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.

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 -

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.

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.

[8 AP / 6 Coaches] Duke (17-3, 5-1 ACC) vs. St. John’s (9-11, 3-6 Big East)

Saturday, January 28, 2012 • 12:03 p.m. • ESPN

The Opening Tip

• Duke (17-3, 5-1 ACC) hosts St. John’s (9-11, 3-6 Big East) in its final non-conference tilt of the regular season on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is set for 12:03 p.m.

• Brent Musburger (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (analyst) will call the game for ESPN.

• Duke is ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. St. John’s is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 71-16 all-time when ranked eighth in the AP Poll.

• Duke is one of three teams (Baylor and Kansas are the others) in the NCAA to rank in the top 10 of the RPI, Strength of Schedule, AP and Coaches Polls.

• The Blue Devils had a 45-game home win streak snapped last Saturday and have not lost consecutive home contests since February of 2007. Duke has not lost more than one game at home in the last five seasons.

Duke-St. John’s Series

• Duke and St. John’s have met 20 times heading into Saturday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming on Feb. 4, 1938.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 14-6, including a 5-1 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

• Duke fell to St. John’s a year ago, but has won seven of the last eight contests in the series.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 14-3 at Duke against the Red Storm, including a 5-1 record in Durham.

• Duke has won five straight in the series at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils have a +23.0 scoring margin in that span.

• The Blue Devils have won 93 straight non-conference home games since falling to St. John’s, 83-82, on Feb. 26, 2000.

• Duke’s last two victories in the series have been by 10 points or less. The Blue Devils’ previous seven wins over St. John’s were all by double figures.

Numbers Game

l Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for 86 straight weeks, the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

l Duke has won 93 straight non-conference home games, the longest current streak in the NCAA. The last home loss against a non-conference opponent for the Blue Devils was on Feb. 26, 2000 against St. John’s, 83-82.

l The Blue Devils have won 87 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium against unranked non-conference opponents.

l Duke is 59-2 at home since the start of the 2008-09 season.

l The Blue Devils are one of 12 teams in the NCAA with five or more players averaging 10 or more points per game. Duke has finished the year with five double-figure scorers six times under Mike Krzyzewski.

l Austin Rivers, a four-time ACC Rookie of the Week selection, is averaging a team-high 14.2 points per game. Johnny Dawkins was the last Blue Devil freshman to lead the team in scoring in 1983.

l Mason Plumlee collected his eighth double-double of the season (tied for most in the ACC) with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s win over Maryland. He has collected 12 or more rebounds in a game 12 times this season.

l Ryan Kelly is shooting 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from three-point range on the season, including 51.9 percent (14-of-27) over the last 11 games. He shot just 30.7 percent (27-of-88) in his first two seasons at Duke.

l Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee combine to average 15.7 rebounds per game. One of the Plumlees has led the team in rebounds in 18 of 20 games.

l Tyler Thornton leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (6.7:1) through six conference games. He has 20 assists with just three turnovers in the last six games for the Blue Devils.

l Mason Plumlee has improved his free throw shooting over the last four games, going 15-of-18 (.833) from the line during that span. He was shooting 39.8 percent (37-of-93) from the free throw line prior to that stretch. Plumlee averages 5.6 free throw attempts per game.

l Austin Rivers is averaging a team-high 15.7 ppg. at home this season. He is shooting 51.5 percent from the field, including 43.2 percent from three-point range, in 10 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

l Andre Dawkins is averaging 4.0 threes per game and 15.5 ppg. over the last four contests.

l Duke University is honoring the All-American Athletic Association on Saturday. This is their 40th year as ushers in Cameron, and since 1972, they have raised over $450,000 for local charities.

The Andre Dawkins Show

The first half of the game belonged to Andre Dawkins who knocked down 21 points on 7 of 9 three pointers.  Dawkins earned the praise of Krzyzewski in his post game speech which just concluded. Dawkins failed to score in the second half.  Check out our interview with Andre per BDN Video.  Dawkins knocked down five straight three point shots and Dawkins has now scored 20 plus points in two consecutive games and this was his 9th double figure scoring game for the season.

Ryan Kelly scored a double-double

Kelly went 8 of 11 from the field on his way to a team high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds.  His consistent play was a huge factor for Duke as they maintained a working lead the entire game.  Kelly has scored 20 points in two of his teams ACC wins and he scored in double figures for the 11th time this season.

Austin Rivers comes off the bench for the first time

Rivers started the game on the bench as Krzyzewski said he was checking new combinations, but maybe he should remain the sixth man if he puts up numbers like 20 points.  Despite starting on the bench with 32 minutes of playing time, he basically still was a starter.  His 3 of 4 from the three point stripe matched a career high.  Austin has now scored in double figures 14 times this season and he leads the Blue Devils in scoring.

Just too much talent for Duke

The Blue Devils held Wake to zero three pointers in the first half and just 3 all game long.  They also held the Wake bench scoreless at the half.  Duke ended the game with a 43 to 8 points advantage, thanks to the aforementioned Kelly and Rivers.  Duke held an 18-9 second chance point advantage as well and while they were outscored in the paint, that was due to their outside shots falling where they knocked down 11 three pointers.  The Blue Devils also dished out 17 assists tonight.

This and that

Duke extended it’s ACC home court streak to 45 games and 64 straight against unranked teams.  This was the first game since March of 2010 that Duke had three 20 point scorers in one game.  Duke is 51-9 when ranked #4 in the country.  Four Blue Devils scored in double figures for the 11th time this season.

Post game videos

Below are Austin Rivers, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly post game comments per BDN Video.