Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball

Duke Survives Jackets Rally

The Duke Blue Devils moved to 4-0 and atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings holding off a second half Georgia Tech rally for a 73-64 on Wednesday evening in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Blue Devils outscored the Yellow Jackets 7-0 over the last 2:23 of the game to seal the win.

Duke used a balanced attack for an 18-2 run on 10-13 shooting to take a 40-29 lead over Georgia Tech after a slow start in the first half. But the Yellow Jackets played their heart out in this one and made it a game.

The Blue Devils were led in scoring by Tre Jones who was playing on his birthday and helped push Duke to an impressive 14-1 record. Jones ended the game with team high 16 points to go with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals.

Vernon Carey battled through foul trouble to score 14 points and Cassius Stanley added 14 as well as for the Blue Devils scoring leaders.

Cassius Stanley had several key dunks in the game off Tre Jones assists.

"I was just connecting with Tre Jones, honestly, so playing with him is a blessing," said Stanley after the win.

Matthew Hurt coming off this past weeks ACC Rookie of the Week Award continued his consistent play of late tallying numbers of 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Hurt was 3-7 from the three point stripe.

Alex O'Connell added 9 points off the bench and Duke captain Jack White came in to hit a key three pointer which helped squelch the pesky Yellow Jackets.

With the win, the Blue Devils have now won 13 straight games over Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils now ride an eight-game winning steak into their next game with Wake Forest in Cameron Indoor Stadium this Saturday.

All in all, it was a solid win for the nation's second-ranked Blue Devils. The team played through some adversity while adjusting to life with the injured Wendell Moore. Duke survived a solid Georgia Tech effort for a road win and I am sure Mike Krzyzewski is happy with his teams effort.

Duke Basketball

ESPN College GameDay for Louisville at Duke

DURHAM, N.C. -- ESPN's College GameDay Covered by State Farm will make its season debut at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the second consecutive year, on Saturday, January 18 to preview that night's showdown between No. 2 Duke hosts No. 13 Louisville.

The traveling pregame college basketball show, hosted by Rece Davis with analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and LaPhonso Ellis, returns for its 16th season, beginning Saturday. The morning show will be live from Cameron Indoor Stadium, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN, before the Blue Devils take on the Cardinals at 6 p.m.

This will be the 11th time Cameron Indoor Stadium hosts College GameDay, two more than Kentucky's Rupp Arena for the most of any venue in the show's 16-year history.

The January 18th matchup will be highlighted by two of the top players in the ACC going head to head in Duke freshman Vernon Carey Jr., and Louisville junior Jordan Nwora. Nwora currently leads the conference in scoring (21.0 ppg), while Carey is third in that category but leads the league in field goal percentage (.628). Nwora and Carey are two of three players ranked in the ACC's top 10 in scoring, rebounding and shooting efficiency.

Fan Information

Admission to Cameron Indoor Stadium for ESPN College GameDay is free. The doors open to the general public at 9:30 a.m. ET. General public entry will be through the upper level doors of Cameron Indoor Stadium – South Hall of Honor entrance off of Whitford Drive and through the Duke Basketball Museum next to Krzyzewskiville.

Iron Duke Parking Lots will open at 7 a.m. ET and operate as normal for guests with a Men's Basketball Iron Duke parking pass.

For guests who do not have Iron Duke Parking, parking for ESPN College Game Day will be free of charge from 7-11 a.m. ET. After 11 a.m., there will be a $10 charge, CASH ONLY. General parking for College Game Day will be available in the general public parking lots on Circuit Drive. A courtesy shuttle will run on a continuous loop from the Circuit Lots to Whitford Drive from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Accessible parking will be available in the Science Drive Visitors Lot. Lift-equipped van assistance from the Science Drive Visitors Lot to Whitford Circle for access to Cameron Indoor Stadium will begin at 7 a.m.

Duke Basketball

Duke Adjusts to Missing Moore

The Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball team has been playing as good as any team in the country of late. Part of that was due to developing chemistry and getting contributions from its entire team.

Duke released a statement yesterday that freshman Wendell Moore Jr had successful surgery to repair a broken fourth metacarpal in his right hand. He is out indefinitely, but expected to return this season.

While Duke has shown off its depth and has bodies while awaiting his return, Moore will be missed in the rotation. What Duke has lost is their version of a Swiss Army Knife in that Moore can do many things.

The Blue Devils were using Moore as a ball-handler at times when spelling Tre Jones. He was also used to guard multiple positions on defense in that he is one of the team's best defenders.

Duke will miss Moore's wingspan and athleticism, so, yeah, this is a significant injury and one where he will have to reintegrate himself back into the lineup at some point in February.

Moore logged 22 minutes per game for Duke before his injury and he was asked to do a lot of things. He was in the process of becoming a stat stuffer in the box score with his contributions but his hustle is the main reason Duke will at some point have to make adjustments.

With his absence, Duke will need some guys to take on larger roles. Alex O'Connell and Joey Baker will see increased minutes and will be asked to do more on defense. At least one of these guys will need to step up each game.

Perhaps no other player will be depended upon more than Cassius Stanley. The California freshman is coming off a solid game and he will need to use some of his athleticism on the defensive end in his teammate's absence.

This will also mean continued significant minutes from Jordan Goldwire as well. The good news is that Goldwire has been solid all season long and like Moore, plays with energy when in the game.

Despite his ability to score the ball, Duke will most miss Moore in off-ball situations and as a third ball handler. It is likely that Tre Jones will see some added minutes and pressure.

Another key for Duke will be on this past weeks ACC Rookie of the Week in Matthew Hurt to remain active in the overall stat department and not jus flourish as a scorer,

We will know soon enough how Duke will adjust. The Blue Devils take their 13-1 overall and 3-0 mark in the ACC to Atlanta tomorrow to take on Georgia Tech in a game that will tip at 9:00 on ACC Network.

Duke Basketball

Duke Throttles Miami

The #2 Duke Blue Devils defeated the Miami Hurricanes 95-62 to push their ACC record to 3-0 and 13-1 overall for the season.

Duke came out scorching hot in the first half shooting 62% from the field on their way to a 50-36 edge at the half.

The Blue Devils wore down the Hurricanes with their depth and extended their lead in the second half behind Vernon Carey Jr's 24 points and 9 rebounds. Carey played in front of his hometown crowd in the contest and he did not disappoint his supporters.

Cassius Stanley was a major contributor as well for Duke with 20 points and 5 rebounds.

The Blue Devils played eleven players in the contest and all of them scored. Duke shot a solid 59% from the field and the defense held Miami to just 6 total assists while they garnered 23 of their own.

"Our guys just played really hard and they shared the ball. With 23 assists, it was kind of nice to see," said Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Matthew Hurt had another solid game with a stat line of 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a blocked shot.

Duke scored more points in the paint with 64 than Miami did in the game with 62 total points.

The Blue Devils showed off improvement while maintaining poise throughout the game. And with the impressive win, you can be sure that people will take notice again which could lead to a few more number one votes in this coming week's poll release.

Duke will travel to Atlanta where they'll take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets this Wednesday at 9:00 on the ACC Network. Duke is 10-0 since the 2010-11 season against the Yellow Jackets which comes off an upset win over North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Duke Basketball

Duke Seeks Continued Growth vs Miami

The Duke Blue Devils (2-0 ACC, 12-1 overall) ended 2019 with a dominating victory over Boston College and now face Miami (1-1 ACC, 9-3 overall) in their first test of the new year. The Hurricanes will sell out their arena for the premiere game on their conference home slate against Duke. And that means added emotion for a Hurricanes team which comes into the contest with a five-game winning streak.

In their last few contests where the Hurricanes have secured wins over Clemson and Illinois on the road; Miami seems to have found their comfort zone with their rotation.

As for the Blue Devils, Duke is on a six-game winning streak and sits at the #2 ranked slot in both polls. In short, Duke is getting better as they constantly stir the pot with their own rotation before the ACC schedule to come.

This is just the second true road ACC game for the young Duke cast and that means we will see how they react to an always hostile home crowd whenever they wear the visiting uniform.

Other than consistent contributors, Vernon Carey Jr. and Tre Jones, Duke has had a lot of different players step up each night. Thankfully, the Blue Devils have a deep roster and they are making this situation a strength.

Meanwhile, Miami is led by three guards who all average 15 ppg in Chris Lykes, Kameron McGusty and Dejan Vasiljevic. The emergence of two frontcourt players in Sam Wardeenberg and Rodney Miller Jr. balances out the starters and Keth Stone is a solid frontcourt contributor off the bench,

Miami will test Duke by driving the ball to the hoop and when they kick the ball out, they have solid three-point shooters. In fact, every player but Miller in their starting lineup is a threat from the three-point stripe.

The Hurricanes will also play nine players against the Blue Devils. so the Duke bench play will loom large in this game as well. It almost never fails, that one of the better Duke players on a given night will come off the bench. The reason for that is there is not major separation from competing players at this time of the season.

Duke will hope that Matthew Hurt can build off his career-high in their win over Boston College. Right now, Hurt and his other teammates seek consistency with their play.

The Blue Devils showed what they can do when hitting the three-point shot in their last outing, but all games are different. Miami will provide another test for Duke and they are better than the Eagles.

What we will watch for is Duke to continue to play good defense against a guard-heavy team. The Blue Devils have struggled a bit with teams who are physical with their drives and Miami will test Duke that area of the game.

This will also likely be a contest where the Duke wing players need to be at their best. The play of guys like Cassius Stanley, Wendell Moore and Jordan Goldwire on both ends of the floor will be critical to success.

The Blue Devils could use some continued scoring punch out of Alex O'Connell and Joey Baker as well. When just one of these guys steps up on the offensive end, it has been good for the Blue Devils winning effort.

Duke cannot afford to get caught with a lack of focus for this game could prove tougher than many think. What the staff and fans hope to see is continued growth as the season moves into ACC play.

Duke Basketball

Duke Puts the Hurt on B.C.

The Duke Blue Devils moved to 2-0 in the ACC and 12-1 overall with an 88-49 win over Boston College in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was the Blue Devils 300th win to close out the decade.

Duke came out of the locker room with their ears pinned back and played lockdown defense. By the time the dust cleared on the first-half the Blue Devils had a commanding 45-19 lead.

It was the 13th win in ACC openers for Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Duke rolled out to a lead at the half behind a strong defensive effort.

Matthew Hurt got the start today and he did not disappoint as he scored 20 points to lead the Blue Devils in first-half scoring. He would end the contest 25 points breaking his old high mark and earned praise from Krzyzewski who said he was getting a little stronger as the season progressed.

The return of Tre Jones certainly helped with ball distribution where he tallied 10 assists. Krzyzewski said he had not been playing a lot n practice while resting his foot and he was impressed he logged 24 minutes of gameplay.

Duke came out on fire in the second half as well forcing a Boston College timeout after back to back dunks from Vernon Carey and Alex O'Connell. Those two buckets gave Duke a 30 point lead with 16:12 to go.

The Blue Devils would stretch that lead while playing several players in the process prompting Krzyzewski to say once again that this is like an old school team that played its depth.

It was a day when Duke's younger players played older and advanced their games. It was exactly the kind of play you want to end the decade and a successful one at that for the program.

Duke outscored the Eagles 32-16 in points off the bench and 18-10 off turnovers. The team also has an impressive 7 blocked shots while limiting the visitors to 3 of 18 from the three point stripe.

The Blue Devils converted on 12 of 28 three-pointers on their own and went 6-9 from the free throw stripe. Duke placed just two players in double-figures but everyone contributed at some point in the game with balanced scoring.

The nation's number two ranked team will not travel to Miami this Saturday for a 9:00 start. They will then travel to Georgia tech for a 9:00 start on January the 8th before returning home on the 14th to take on Clemson.