Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball

Singler leads comeback as Duke whips Miami 81-74

Singler leads Duke past Miami
Kyle Singler leads Duke past Miami

It looked as if Miami were about to spring an upset on the sixth rated Duke Blue Devils as they carried a 37-25 lead into the locker room.  But then Krzyzewski turned to a veteran line-up and the Blue Devils outscored Miami in the second half by a 56-37 margin and Duke came away with a 81-74 victory.

Kyle Singler led the Duke comeback and he finished the contest with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and a team high 7 assists.   Nolan Smith warmed up in the second half as well, adding 21 points.

The win helped push Duke's record to 10-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 22-4 overall.  Duke remains in first place in the conference going into a showdown with Virginia Tech, currently second in the standings, this Sunday evening.

Jon Scheyer was held scoreless in the first half, but the senior kept shooting and ended the game with 15 points and  6 assists.

Brian Zoubek had another solid performance scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds, but what doesn't show in the box score is how well he was moving on offense, setting picks and the like.

After an icy first half from the field, the Blue Devils warmed up and swarmed the Hurricanes in the second half.  A huge difference was Duke's effectiveness from the three point arc, where they hit 13 out of 29.

Duke was also solid from the free throw stripe, hitting 18 of 22, most of them coming in the second half.  The Blue Devils continue to lead the league in free throw percentage.

It was a solid win for Duke in that they almost fell into a trap and willed their way out of it which is the mark of a veteran team.

More to come -

Box Score

Game Notes, courtesy GoDuke.com -

- Duke has now won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Miami, owning an 8-1 record since the Hurricanes joined the ACC in 2005.

- The Blue Devils earned their 10th ACC victory of the season, improving to 10-2. They have now won at least 10 games in conference play in 13 of the last 14 seasons and in 18 of the 30 seasons under Mike Krzyzewski.

- Duke is now 4-2 on the road in conference play, the only team in the league with a winning record on the road against ACC competition.

- Four players reached double figures in scoring, marking the 15th game this season Duke has had four or more players score at least 10 points.

Player Notes:

Jon Scheyer

- Senior Jon Scheyer has started in 33 consecutive games and in 94 career contests.

- Scheyer recorded his 101st career game with 10 or more points. He has scored 10 or more points in 25 of the 26 games on the year. All 11 of his points came in the second half.

- Scheyer extended his streak to 19 consecutive games with a made three-point field goal and leads the team with 73 treys this season.

- The three three-point field goals give Scheyer four straight games with at least three treys and 15 games overall.

- With six assists Scheyer has dished out five or more in 17 games on the year.

- Scheyer matched a career high with five steals, the third time in his career he has had five in a game. He also had five earlier this season against Georgetown and against Georgia Tech his freshman year.

Kyle Singler

- Junior Kyle Singler extended his consecutive starts streak to 54 games and has now started in 98 career contests.

- Singler recorded his fourth double-double of the season and 17th of his career. Three of his four double-doubles this year have come in conference play.

- Singler reached the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season and fifth time in conference play. He reached double figures in scoring for the 23rd time this season and 82nd time in his career.

- Singler pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, giving him five games on the year with 10 or more boards. He has three double-figure rebounding games in ACC play.

- With four made three-point field goals Singler has had three or more treys in eight games this season.

- The four assists give Singler over 200 in his career, as he becomes one of 37 players in school history with at least 200 assists.

Nolan Smith

- Junior Nolan Smith posted his 11th game with at least 20 points this season, including six against ACC competition. He has scored at least 10 points in 23 games this season and 46 career games.

- Smith connected on a career-high five three-point field goals for his fifth game this season with at least three treys and first since he was 4-of-5 against Pennsylvania on Dec. 31. In his previous 13 games, he was shooting .302 (13-of-43) from deep. He had made four treys in a game three times in his career.

Brian Zoubek

- Senior Brian Zoubek notched his sixth double-figure scoring game this season to go along with five rebounds. In his two starts this season, he is averaging 13.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

- Zoubek recorded a career-high five steals, passing his previous best of three against Virginia Tech on Jan. 4, 2009. His previous season high was two steals against UNC Greensboro in the season opener

Duke Basketball

Duke at Miami – Official Game Notes

Duke prepares for Miami
Lance King

[6 AP/6 Coaches] Duke (21-4, 9-2 ACC) vs. Miami (17-8, 3-8 ACC)

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010  •  7:00 p.m.  •  ESPN

BankUnited Center (7,200)  •  Coral Gables, Fla.

The Opening Tip

Duke (21-4, 9-2 ACC), ranked sixth in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked Miami (17-8, 3-8 ACC) at the BankUnited Center on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. The game will air on ESPN with Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Duke posted its fourth straight victory with a 76-55 win over Maryland at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Senior Jon Scheyer scored a game-high 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line.

Brian Zoubek recorded his fourth career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. He was 7-of-10 from the field and also added two blocked shots in the win.

Juniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler also reached double figures in scoring with 14 and 10 points apiece, respectively. Smith added six assists and two steals, while Singler had six rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Blue Devils posted a 44-37 rebounding edge in the contest and scored 20 second chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. Duke has now grabbed 15 or more offensive rebounds 15 times this season.

Duke jumped out to a 40-24 halftime lead behind 19 points and five three-point field goals combined from Scheyer and Singler. Scheyer was 3-of-3 from behind the arc and had 11 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Numbers Game

l Duke is ranked sixth in the AP poll, marking the 51st consecutive week ranked in the top 10. The Blue Devils are 94-28 all-time when ranked sixth in the AP poll.

l Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler are the top scoring trio in the NCAA at a combined 53.2 points per game. The threesome has accounted for 31 of Duke’s 32 individual games with 20 or more points scored.

l Jon Scheyer leads the ACC in four statistical categories and is the only player in the league to rank in the top 5 in six statistical categories; scoring (second, 19.2 ppg.), assists (fourth, 5.4 apg.), free throw percentage (first, .890), three-point field goals (first, 2.8 3pg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (first, 3.12:1) and minutes (t-first, 36.6 mpg.).

l Kyle Singler is averaging a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game and is attempting to become just the third Blue Devil (joining Mike Gminski & Shelden Williams) to lead the team in rebounding as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

l Jon Scheyer has scored 20+ points in five of the last seven games. He is tied for first in the ACC with 12 games with 20 or more points.

l Brian Zoubek ranks third in the ACC in offensive rebounds (3.2 orpg) and 15th in total rebounds (6.6 rpg.), while playing just over 15 minutes per game. He is coming off a career-best 17-rebound (eight offensive boards) effort in 22 minutes on Saturday against Maryland. Zoubek ranks among the national leaders with 17.1 rebounds per 40 minutes played.

l Jon Scheyer is averaging 22.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game over the last four games. He is shooting 52.4 percent (13-of-24) from three-point range in that span. Scheyer has topped the 20-point mark in four straight contests and leads the ACC with 13 games with 20 or more points.

l Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer are a combined 28-of-50 (.560) from three-point range in the last four games. The Blue Devils are shooting 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from behind the arc during that stretch.

l Duke has grabbed 20 or more offensive rebounds in each of the last two games and is averaging 14.8 orpg. for the year. The Blue Devils are averaging 15.8 second chance points per game and are 20-2 when scoring more second chance points than their opponent.

Checking in on ...

#2 Nolan Smith - +9.2 ppg. increase from a year ago leads the ACC ... shooting a career-best 41.0 percent from three-point range ... second on the team with 10 games with 20+ points scored ... double figures in 22 of 23 games played

#5 Mason Plumlee - Second on the team with 17 dunks ... fourth with 17 blocks ... season-high nine rebounds vs. North Carolina

#12 Kyle Singler - 22 double-figure scoring games this season ... attempting to lead the Blue Devils in rebounding for the third straight year ... averaging 18.2 points per game in the last six contests ... 21 three-point field goals in that span

#20 Andre Dawkins - Fourth on the team with 28 three-point field goals ... shooting 39.4 percent from three-point range

#21 Miles Plumlee - Leads the team with 27 dunks ... shooting 56.9 percent (62-of-109) from the field

#30 Jon Scheyer - 20+ points in five of the last six games ... ranks in the top 10 of the ACC in nine statistical categories ... leads the league in minutes, free throw percentage, three-point field goals and assist-to-turnover ratio ... league-high 13 games with 20 or more points ... named ACC Player of the Week on Monday

#34 Ryan Kelly - 14 blocked shots ... one of five Blue Devils with 10+ blocks

#42 Lance Thomas - Leads the Blue Devils with 11 charges taken ... 5 or more rebounds in seven of the last eight games

#55 Brian Zoubek - Four or more offensive rebounds 10 times ... 13th player under Coach K with 15

Duke Basketball, Duke Football

Blue Devil Nations Monday Musings

Duke Cheerleaders rock!

Well Duke's win over Maryland pushed the Blue Devils record to 21-4 overall and 9-2 in conference but they are still just ahead of Wake Forest in the race to be atop the ACC standings.  Next up is Miami and on the surface this game looks much easier than it will likely be.  The Hurricanes are just 3-8 in conference, but there three wins are over Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, all of which are good teams should be recognized.  Look a bit closer and all three wins came in Coral Gables which is not an easy place to play due to travel for most ACC teams.  Then one sees that of Miami's last five regular season games, all but one are at home.  In short, a win over would give them 18 wins and could propel them to take care of business at home.  When teams backs are against the wall, they are dangerous and Miami will be trying to play their way into the post season.

This weekend Duke celebrated Coach Mike Krzyzewski's 1000th game at Duke and several players returned for the event including ex coaches.  The highlight for me was to see the guys from the sixties who labored under Vic Bubas, Duke's other great coach.  Bubas set a new standard in recruiting, going after players afar and his system changed the way the rest of the ACC recruited over time.  I had a chance to talk with Bubas and Bucky Waters for a bit and finally got his autograph on a classic picture with his then players Jeff Mullins and Art Heyman, two players whose numbers hang in Cameron.

We were supposed to talk with ex Dukie Kenny Dennard, but were unable to get back with him.  FWIW, Dennard kidnapped "rubber Hurley," from me during the Coach K Academy.  What is rubber Hurley you ask?  Well, back in the day I was a memorabilia dealer on the side and I came across a gumby like figure of Bobby Hurley with a striking resemblance to the former number eleven.  Dennard being the jester that he is borrowed, er, kidnapped the rare rubber Hurley ... okay it's plastic but the rubber Hurley name just stuck ... for a few laughs.  The first thing he said when he saw me is I have your little Hurley thingie.  And I was thinking, yeah, but do you have it with you.  I had made a recording with Dennard a bit back but technical difficulties kept me from running it.  You see, Kenny thought I was holding out for my dear, rare rubber Hurley;)  Well, KD, I know you're out there so call me and we'll talk of some of your torrid tales from back in the day.  And you can keep rubber Hurley provided you take care of it for I must confess I have another one.

We went over one million visitors since we've moved to this site and we thank you for your support in making this one of the better Duke sites around.  If you go back to the days of "myblogdevils," or the first of three versions of BDN, we have had awesome support fro Blue Devil fans world wide.  In fact, we have reached no less than 33 countries.  In that time we have avoided advertising bling that hits you in the face when visiting in that we depend on memberships for support.  Keep in mind that memberships do keep us alive and if you like BDN and want to support our efforts, please give Blue Devil Nation Premium a try.  You will enjoy the inside tips, recruiting information and a message board that has rational discussion.  BDN has never taken one single dime from it's supporters without giving you something back nor have we sold out despite offers.  Help us stay ferociously independent.

Okay, getting serious again, we'll start a feature called Monday Morning Quarterback next week where we'll focus on Spring Football.  With just one practice in the fold we felt a little more information would be better.  I will be bringing you some interviews and thoughts along the way and Patrick Cacchio will be involved as well.  He has a feature coming up shortly where he breaks down the 2010 schedule.

On the recruiting front Duke offered Michael Gbinije, pronounced "ben na jay<" over the weekend.  Read more about that on BDN Premium which requires a membership.  Andrew Slater chatted with the elusive Kyrie Irving over the weekend and took in the action at the Primetime Shootout so that is on the way as well.  We've been busy around here thus a recruiting update was pushed back, but I assure you, Gbinije did not sneak up on us.  It's interesting to see the chest thumping out there saying they broke this when some knew before they even realized he was in Cameron on Saturday.  Anyhow, we'll address this and more as the week progresses.

Our former cheerleader galleries were the most popular and we will be bringing back photo galleries in the future.  But you can expect a different cheerleader each week on Monday Morning Musings.  It's our way of showing support for support and recognizing their hard work.

We have been contemplating making some changes around here and we have polled our members in the past, but we are working on a questionnaire for general readers of the site and we hope you will participate when that comes out.

Duke Basketball

Zoubek’s career game helps Duke rip Maryland by 21 on Coach K’s birthday

Coach K's Blue Devils crush Maryland on his birthday
Coach K's 1000th game was a rousing success - Lance King Images

Durham, N.C. - The Blue Devil Nation celebrated Coach K's 1000th game and birthday with a convincing 77-56 win over Maryland on Saturday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  All fans remained seated after the game as Krzyzewski addressed the crowd before he left for the locker room to talk with his Blue Devil team that now sports a 9-2 record in the ACC and 21-4 overall.

It's been quite a week for these Blue Devils, for they beat the two rival teams in Maryland and North Carolina on their schedule and in the process held them both in check.  In fact, both teams combined scored only 110 points for a 55 ppg average.

But then today, Brian Zoubek must not have gotten the memo saying he wasn't in the big three, for the lanky senior had career highs of 16 points and 17 rebounds, prompting several cheers from the frenetic Cameron Crazies.

"He should be getting a lot of credit with what he's done as a basketball player from when he was a freshman to where he is now.  He's a guy who has found a way to enjoy his basketball career which is a great thing.  It's nice to see that happen to people when they are doing a great job," said Krzyzewski of Zoubs, as he is called by his teammates.

Duke held Maryland in check from beyond the arc, where they allowed just two three-point baskets and for most of the game they held Greivis Vasquez in check before he reeled off several baskets in the Terps comeback effort.  Vasquez finished the game as the Terps high scorer with 17, while Cliff Tucker chipped in with 12.

Jon Scheyer led all scorers with 22 points and Smith, who was cold from the field, still tallied 14 points to go with a team high 6 assists.  Kyle Singler added 10, Mason 7, Thomas 4 and 2 each for Miles and Kelly to round out the Blue Devils' scoring.

Duke scored 18 points off 14 Maryland turnovers and 20 points on second chance buckets.  Duke led by 24 at one time but let off the gas in the final couple of minutes, winning by 21 over their assigned rival.  Another huge stat for Duke was their 18 of 22 free throws.

Duke has won six consecutive games against Maryland in the series and Duke has won 13 games by 20 or more points this season.  Duke held 44-37 advantage in rebounding and four players scored in double figures for the 14th time this season.

The Blue Devils will travel to Miami on Wednesday for a game televised on ESPN.  Stay tuned for the BDN Duke Locker Room Report.