Tag Archives: Austin Rivers

Despite lopsided loss, Duke will come back as a better team

The #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes took it to the Duke Blue Devils last evening and in the process they exposed some areas of weakness, but to make a big fuss out of the loss would be silly.  Yes, Duke got punked against one of the most veteran teams in the nation on their home court, one where the Buckeyes have yet to leave this season.

While the margin of the loss could be alarming to some, it still counts as a single loss.  It is also important to realize that the Blue Devils have been just the opposite of the home comforted Buckeyes in that they've been road warriors and played a lot of games in a short time.  Still, there are no excuses in that Duke lost to a better team but they'll take away a valuable lesson in many ways which will in turn make them better come March.

I mean, let's face it, Ohio State would have beat anybody badly the way they played, all comers, if you will.  It was also clear to see that this game was huge for their program as Thad Motta, at times, acted as if he'd never been there before, basking in the camera's bright glare ranting up and down the sidelines from beginning to end with a look in his eyes that it was personal.

This is Motta's best team in Columbus, anchored by a player most thought would be in the league in Jared Sullinger, so they're suppose to win and be as good as they looked.  Duke took their best shot and had no counter punch and that got to Krzyzewski enough that he benched unproductive regulars for true freshman Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinije.

What was happening is that he was sending a clear message to his team, that practice would be tough this week and each player will have to earn their burn.  In the process, Hairston and the aforementioned freshman got some valuable time for down the road.  There was not a great deal of production from them in significant minutes but that was different in little way from the regulars numbers, where Thornton and Dawkins combined for 0 points.

Ryan Kelly got caught up in the dog house as well, with a zip in the box score as well after turning in an MVP performance in Maui.  Kelly had better numbers past that though but a message was being sent by Coach K and a lot of it had to do with their defense.  Still, on this night it wouldn't have mattered who was in there for Duke in that this was one of the biggest games in Buckeye's history and they showed up in a big way.

Meanwhile, Austin Rivers showed positive signs of improvement with his play and his 22 points led the Blue Devils.  He was helped by Mason Plumlee and his 16 points but past that, some Blue Devils seemed to have not packed all of their game before leaving Durham.  These two kids never gave up nor played on their heels but Rivers, despite his stellar game was still figuring it all out.

It was simply a bad game for Duke, but it was just one game.  Until this loss, Duke had played as good as one could have imagined with victories over Belmont, Davidson, Michigan State, Michigan, Kansas, all solid ball clubs.  And unlike Ohio State, Duke beat three of these teams away from the friendly and comfortable Cameron Indoor Stadium.

While this loss might sting when realizing Duke was never in the game, save early on -- it'll be a learning experience and one where the staff will have a young teams undivided attention.  The Blue Devils are a work in progress and in a sense, they are right on schedule and a loss in late November will seem a long ways off soon enough.

As a team, Duke now knows what kind of effort it will take to win in a hostile environment against as good a team that they'll face all year and this lesson might help against the likes of North Carolina in ACC play.  Personally, I will not overreact to this loss despite the fact that Duke was as much of the media is saying, got dismantled.

All that is left to do is for Krzyzewski and the team to pick up the pieces after being humbled and history shows that this will indeed happen.  In the long run, Duke will be better from taking this on on the chin and tough lessons are what makes one tougher in life and in this case on the court as well.

When Duke faces Colorado State in Cameron a week from today, fans may see a shake up or two, but even if not, Duke will be a better team and a hungry one from their experience.  Personally, I think they'll run off five straight victories, including the game with Washington in New York before heading to another hostile environment at Temple just after the New Year is over.  And at that time, we'll know for sure if the lesson learned in Columbus played a role in preparing them for the coming schedule.

Rivers career high 20 points helps Duke defeat #15 Michigan

It's not even Thanksgiving yet and the Duke Men's Basketball team is already 6-0 with wins over quality teams.  The Blue Devils added to their March resume by defeating #15 Michigan 82-75 and in the process advance to the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Austin Rivers scored the ball well with a career high 20 points.  The dandy freshman drew  Tim Hardaway Jr. for most of the night and he held him with help from his teammates to 0 in the first half.  Hardaway would warm up to score 19 points, all in the second half, but Duke was never really threatened after going out to a double digit plus lead.

Seth Curry added 17 points for Duke and continues his consistent, silky smooth play.  Ryan Kelly has now had back to back great games where he scored 17 points and went a stellar 9 of 10 from the free throw stripe.  Andre Dawkins was the other Blue Devil in double figures with 14 points and 4 three pointers.

The Blue Devils handled the Wolverines vaunted 1-3-1 defense with tight guard play.  That combined with 11 three pointers at a plus 50% clip and the Blue Devils remain undefeated on the season and they have yet to lose in the Maui Invitational.  The Blue Devils will face the winner of the UCLA-Kansas game which guarantees a match up against on the the all time best college basketball programs.

BDN's Terry Rains will be adding some video interviews shortly where he is on the scene in Hawaii, so stay tuned for that.

Blue Devils advance in Maui to face Michigan

The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 77-67 in their first game in the Maui Invitational pushing their season record to 5-0 on the oyung season.  The Blue Devils will face the Michigan Wolverines who defeated a talented Memphis squad at 7:00 tomorrow evening in a game televised on ESPN.

It took the Blue Devils a while to get untracked but late in the first half they put together a mini run to take a six point lead into the locker room.  They would eventually get out to a large lead in the second half and held on for an eventual ten point win.

One of the keys to the game for the Blue Devils was their perimimeter defense which did not allow the Vols a single three point shot.  Tennessee depended on the three point shot coming into the game.  On ther other side of the ledger Duke made seven three pointers and were led by freshman Austin Rivers who hit two consecutive treys on his way to a career high 18 points.

Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly scored 17 points each and Andre Dawkins tallied ten giving the Blue Devils four double figure scorers.  Mason Plumlee fell just shy of a double-double with 8 points to go with a team high 13 rebounds.

There will be little time for rest as Duke will now face a Michigan team that took them down to the wire in last seasons NCAA Tournament.  We'll have more on the match up in the morning and look for a couple of interviews coming your way soon as well.
Team Notes:
• Duke started 5-0 for the fifth consecutive
season and the 20th time under head coach Mike
Krzyzewski.
• The Blue Devils improved to 13-0 all-time in Maui and
14-0 all-time in the Maui Invitational. Duke beat Belmont 77-76 in Cameron
Indoor Stadium on Nov. 11 of this season in a preliminary Maui Invitational
matchup.
• Duke won its 10th consecutive game against a non-conference
opponent on a neutral court.
• Duke had four players score in double
figures for the fourth time this season.
• For the second straight game,
Duke used the starting lineup of Seth
Curry, Andre
Dawkins, Ryan
Kelly, Mason
Plumlee and Austin
Rivers. Curry, Dawkins, Rivers and Mason
Plumlee have started every game this season.
• Duke trailed 33-31 with
2:18 remaining in the first half but scored eight straight points to close out
the half and take a 39-33 lead into halftime. Austin
Rivers made back-to-back three-pointers during that span, and Seth
Curry added a two-point jumper.
• Duke also got the first two points
of the second half to extend that run to 10 consecutive points. Duke has scored
10 or more consecutive points four times this season.
• The Blue Devils
held Tennessee without a three-pointer. Tennessee shot 0-of-8 from the
three-point line.
• Holding onto a slim four-point lead at 59-55 with 8:16
remaining, Duke went on a 15-6 run to reclaim a double-digit lead. Duke went
5-for-6 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line during that
run.

Player Notes:

Quinn
Cook
• Contributed two points, two rebounds, an assist, a
steal and his first career block.

Seth
Curry
• Started his 18th consecutive game and played over 30
minutes for the third straight outing.
• Scored in double figures for the
fifth straight game.
• Hit a three-pointer for the fifth straight game.

• Went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Picked up a pair of
steals, giving him multiple steals for the third straight game.
• Led the
team with four assists

Andre
Dawkins
• Started his fifth consecutive game.
• Hit a
three-pointer for the 11th consecutive game.
• Scored in double figures

Ryan
Kelly
• Made his second straight start.
• Scored in
double figures for the fourth time this season.
• Went 5-of-9 from the
field, raising his field goal percentage to .576.

Mason
Plumlee
• Started his 26tth consecutive game.

Registered double-digit rebounds for the third game and the second straight
contest. He ranks among the top five in the ACC with 10.6 rebounds per
game.
• Went 3-for-5 from the field, improving his field goal percentage
to a team-leading .639 (third highest in the ACC).
• With the score tied
at 45-45, pulled in four consecutive defensive rebounds to help Duke rebuild a
50-45 lead. Duke did not trail the rest of the game.

Miles
Plumlee
• Scored five points and added six rebounds off the
bench.
• Blocked a shot.

Austin
Rivers
• Made his fifth straight start and played 31
minutes.
• Scored a career-high 18 points and led the team.
• Scored
11 points in the first half while sinking two three-pointers.
• Both of
his first-half treys came in the final 2:18 during an 8-0 Duke
run.

Tyler
Thornton
• The first player off Duke’s bench

Monday Musings – Duke goes to Maui, football takes on UNC, Cheerleader of the Week

Cheerleader of the Week

Welcome to the Thanksgiving week Monday Musings where BDN of course, hopes all of you have a great holiday.  Duke takes on Tennessee in just a few hours to open the loaded Maui Classic and Terry Rains is in place to bring us coverage.  This is also the last game of the football season where the Blue Devils travel to North Carolina.

Aloha!  Maui begins with Tennessee

Duke gets it underway on the islands starting at 5:30 this afternoon when Duke takes on what will be their easiest opponent in Maui Invitational in Tennessee.  The Vols come into the game 2-0 riding the play of Trae Golden but they will be hard pressed to keep Duke from facing the winner of Memphis and Michigan.  Duke will either face the methodical style of the Wolverines or the crazy athleticism of Memphis.  You can bet I will be tuned in to see who wins this clash of two styles and for the record, I think Memphis would be a very difficult matchup for Duke.  The Tigers are loaded with quickness and are athletic and have just the kind of team that could trouble Duke this season.  Of course, Michigan took Duke to the wire last season and have all but one key player back, so either way, should Duke get past the Vols, they will have one heckuva match up awaiting them.

Fans and coaches will learn more about the team

By the time the dust clears on the tournament, we'll all know a lot more about this seasons team which is both young and a work in progress.  No matter who Duke faces past the Vols, they will be one of the nations best teams and this will present a great early season challenge.  And for those of you that haven't looked ahead, the Blue Devils will take on  #2 Ohio State in Columbus after the invitational.  It has been a long time since the Blue Devils faced such a challenging schedule and with a young team, a loss is certainly on the horizon.  If Duke comes out of Maui undefeated it will be a great feat and one that will have them firmly set in the top 5 teams in the country.  What I will be watching is how this team responds to adversity and close games.  Can they close with a lead or will they wilt under the pressure of a game time possession.  That's what makes watching the games so much fun.

Stepping up

Who will step up for Duke next?  Coach Mike Krzyzewski has made it clear on more than one occasion that different players will step up for the Blue Devils in certain games.  Andre Dawkins did so in New York and Mason Plumlee in the last outing, so will it be Austin Rivers this time?   Who knows, but in reality Duke is looking for consistency and a couple of players to blossom into bonafide stars.  And for the record, Austin Rivers despite being a true freshman has been very consistent on the offensive end as has his backcourt mate, Seth Curry.

Recruiting never sleeps

BDN Recruiting Analyst Andrew Slater has been checking out Duke prospects Noah Vonleh and Nerlens Noel among others in holiday recruiting events and we'll be hearing a lot more about that later in the week.

One game can redeem a season

Duke Football has been improving, just not at the speed many had hoped for.  When you look at the success of Virginia and Wake Forest, two teams the Blue Devils were supposed to be right there with this season, it cannot help but make one wish that there were more than 3 wins on the ledger.  The Richmond loss still haunts as do other close contests and until Duke gets a win, frustration is just that, frustration for both the staff and the fan base.  One may look at the Boston College game as a break through win on the road this season, but they could cure many ills finding a way to finally beat their arch rival UNC.  A win on the road in Chapel Hill would erase a lot of the frustration and be a great starting point for next year when Duke returns pretty much everybody save a couple of defensive studs.  Duke opens as a 13 point underdog and it will not be an easy task in that the Tar Heels are tough on the fronts.  But if they could find a way to win, it would be a huge one and bring about some major belief to what has been a disappointing season.  Here is to hoping the Duke team believes it can win and plays with heart and a reckless abandon in the finale.

Be safe out there Blue Devil Nation and eat mo' turkey!