time this season and the third straight game. Plumlee has scored at least 10 points in four of Duke’s six ACC games.

Austin Rivers
• Scored in double figures for the team-leading 18th time this season and led Duke in scoring for the team-leading ninth time.
• Knocked down a career-high four three-pointers, finishing 4-of-6 from three-point range. Rivers hit three of his treys in a row.
• Dished out a team-leading five assists while committing just two turnovers. Rivers has 13 assists over his last three games, averaging 4.3 helpers during that span.
• Had his most efficient shooting performance of the season, finishing 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the three-point line. The .636 shooting percentage from the floor was the highest mark of his career.
• Matched a career high with five rebounds. Rivers has grabbed at least three rebounds in five consecutive games.