Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball

Duke falls on the road to NCSU 88-74

Lance King Photo
Lance King Photo

Raleigh, N.C. - Duke [15-3, 3-2] proved it as not above the rest of the ACC as they struggled on the road against a fired up North Carolina State team and in the process got thumped 88-74.

In a game that feature 59 free throws due to tight calls, the Wolfpack drained 58.2% from the field to Duke's 38.6% and that pretty much proved to be the difference.

The Packs Tracy Smith led the way for the victors with 23 points and Dennis Horner added 20.  Unlike Duke, the Pack's leaders got help from the rest of the team on offense.

How inefficient was Duke past the big three of Scheyer, Singler and Smith?  Well, of the Blue Devils 74 points, only 13 came from the rest of the team.

The aforementioned three will need some help if Duke is to get past their road woes and Kryzyzewski was not happy with his teams energy.

"They brought more energy than we did.  They looked like a team that played a game at noon on Saturday and we looked like a team that went through a war on Sunday night.

It was quite simply the Blue Devils worst defensive effort of the season and Kryzyzeski was quick to point that out as well.

With the Wolfpack shooting lights out for most of the way, Duke never really got it's three point shooting untracked.

The Blue Devils looked as if their feet were in sand on some plays and that is the sign of a tired team.

Coming into the game after the way Duke's front line played in the last to games, who would have thought they would be outscored in the paint by a 36-28 margin, yet oddly Duke led the battle of the boards 40-28.

But of the Wolfpacks 28 boards, 22 of them ere on the defensive end where they limited Duke to one shot for most of the second half.

That also means the Wolfpack was shooting the ball well as evidenced by another statistical anomaly where Duke outscored them 19-2 on second chance points.

Duke managed just 8 assists on the evening and had 14 turnovers.

The Blue Devils will now regroup and travel to Death Valley to face Clemson who ran them out of the gym last year.

We'll have more on the game in the BDN Locker Room Report in the A.M.

Duke Basketball

Duke at N.C. State Official Game Notes

Courtesy: Duke Photography Miles Plumlee posted career highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday’s win over Wake Forest.
Courtesy: Duke Photography
Miles Plumlee posted career highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday’s win over Wake Forest.

Game 18
Duke (15-2, 3-1 ACC)
vs. N.C. State (12-6, 1-3 ACC)
Wed., Jan. 20, 2010 l 9:00 p.m. l Raycom
RBC Center l Raleigh, N.C.

The Opening Tip

Duke (15-2, 3-1 ACC), ranked seventh in the AP poll and sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked N.C. State (12-6, 1-3 ACC) at the RBC Center on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday’s game will air on Raycom with Tim Brando and Dan Bonner calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Junior Kyle Singler scored 21 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as Duke posted a 90-70 win over Wake Forest on Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The double-double was Singler’s third of the year and the 16th in his career. Nolan Smith notched 20 points on Sunday for his team-high eighth 20+ point game of the season.

The Blue Devils received outstanding play on the interior from the Plumlee brothers as Miles and Mason combined for 30 points, on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 10-of-12 shooting from the free throw line, and 21 rebounds. Miles posted career-highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. He also recorded his third double-double of the season in the contest.

Duke grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and posted a 48-41 rebounding advantage over Wake Forest on Sunday. The Blue Devils scored 25 second chance points and had 46 points in the paint for the game.

The Blue Devils, the ACC leaders in free throw percentage, closed the game out by going 14-of-16 (.875) from the free throw line in the second half.

Numbers Game

  • Duke and Syracuse are the only teams in the country to rank in the top 10 in both the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll as well as the CollegeRPI.com Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). The Blue Devils, seventh in the AP Poll and sixth in the Coaches’ Poll, rank first in the RPI with the sixth-best SOS.

  • The Blue Devils have been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 50 consecutive weeks. Duke has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last 47 polls.

  • Duke has won 23 of its last 25 games in the month of January. The Blue Devils are 202-56 under Coach K in January games.

  • Duke has had 21 individual 20-point scoring games this season, including eight by Nolan Smith. The Blue Devils have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game seven times on the year.

  • Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 20.1 points per game, while shooting 55.2 percent (58-of-105) from the field and 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from three-point range, in the last eight games. He has topped the 20-point mark in six of those games.

  • Miles and Mason Plumlee are averaging 18.6 points and 13.0 rebounds per game combined over the last six contests. The duo is shooting 58.3 percent (42-of-72) from the field during that span.

  • Jon Scheyer is the only player in the ACC to rank in the top 5 in six statistical categories; scoring (second, 18.9 ppg.), assists (third, 6.1 apg.), free throw percentage (first, .905), three-point field goals (first, 2.7 3pg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (first, 4.12:1) and minutes (second, 35.6 mpg.).

  • Nolan Smith is shooting 47.8 percent (99-of-207) from the field, including 50.0 percent (27-of-54) from three-point range, to rank ninth in the ACC in field goal percentage. He is the only guard to rank in the top 10 of the league in that category.

  • Duke has lost three straight true road games dating back to last season. The Blue Devils have not lost four in a row on the road since the 2002-03 season.

  • The Blue Devils are averaging 46.5 points in the paint over their last two games. On the year, Duke is averaging 35.8 points in the paint per game.

  • Kyle Singler has three double-doubles this season and 16 in his career. He has double-doubles in each of the last two games.
Duke Basketball

BDN Locker Room Report checks in with the brothers Plumlee

This Mason reverse dunk brought the house down - Lance King photo
This Mason reverse dunk brought the house down - Lance King photo

Durham, N.C. - Brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee both had good nights in Duke's 90-70 win over Wake forest.  The BDN Locker Room Report caught up with both of the after the contest and got their thoughts on the game and their play.

Miles Plumlee audio - [just press play]

Mason audio will be added here shortly.  We are having a few tech issues today which should be resolved shortly.

Duke Basketball

Duke rolls past Wake Forest thanks to a 35-15 run for a 90-70 victory

Singler explodes in the 2nd half against Wake in Duke's 90-70 win - Photo special to BDN copyright Lance King Photo
Singler explodes in the 2nd half against Wake in Duke's 90-70 win - Photo special to BDN copyright Lance King Photo

Durham, N.C. - The Duke Blue Devils survived a cold shooting first half by their big three of Singler, Scheyer and Smith to defeat Wake Forest 90-70 pushing their season record to 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC.

Duke used a 35-15 run after the game was tied at 55 apiece and that 20 point difference was the final margin of victory.

After the aforementioned three went 5 of 28 in the first half, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith warmed up.  In fact, Singler broke out of his semi slump tossing in 21 points to go with his 15 rebounds.

Smith helped the Devils going 7 of 7 from the free throw stripe in route to 20 points.  His backcourt teammate Jon Scheyer once again struggled from the three point stripe going just 1 of 6, ending the game with 9 points and a team high 6 assists.

But the real story for Duke tonight was the brothers Plumlee who came to play.  Both Miles and Mason brought the Crazies to their feet with sensational dunks and the two served notice that they are pretty darn good.

Miles Plumlee had an amazing first half and ended the game with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds.  His brother Mason missed just two shots from the field ending the contest with 11 points and 6 rebounds.

"Obviously, it was a really physical game and tough ACC game.  It was great that me and Mason came out and rebounded hard and played hard.  It was really good for us," stated [Miles] Plumlee.

The Blue Devils enjoyed a 48-43 rebounding edge over the visiting Demon Deacons in a game that was quite physical throughout the evening.

Another good sign for the Devils was the fact they hit just 4 of 13 three pointers, yet they won by twenty points.  Duke  has now played in  consecutive games where they proved they can win via the two point field goal.

We'll have the Blue Devil Nation Locker Room Report up shortly, where we talked with Mason and Miles Plumlee and Nolan Smith.

Duke will next face North Carolina State on Raleigh on Wednesday evening.

Sidebar - The game was the 300th consecutive sellout in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Duke has won 11 straight versus Wake in Cameron.  Duke reached the 90 point mark for the sixth time this season.   Duke is 14-0 when outrebounding their opponent this season.  Masons 7 boards matches his season high to date.  Miles had his third double-double of the season.  Senior Jon Scheyer did not score in double figures for the first time this season.  Kyle Singler has started 44 consecutive games.  Nolan Smith leads the team with six 20 point contests.

Duke Basketball

Duke vs. Wake Forest Official Game Notes

Courtesy: Lance King Nolan Smith matched a career high with 24 points to go along with four assists and three steals in Wednesday’s win over Boston College.
Courtesy: Lance King
Nolan Smith matched a career high with 24 points to go along with four assists and three steals in Wednesday’s win over Boston College.

Game 17
Duke (14-2, 2-1 ACC)
vs. Wake Forest (12-3, 2-1 ACC)
Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 l 8:00 p.m. l FSN
Cameron Indoor Stadium l Durham, N.C.

The Opening Tip
Duke (14-2, 2-1 ACC), ranked eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Wake Forest (12-3, 2-1 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8:00 p.m. Sunday’s game will air on FSN with Tim Brando, Mike Gminski and Jenn Hildreth calling the action.

The Last Time Out
Duke is coming off a 79-59 win over Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. The Blue Devils broke the game open with a 16-2 run to start the second half after leading 38-35 at intermission.

Junior Nolan Smith matched a career high with 24 points to go along with four assists and three steals. He was 9-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the contest.

Kyle Singler recorded his 15th career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win. He also added three steals in the contest. Senior Jon Scheyer and sophomore Miles Plumlee each recorded 12 points for the Blue Devils.

Senior Brian Zoubek registered a game-high 11 rebounds as Duke posted a 40-27 edge on the glass. The Blue Devils grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, including five each by Zoubek and Singler.

Duke made just 1-of-12 three-point field goals, but finished 27-of-48 (.563) from inside the arc in the contest. The Blue Devils also shot 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the free throw line to secure the win.

Numbers Game

  • Duke is the only team in the country to rank in the top 10 in both the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll as well as the College Basketball News Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). The Blue Devils, eighth in the AP Poll and seventh in the Coaches’ Poll, rank second in the RPI with the 10th-best SOS.

  • Sunday’s game is the 300th consecutive sellout at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 16, 1990, against Boston College.

  • The Blue Devils have won 12 straight and 42 of the last 44 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

  • Duke has won 23 of its last 25 games in the month of January. The Blue Devils are 202-56 under Mike Krzyzewski in January games.

  • The Blue Devils have won 37 consecutive home games against unranked opponents.

  • Senior Jon Scheyer leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.62:1) while playing 35.6 minutes per game. He has led Duke in assists in all 16 games with six turnover-free games. Scheyer is tied for ninth in the NCAA at 6.1 assists per game.

  • Nolan Smith is shooting 48.9 percent (93-of-190) from the field, including 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from three-point range, to rank ninth in the ACC in field goal percentage. He is the only guard to rank in the top 10 of the league in that category.

  • Duke has had 19 individual 20-point scoring games this season, including seven each by Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. The Blue Devils have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game six times on the year.

  • Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 20.1 points per game, while shooting 59.1 percent (52-of-88) from the field and 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from three-point range, in the last seven games. He has topped the 20-point mark in five of those games.

  • Miles and Mason Plumlee are averaging 16.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game combined over the last five contests. The duo is shooting 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the field during that span.

  • Jon Scheyer is the only player in the country averaging better than 19.0 points and 6.0 assists per game.

  • Duke has a +31.3 scoring margin in 10 home games this season. Nine of Duke’s 10 wins have been by 20+ points.