Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball

Previewing the Yellow Jackets

Thomas2Duke (13-1) takes to the road for their first ACC road game of the year against Georgia Tech (11-3) in Atlanta. Duke is looking for a 2-0 ACC start after thumping Clemson 74-53 in their conference opener at home, while Georgia Tech is looking to even their conference record at 1-1 after dropping their conference opener to Florida State 66-59 at home.

Georgia Tech is ranked #17 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and #20 in the AP Top 25. Duke is #5 in both polls. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 73-66 loss to in-state rival Georgia, while in their most recent game, Duke downed Iowa State 86-65 at the United Center in Chicago.

Duke and Georgia Tech have had one common opponent on the season in the Charlotte 49ers. Duke defeated Charlotte 101-59 in Cameron Indoor Stadium, while Georgia Tech won 76-67 in Charlotte.

The Yellow Jackets will be the third straight test for Duke's frontcourt. Duke's big men passed the first two tests with flying colors in wins over Clemson and Iowa State who both feature quality inside players in Trevor Booker and Craig Brackins. The difference in this game is Georgia Tech has three talented inside players in Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors, and Zachery Peacock.

Junior Gani Lawal (6'9" 235) averages 15.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He is 10th in the ACC is scoring and 3rd in rebounds. Lawal has the 5th best field goal percentage at 55.5 percent.

Freshman Derrick Favors (6'10" 245) averages 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Favors is tied for 4th in the ACC in rebounds. In a recent article at Basketball Prospectus, Favors was ranked as the 7th best freshman in the nation.

Senior Zachery Peacock (6'8" 235) averages 10 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench for the Yellow Jackets. Peacock has the ability to step out to the perimeter and knock down jump shots. He is making 47.6 percent of his 3-point attempts on the season.

While Duke leads the ACC in Assists/Turnover ratio at 1.5, Georgia Tech is 11th at .9. The Yellow Jackets turn the ball over an average of 16.6 times per game. In their three losses, the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 20.3 times per game. Georgia Tech's backcourt ball handling is a liability.

Sophomore Iman Shumpert (6'5" 205) is back after missing six games with a knee injury. He averages 8.4 points and 3.8 assists per game, but also turns the ball over 3.3 times per contest. In the loss to Georgia, Shumpert recorded one assist and five turnovers.

Freshman Mfon Udofia (6'2" 185) and Senior D’Andre Bell (6’6” 220) are Georgia Tech’s fourth and fifth starters. Udofia averages10.8 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.6 turnovers per game. Bell averages 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 turnovers per game.

Coach Paul Hewitt employs a deep rotation with nine players averaging double digit minutes and no player seeing 30 minutes of action per game. Maurice Miller (6’2” 190), Glen Rice, Jr. (6’5” 195), and Brian Oliver (6’6” 220) make up the balance of the Yellow Jackets double digit players.

The keys to the game will be:

1. Defensive rebounding. Duke must keep Georgia Tech off the offensive glass and prevent second chance points.

2. Turnovers. With Georgia Tech’s suspect ball handling, look for Nolan Smith to apply pressure on the Yellow Jackets main ball handler. This is a game where Duke may look to trap the ball as it is brought across the half court line. Lance Thomas could be a key player if Duke opts to run a half court trap defense. The best way to neutralize Lawal and Favors down low is to prevent them from getting it down low.

3. Outside shooting. Georgia Tech’s strength is their inside play so look for Duke to try and open up the inside by knocking down the long ball. Duke is leading the ACC in 3 point field goal percentage at 42.6 percent and second in the league in 3 point field goals made with 8.6 per game.

This Georgia Tech squad is very talented and a better team than the one which finished last in the ACC last season. However, they are not good enough to beat the Blue Devils. This will be a tough match-up and winning on the road in conference is never an easy task, but the Blue Devils should leave Atlanta with an eight to ten point victory in the books.

Duke Basketball

Duke at Georgia Tech Official Game Notes

Duke practicing for Tech - BDN Photo
Duke practicing for Tech - BDN Photo

Game 15

[5 AP/5 Coaches] Duke (13-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. [20 AP/17 Coaches] Georgia Tech (11-3, 0-1 ACC)

Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010  •  2:00 p.m.  •  ESPN

Alexander Memorial Coliseum (9,191)  •  Atlanta, Ga.

The Opening Tip

Duke (13-1, 1-0 ACC), ranked fifth in the AP poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Georgia Tech (11-3, 0-1 ACC) at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 2:00 p.m. The Yellow Jackets enter the game ranked 20th in the AP poll and 17th in the Coaches’ Poll. Saturday’s game will air on ESPN with Brad Nessler and Jay Bilas calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Duke is coming off an 86-65 win over Iowa State at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., on Wednesday. Senior Jon Scheyer netted a game-high 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor. He knocked down four three-point field goals for his fourth straight game with three or more treys.

Nolan Smith recorded his fourth 20-point game in the last five outings with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. He knocked down both three-point attempts and is now shooting an ACC-best 53.2 percent from behind the arc. Smith also matched a career high with three steals in the contest.

Junior Kyle Singler continued his all-around solid play with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lance Thomas added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, while limiting Iowa State’s high-scoring forward Craig Brackens to 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Duke shot 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the field and made all 12 free throws en route to outscoring Iowa State, 45-32, in the second half of play.

Numbers Game

l Duke has won 22 of its last 23 games in the month of January. The Blue Devils are 201-55 under Mike Krzyzewski in January games.

l Senior Jon Scheyer leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.58:1) while playing 35.3 minutes per game. He has led Duke in assists in all 14 games with six turnover-free games. Scheyer also ranks eighth in the NCAA at 6.2 assists per game.

l Nolan Smith has 25 three-point field goals and is shooting an ACC-best 53.2 percent from three-point range. In the last five games, he is 15-of-21 (.714) from behind the arc.

l Jon Scheyer is averaging 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game during Duke’s current seven-game win streak. He is shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range and averaging 3.9 three-point field goals per game in that span.

l Junior Nolan Smith has scored 10 or more points in all 12 games he has played. He is averaging 18.5 points per game, a 10.1 ppg. increase from a year ago. Smith also has six 20-point efforts in 2009-10 after posting one 20-point game in his first two seasons at Duke.

l Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith are averaging 42.9 points combined, while shooting 52.7 percent (97-of-184) from the field and 53.7 percent (44-of-82) from three-point range during Duke’s seven-game win streak.

l Duke has had 17 individual 20-point scoring games this season. The Blue Devils have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game six times on the year.

l Junior Kyle Singler has led Duke in rebounding seven times in 2009-10 and 43 times in his career. He has grabbed eight or more rebounds in four of the last five games.

l The Blue Devils are 3-0 against ranked opponents this season and 168-116 under Coach K against ranked foes.

l Duke limited its three previous ranked opponents (Connecticut, Gonzaga, Clemson) to 51.0 points per game. The Blue Devils held those three teams to 32.7 percent (53-of-162) shooting from the field, including 13.3 percent (4-of-30) shooting from three-point distance.

l Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler were two of the 30 players recently named to the Wooden Award Midseason Watch List.

l Duke has won 11 of the last 12 meetings  at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Duke Women's Basketball

Duke Women crush Clemson on the road by a 67-41 margin

Jasmine Thomas (5)CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - This time, it was the Duke women's turn to show Clemson how the Blue Devils play defense.

No. 9 Duke used a first-half run and relentless defense to open Atlantic Coast Conference play with its 13th straight victory over the Tigers, 67-41 on Thursday night.

The win, Blue Devils' sixth straight this season, came after the school's Top 10 men locked down Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday night in a 74-53 victory.

"We take after the men, they take after us," Duke forward Joy Cheek said. "We all represent Duke, so we all want to go hard and get those wins."

Cheek was a big reason why the Blue Devils (13-2) got this victory. She and Jasmine Thomas had 15 points each. The two helped Duke to a 21-6 first-half run to take control, while the Blue Devils defense did the rest.

"I think tonight, we really let our defense trigger everything," Thomas said.

Clemson's point total was the lowest in its history against Duke. The Tigers missed 13 shots in a row during one stretch and finished shooting 25 percent (13 of 52) from the field.

The Blue Devils got 15 steals and forced the Tigers into 23 turnovers.

The effort looked like a replay of Duke-Clemson men's game from a few nights earlier. In that one, the Blue Devils gave the Cameron crazies plenty to cheer about as they moved in front 30-12 and held the Tigers to a 5-of-30 shooting in the first half.

"I guess were both 1-0 against Clemson in ACC play," Thomas said, laughing.

The Blue Devils have not lost a league opener since Dec. 9, 2000 - also the last time they lost to the Tigers (9-8).

Shaniqua Pauldo scored 12 points to lead Clemson, which has lost its last 38 games against ranked opponents.

Bridgette Mitchell added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils.

Duke came in with its top 10 ranking, a solid winning streak this season and a run of success against Clemson that has lasted nearly a decade.

But the Blue Devils couldn't find their rhythm early on, going 3 of 9 from the field and leading 6-5 seven minutes in.

"It's okay to have a slow start if you're defending," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

Then Duke showed off the talent that's made it one of the ACC's top women's programs in the country.

Thomas got the run started with a driving basket and a foul shot, and Cheek followed with two straight jumpers.

Cheek added a 3-pointer that increased the lead to 22-9, then Thomas followed with a long-range basket of her own. By the time Karima Christmas made two foul shots, Duke lead 27-11 to all but wrap the game up.

Clemson hasn't beaten a Top 25 program in more than six years, and the Tigers lose their latest chance with some awful first-half shooting.

The Tigers have shot less than 40 percent in three of its past four games.

"Now, it's more in their heads," Clemson coach Cristy McKinney said. "It is confidence in my mind and they just need the reps and seeing it go in the hole."

That might be difficult since the Tigers face ranked opponents Georgia Tech, Florida State and North Carolina their next three games.

Clemson also couldn't handle Duke's size, getting outrebounded 48 to 31.

The Blue Devils opened the second half with a 17-9 run and the lead eventually stretched to reached 30 points, prompting McCallie to send her starters to the bench.

Duke's intensity didn't let up, though. When reserve guard Chelsea Hopkins took a charge on Clemson's Keyrra Gillespie with less than six minutes left, McCallie led the cheers on the Blue Devils' bench.

"Finally, we got a charge," McCallie said.

Hardy, Clemson's leading scorer, was held to eight points - six fewer than her average - on 3 of 15 shooting. Reserve Jasmine Tate finished with nine rebounds and five blocks for the Tigers

Duke Basketball

This season’s Duke Basketball team is pretty darn good

Msson Plumlee is starting to devlop after pre season injuries
Msson Plumlee is starting to develop after pre season injuries

Hey Duke fans!  Maybe it's time to notice just how good this years Duke Men's Basketball team is playing.   It wasn't that long ago when I'm pretty sure that I was the first to state Jon Scheyer would easily win ACC Player of the Year if it were voted upon today.  It seems as if everybody in the media grabbed that and ran with it, but let's face it, the numbers were easy to see if you were paying attention.  Here are some other obvious reasons Duke has been successful to date -

Mike Krzyzewski - Pull up a comfortable chair for the remainder of the season for Kryzewski is doing one of his best coaching jobs to date with this years team.  There is a fire and determination instilled in this years Duke team and one might say Krzyzewski is at his best when there are questions or concerns.  In short, he seems prepared for all of the challenges to date but he would be the first to tell you that in ACC play any weaknesses will be exposed.  So far this season, Duke has adjusted with the exception of maybe the Wisconsin game where they still had a chance to win in a tough environment had execution been a bit better down the stretch.  Duke has some solid wins on the ledger which will certainly help when the NCAA announces the parings in March.  As long as I have been watching Duke Basketball, Krzyzewski is doing as good a job to date as I have seen and yes, I was there the very day he walked onto the Duke campus for the first time.

Roles defined -I cannot remember the last team that seemed to understand their roles within the team at such an early point in the season. Krzyzewski and his staff have made each player understand what is expected of them and so far, so good.  He will no doubt tinkle a bit more as the season progresses in an attempt to push all of the right buttons. Whether it is Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek or Andre Dawkins, everyone has been doing a good job of translating what is expected of them to the court.

Defense - Krzyzewski changed up Duke's defense this season in order to fit his personnel and his schemes have been very successful.  The Blue Devils are really getting after it in half court and last evening showed some pressure full court.  If one were lucky enough to hear the players come out of the locker room at the beginning of any home game, they would hear the emphasis placed on defense.  "How are we going to win," asks one player to his of his teammates who are all gathered together and the response is "Defense," in unison followed by the hungry sounds of twelve players going "woof, woof, woof."  In short, the Blue Devils place great emphasis on defense as they always have, yet many never saw this coming.  All one needs to do is take a look at the stats to realize that to date, this years group is holding teams to fewer points than at anytime in the decade.

The Big Three - I've heard no suitable names for Duke's core of Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler to date, but I cannot remember a team having three more consistent players.  The trio are accounting for the majority of points scored for the Duke offense and they all seem to relish their roles.  Nolan Smith has been solid and he consistently scores just under twenty points per game while playing cool and under control.  Kyle Singler is taking on a new role playing on the perimeter but he is adjusting before our very eyes and the pre season ACC Player of the Year seems more intent on winning than he does fulfilling individual or post season honors.  The aforementioned Scheyer has been nothing short of first team All American with a most amazing assist to turnover ratio and his heady play.  Not many teams around the country have a trio like Duke does and if you doubt that, start scanning the rosters.  As long as these three player produce as they have, Duke will have a most successful campaign.

Plumlee's development - Mason Plumlee showed signs of adjusting to the physical nature and speed of the game in the Blue Devils win over Iowa State.  Mason is still getting his timing down after a late pre season injury kept him out of the lineup.  The Blue Devils seem determined to have him ready for the coming rigors of ACC play.  It was visibly evident that Mason can do things other front court players cannot just watching him last night.  Once Mason starts finishing on a more consistent basis near the basket, Duke will be even better.

Offensive production - Many wondered where Duke's offense would come from this season and Duke has answered that question.  The Blue Devils are among the nations leaders in points per game and this has come against pretty good competition.  Duke still hits their three point shots and the team seems to be playing together making the extra pass when needed and taking a good shot when presented.

Home Cooking - How impressive is it when a team defeats the pre season third rated team in Clemson with relative ease in Cameron?  What's that?  It's Cameron and Duke always plays well, eh?  Well, this season they nailed down a win in the all important ACC opener by whipping the Tigers without eighty five percent of the Cameron Crazies, the cheerleaders, full band and well, you get it.  Duke has been tough at home and the Cameron Crazies will prove to play an important a role with a developing team.  The team has kept up their end and if the students do the rest of the way, then Duke may well go through the regular season undefeated at home.

So, Duke is 13-1 headed into the grinder known as the ACC regular season and to date are ranked fifth in both polls, yet there are still some who can find faults.  I'm not talking the media here, but amazingly some of the fans.  Duke was defeating a decent Iowa State team by 21 points, yet message boards had many concerned over Andre Dawkins playing time or the worries of players getting tired.  Have we become that jaded as a fan base that many cannot recognize that people would kill to trade places with a Blue Devil fan?  What I am saying is instead of non stop worrying about recruiting or the future, wake up and check out the here and now for this Duke team cannot give you much more effort than they already have.  It's no secret anymore, this years Duke team is pretty darn good.

Duke Basketball

Another big night for Scheyer as Duke cruises past Iowa State 86-65

kyle singler

CHICAGO - As homecomings go, Jon Scheyer's was about as good as it gets.

The Duke star saw the familiar faces in the stands and heard the voices of those who had been part of his life - friends, teachers and family. About 500 of them cheering his every move. And they had plenty to get excited about Wednesday night.

Scheyer scored 31 points on a variety of shots and led the fifth-ranked Blue Devils to an 86-65 victory over Iowa State.

He called it an experience that was both emotional and a little weird.

"There were people who have been there for me throughout my whole life since I've been a little kid," said Scheyer, a prep star in suburban Northbrook, Ill.

"Many people haven't been able to see me play. This is their first time being able to see me, so that means a lot, too. ... I know people changed their plans to be here."

Scheyer, who scored more than 3,000 points for Glenbrook North High, shot 10 of 19 with four 3-pointers. And he did it on the court at the United Center.

"This morning I was a little nervous at our shootaround because I've been here so many times to watch games and seen so many great players here," Scheyer said. "Not too many courts I walk on that I feel like it is a big deal. But for me it was today and it ended up being a good night."

The Blue Devils (13-1) won their seventh straight game behind a balanced attack, a defense that forced 18 turnovers and aggressive rebounding.

Nolan Smith added 20 points and Kyle Singler 15 for Duke.

Marquis Gilstrap paced Iowa State (10-4) with 16 points. Leading scorer Craig Brackins, who came in averaging 17, had 12.

Scheyer's 3-pointer with the shot clocking running down extended the Blue Devils' lead to 50-35 early in second half. His three-point play about 7 minutes in put the Blue Devils up 19 as they opened the second half with a 17-6 run.

The Cyclones whittled it to 12 but Smith and Scheyer hit 3-pointers to put Duke back up by 17.

"Some of the plays he makes, well you think he's not that fast or whatever," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Scheyer. "He really has great body control, a soft touch and obviously a determined heart."

Duke took a big early lead, withstood an Iowa State rally and led 41-33 at halftime.

Three Iowa State misses and a turnover in the first 2:17 helped the Blue Devils roll out to a 9-0 lead behind two baskets from Lance Thomas.

Scheyer's 3-pointer from the corner made it 12-2 and the Cyclones appeared rattled early in their first-ever game at the United Center, missing seven of their first eight shots while Duke started 5 of 7. Scheyer hit two free throws after a timeout and it was 14-2 less than 5 minutes into the game.

"The way we started the game and the way we started the second half, you can't compete against any team, let alone a team as talented as Duke," Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. "Obviously Duke was pressuring us and we expected that pressure, but a lot of the turnovers were self-inflicted."

Iowa State found its poise and ran off 11 straight points as Garrett hit two driving shots and Brackins scored inside, cutting the lead quickly to one point.

Smith's 3-pointer, an emphatic dunk from Mason Plumlee and a driving bank shot from Scheyer helped the Blue Devils rebuild their lead and they went up by 13 with just under a minute to go.

But Gilstrap hit a 3-pointer from about 10 feet behind the NBA line as the buzzer sounded, clipping Duke's lead to 41-33. The Cyclones gave up 14 offensive rebounds in the first half and stayed close by shooting 42 percent while Duke made only 37.5 percent.

With Chicago native Krzyzewski as their coach, the Blue Devils are 7-0 at the United Center.

It was Iowa State's third game this season in Chicago. The Cyclones were 1-1 in the Chicago Invitational Challenge in late November, losing in the finals to Northwestern.