[7 AP / 5 Coaches] Duke (19-3, 6-1) vs. Miami (13-7, 4-3)

Sunday, February 5, 2012 • 3:05 p.m. • ESPNU

The Opening Tip

• Duke (19-3, 6-1) faces Miami (13-7, 4-3) on Sunday, Feb. 5 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is set for 3:05 p.m.

• Jon Sciambi (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analyst) and Allison Williams (sideline) will call the game for ESPNU.

• Duke is ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Miami is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 78-20 all-time when ranked seventh in the AP Poll.

• The Blue Devils are looking to top the 20-win mark for the 16th consecutive season. Duke has won 30 or more games in each of the last three seasons.

• Duke ranks No. 1 in Strength of Schedule and No. 2 in RPI according to ESPN.com. The Blue Devils are one of four teams (Syracuse, Michigan State & Kansas) in the NCAA to rank in the top 10 of the RPI, Strength of Schedule, AP and Coaches Polls.

Duke-Miami Series

• Duke and Miami have met 17 times heading into Sunday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming on Dec. 21, 1962.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 15-2, including a 7-0 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

• Duke has won 11 of the 12 meetings since the Hurricanes joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 15-1 at Duke against Miami with a 7-0 mark at home.

• Duke has won five straight games in the series with three of the five victories coming by 10 points or less.

• Krzyzewski’s only loss to Miami was a 96-95 defeat on Feb. 20, 2008. It was also the last time the Blue Devils lost a game when scoring 90 or more points. Duke is 265-8 under Coach K when scoring 90+ points in a game.

• Duke has scored 80 or more points in 12 of its 17 games against Miami.

Numbers Game

l Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for 87 straight weeks, the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

l The Blue Devils are one of seven 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 Duke is the only school in the ACC with five players averaging over 11.0 points per game in league play. Ryan Kelly (13.9), Austin Rivers (12.9), Andre Dawkins (11.9), Mason Plumlee (11.4) and Seth Curry (11.4) each rank in the top 25 in the ACC in scoring through seven league games.

l The Blue Devils rank 11th nationally in scoring at 80.0 points per game, despite facing seven opponents that rank in top 50 nationally in scoring defense.

l Duke is one win shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the 16th consecutive season. The Blue Devils have won 20 or more games 26 times under Mike Krzyzewski.

l Austin Rivers, a five-time ACC Rookie of the Week pick, is averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game. Johnny Dawkins was the last Blue Devil freshman to lead the team in scoring in 1983.

l Mason Plumlee is one of two players (joined by Keith Clanton, Central Florida) in the NCAA averaging at least 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.

l Ryan Kelly leads the ACC in three-point percentage among players who have attempted at least 50 threes. He 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 12 games.

l Mason Plumlee has improved his free throw shooting over the last four games, going 22-of-29 (.759) 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 ranked fourth in the ACC in free throw attempts per game (5.5 ftpg.).

l Tyler Thornton leads the Blue Devils with a +15.52 points per game plus/minus ratio per 40 minutes played.

l Ryan Kelly is one of just two players (Wake Forest’s C.J. Harris) in the ACC shooting over 45.0 percent from the field and from three-point range.

l Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee combine to average 15.6 rebounds per game. One of the Plumlees has led the team in rebounds in 20 of 22 games. The brother tandem has also combined for 14 double-figures rebounding efforts.

l Austin Rivers is averaging a team-high 15.4 points and shooting 50.0 percent (57-of-114) from the field in Duke’s 11 home games

[7 AP / 5 Coaches] Duke (18-3, 5-1) vs. Virginia Tech (12-9, 1-5)

Thursday, February 2, 2012 • 7:03 p.m. • ESPN

The Opening Tip

• Duke (18-3, 5-1) faces Virginia Tech (12-9, 1-5) on Thursday, Feb. 2 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.. Tipoff is set for 7:03 p.m.

• Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Len Elmore (analyst) and Jeannine Edwards (sideline) will call the game for ESPN.

• Duke is ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Virginia Tech is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 77-20 all-time when ranked seventh in the AP Poll.

• Duke ranks No. 1 in Strength of Schedule and No. 2 in RPI according to ESPN.com. The Blue Devils are one of four teams (Syracuse, Michigan State & Kansas) in the NCAA to rank in the top 10 of the RPI, Strength of Schedule, AP and Coaches Polls.

• The Blue Devils have won three straight ACC road contests and are 8-2 away from Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

Duke-Virginia Tech Series

• Duke and Virginia Tech have met 45 times heading into Thursday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 1912.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 37-8, including a 3-2 mark at Cassell Coliseum.

• Duke has won 15 of the last 18 in the series.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 8-3 at Duke against the Hokies. The Blue Devils are 3-2 in Blacksburg under Krzyzewski.

• Duke has won three of the last four games at Cassell Coliseum in the series.

• Six of the last 10 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

• Duke won 10 straight games in the series from 1934-1948. Virginia Tech has won back-to-back games once in the series history.

• Duke has held Virginia Tech to less than 70 points in eight consecutive meetings. The Hokies are averaging 61.4 points per game in that span.

Numbers Game

l Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for 87 straight weeks, the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

l The Blue Devils are one of nine 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 Duke is the only school in the ACC with five players averaging over 11.0 points per game in league play. Ryan Kelly (13.7), Andre Dawkins (13.0), Austin Rivers (12.0), Mason Plumlee (11.7) and Seth Curry (11.5) each rank in the top 25 in the ACC in scoring through six league games.

l The Blue Devils rank 11th nationally in scoring at 80.3 points per game, despite facing six opponents that rank in top 50 in scoring defense. Virginia Tech is the seventh team Duke has faced that allows under 62.0 points per game.

l The Blue Devils are two wins shy of their 16th consecutive 20-win season.

l Mason Plumlee was named the USBWA National Player of the Week after averaging 19.0 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in wins over Maryland and St. John’s.

l Austin Rivers, a five-time ACC Rookie of the Week pick, is averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game. Johnny Dawkins was the last Blue Devil freshman to lead the team in scoring in 1983.

l Mason Plumlee collected his ACC-leading ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds in Saturday’s win over St. John’s. He has collected 12 or more rebounds in a game 13 times this season.

l Andre Dawkins is averaging a team-high 15.2 points per game, while shooting 46.5 percent (20-of-43) from three-point range, over the last five contests.

l Ryan Kelly ranks second in the ACC in three-point percentage among players who have attempted at least 50 threes. He 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 12 games.

l Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee combine to average 15.8 rebounds per game. One of the Plumlees has led the team in rebounds in 19 of 21 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 ACC play for the Blue Devils.

l Mason Plumlee has improved his free throw shooting over the last four games, going 20-of-27 (.741) 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 5.7 free throw attempts per game

Wayne Selden, Photo by Andrew Slater/BDN

Blessed with a preternatural ability to score, Wayne Selden is a strapping 6’5″ power guard from the Tilton School of New Hampshire.  Although he’s been playing varsity basketball since he was a seventh grader in his native Roxbury, Massachusetts, he announced his arrival as a reclassified freshman last season when he scored twenty-six points and knocked down six three-pointers in his opening game for Tilton at the National Prep Showcase.

The 2014 prospect went on to earn second-team All-NEPSAC Class AA in the best high school conference in the country. Last March, at Endicott College, Wayne Selden capped off his freshman season by scoring twenty-two points for the Rams of Tilton in a 72-56 Class AA Title game win against St. Mark’s, which featured Arizona commitment Kaleb Tarczewski, Michigan commitment Nik Stauskas, and Duke redshirt freshman Alex Murphy.

The winning ways didn’t end there as Selden, blessed with a 6’10″ wingspan, helped multiple Boston Amateur Basketball Clubs (BABC) achieve success throughout the AAU season. His 17-U team went 80-4 over the spring and summer, notably winning Nike’s EYBL Peach Jam, while his 16-U team was named number one overall by Five Star Basketball after capturing the AAU National Title in Orlando. He’s become quite close to BABC staff member and former BC guard Steve Hailey.

Following the AAU season, Wayne was diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome and had to have surgery to alleviate the pain associated with the malady. If, after sitting out Tilton’s first few weeks of pre-season training, there were any concerns about his ability to maintain his explosiveness, Selden answered them quickly last month as the sophomore scored thirty-four points against the best prep school team in the country, Brewster Academy, in a tough 84-76 loss. In a rematch against Brewster, Selden scored sixteen points on six of ten shooting in a packed house at Springfield College in another tough loss, 57-53.

Afterwards, Wayne Selden gave a quick update about, amongst other things, the latest in his recruiting, Duke’s interest, and what he’ll be looking for in his future college program.

[4 AP / 4 Coaches] Duke (16-2, 4-0) vs. Florida State (12-6, 3-1)

Saturday, January 21, 2012 • 4:05 p.m. • ESPN

The Opening Tip

• Duke (16-2, 4-0 ACC) hosts Florida State (12-6, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is set for 4:05 p.m.

• Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) will call the game for ESPN. The game is also on national radio with Marc Kestercher (play-by-play) and Will Perdue (analyst) calling the action for ESPN Radio.

• Duke is ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Florida State is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 51-9 all-time when ranked fourth in the AP Poll.

• Duke is one of two teams (Baylor is the other) in the NCAA to rank in the top 5 of the RPI, Strength of Schedule, AP and Coaches Polls.

• The Blue Devils have won 45 consecutive home games, one shy of matching the school record.

• Duke has won 21 consecutive January home games dating back to the 2006-07 season.

Duke-Florida State Series

• Duke and Florida State have met 37 times heading into Saturday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming on Jan. 3, 1955.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 30-7, including a 17-1 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

• Duke has won five consecutive games and 10 of the last 13 in the series.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 28-6 at Duke against the Seminoles, including a 15-1 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Coach K missed both games against Florida State during the 1994-95 season.

• Duke has won 24 of the last 29 games in the series (dating back to Feb. 22, 1995).

• 11 of the last 16 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

• The Blue Devils have won 64 consecutive home games against unranked opponents, dating back to a 68-67 home loss to Florida State on Feb. 4, 2007.

Numbers Game

l Duke has won 64 consecutive home games against unranked opponents. The Blue Devils’ last loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium to an unranked opponent was to Florida State on Feb. 4, 2007.

l The Blue Devils have won 45 consecutive games in Cameron Indoor Stadium with 38 of the victories coming by 10 or more points.

l Duke is 59-1 at home since the start of the 2008-09 season.

l Andre Dawkins is averaging 22.5 ppg. and shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from three-point range over the last two games. Dawkins scored 18 straight points on six three-point field goals during the first half of Duke’s win over Wake Forest.

l Mason Plumlee ranks third in the ACC in rebounding at 9.4 rpg. He has led the Blue Devils in rebounding 13 times overall this season, including 12 of the last 15 games.

l Austin Rivers leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 14.2 points per game. He is the only freshman in the ACC averaging over 10.0 ppg. Rivers leads the Blue Devils with four 20-point games, including 20 points in Thursday’s win over Wake Forest.

l Andre Dawkins is averaging a team-high 15.3 points and 3.75 three-point field goals per game in ACC play. He is 15-of-32 (.469) from three-point range in the last four games.

l Duke is shooting 52.9 percent (270-of-510) from the field at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season. Eight Blue Devils are shooting over 50.0 percent from the field at home, including a team-best 65.2 percent (43-of-66) from Mason Plumlee.

l The Blue Devils also have a +9.1 rebound margin in their nine home contests. The post trio of Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Miles Plumlee is averaging 23.6 rebounds per game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

l Duke ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring (80.9 ppg. – 10th), field goal percentage (.498 – t-10th) and three-point percentage (.407 -

Duke (13-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) avoided consecutive defeats for the first time since Feb. 11 and Feb. 15, 2009.

Glen Rice Jr. scored a season-high 28 points and Mfon Udofia finished with 19 points for Georgia Tech (7-8, 0-1 ACC). The Yellow Jackets, who never led, have lost four straight.

Kelly was 14 of 14 from the free-throw line, including eight in the final 40 seconds to help seal the victory.

Following Thursday’s five-point loss to Temple, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski started freshman Quinn Cook at point guard instead of Tyler Thornton and reinserted senior forward Miles Plumlee in the lineup in favor of Kelly.

Freshman Austin Rivers finished with eight points, but gave the Blue Devils a boost after missing a pair of free throws with 3:26 remaining and his team leading 68-66.

After forcing a runner that missed, Rivers stole the ball from Mfon Udofia and scored a fastbreak layup to make it 70-64 and energize the Duke bench.

The Blue Devils took a 72-66 lead with 1:08 remaining when Curry bounced a pass off the glass for an assist that Mason Plumlee converted for a layup that made it 72-66.

Mason Plumlee’s three-point play at the 8:07 mark of the first half gave Duke, which began the game shooting nearly 71 percent from the field, its biggest lead at 18.

But the Blue Devils didn’t score another field goal in the first half after Andre Dawkins’ 3-pointer from the right corner made it 36-24 with 4:07 remaining.

Georgia Tech closed the first half on an 11-4 run that included Pierre Jordan’s alley-oop, fastbreak pass to Jason Morris for a right-handed dunk in front of Mason Plumlee at the 1:22 mark.

The Yellow Jackets outrebounded Duke 38-26 and were led by Rice’s eight. Duke outscored Georgia Tech 18-10 in points off turnovers.

[5 AP / 3 Coaches] Duke (12-2, 0-0) vs. Georgia Tech (7-7, 0-0)

Saturday, January 7, 2012 • 12:02 p.m. (ET) • ESPNU

The Opening Tip

• Duke (12-2, 0-0 ACC) faces Georgia Tech (7-7, 0-0 ACC) on Saturday, Jan. 7 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. Tipoff is set for 12:02 p.m. (ET).

• The game will be televised by ESPNU with Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Doris Burke (analyst) calling the action.

• Duke is ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Georgia Tech is unranked in both polls. The Blue Devils are 64-24 all-time when ranked fifth in the AP Poll.

• Saturday’s game marks the ACC opener for both schools. Duke has won four straight conference openers and 24 of its 31 ACC openers under Mike Krzyzewski.

• Duke, coming off a neutral site loss to Temple, has not lost back-to-back games since losing on Feb. 11, 2009 and Feb. 15, 2009. The Blue Devils are 19-2 following a loss in the last five seasons.

Duke-Georgia Tech Series

• Duke and Georgia Tech have met 84 times heading into Saturday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 1922.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 62-22, including a 24-15 mark in road games.

• Duke has won three consecutive games and 27 of the last 30 in the series.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 49-18 at Duke against the Yellow Jackets.

• Duke has won 11 of the last 13 road games in the series.

• The Blue Devils have a +15.0 points per game scoring margin over the last three games in the series.

• Duke has posted a double-digit win in 19 of the last 30 meetings.

• Duke is 7-3 all-time in ACC Tournament games against Georgia Tech.

Numbers Game

l Saturday’s game marks the ACC opener for Duke. The Blue Devils are 43-15 (.741) all-time in the previous 58 openers.

l Duke is 24-7 (.774) in Atlantic Coast Conference openers under Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have won 24 of their last 28 conference openers, including 14 of the last 15 league lid lifters.

l Duke has not lost back-to-back games since February of 2009. The Blue Devils are 12-0 following a loss in that span.

l The Blue Devils have posted a double-digit win following each of their last nine losses (does not include season-ending losses) dating back to December of the 2009-10 season.

l Duke has scored at least 40 points in 11 of the last 12 halves. The Blue Devils rank ninth in the NCAA in scoring offense at 82.1 points per game.

l Mason Plumlee leads the ACC with seven double-doubles on the year. He has posted a double-double in three of the last four games and is averaging 11.0 points and 10.5 rebounds during that stretch.

l Miles Plumlee is averaging 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game over the last six contests. He is 23-of-31 (.742) from the field and 11-of-13 (.846) from the foul line in that span.

l Either Mason or Miles Plumlee has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 10 of Duke’s 14 games this season. Mason has reached double figures in rebounds eight times, while Miles has three double digit rebounding efforts.

l Quinn Cook leads the NCAA with a 4.33:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (minimum 2.0 apg.). Cook has just seven turnovers in 162 minutes for an average of 23.1 minutes between turnovers.

l Duke is shooting 47.6 percent (39-of-82) from three-point range over the last four games. Tyler Thornton is 7-of-8 (.875), while Ryan Kelly is 7-of-10 (.700) from behind the arc in that stretch. The Blue Devils rank sixth nationally in three-point percentage (.429, 115-of-268) on the year.

The rest of the team was pretty flat and they never seemed to come up with the necessary intensity it takes to win a road game against a good, now 10-3 Temple team..  Just like in the loss to the Buckeyes, there were far too many players creating one on one situations on the offensive end which resulted in too many turnovers.  It was one of those nights when all the Duke players weaknesses were exploited at one time or another and their collective strengths seemed lost.

As long as Duke keeps having more turnovers than assists, the trend could continue, especially on the road where this seasons team has yet to prove itself.  It’s no secret that Duke needs a leader to step up on the offensive end and get the players around him involved, but the players looked as it if they were standing around waiting for something to happen against the Owl’s.  Even when a Duke player drove to the lane, the rest of the team seemed to just watch  instead of react.  Again, too much one on one.

Duke had trouble containing the dribble-drive offense and the mid range game of the Owl’s three guard offense and that forced Krzyzewski to insert freshman Michael Gbinije which speaks to the lack defense from the teams guards.  If Gbinije can learn to bring the intensity consistently, he may be used more down the stretch in that he is skilled in many areas.  But the Duke defense is as much a work in progress as is the effort to find their offensive identity.

Somebody is going to have to run the ship and get the ball to teammates consistently come ACC play.  But more-so than the individual, the team needs to collectively show they can find open teammates.  With a somewhat weak league, there is no reason to not expect Duke to bounce back  Even if it weren’t a down year for the ACC, history shows us that games like this one, St. John’s and Georgetown and the like, often prove to be blips on the radar.  But opposing coaches will be looking at the two road losses as a blueprint for victory and that means work has to be done and quickly.

The disappointing loss will allow Coach Krzyzewski to most certainly get the teams attention and the flight back was likely productive in nature as he’ll surely use this defeat as a learning tool.  If you have been around long enough you might even wonder if there is a method to the madness or that this loss can actually prove productive.  A loss for a young team finding it’s chemistry and identity is a given, but had you rather have that loss now or in ACC play?

As said, this loss gets the teams attention as conference action rules the rest of the season where they face two road games at Georgia Tech and Clemson in their first three games with a home date with an upstart and ranked Virginia in between.  Expect Duke to be much better equipped to win those games after their loss to Temple in that every players weaknesses came to the top in that game and can now be dealt with.

But let’s not forget the Blue Devils accomplishments to date either and how those have by no means gone away with the upset loss.  Duke enters ACC play with victories over Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State and Washington to name a few.  If Duke corrects their road woes, they’ll win some games down the stretch heading into March.  But there will be growing pains like last evening and another loss is inevitable, so adjusting expectations is wise.

Duke came into last nights game ranked number three in the nation and that was too high a ranking for this young team.  Coach Krzyzewski now has the opportunity to teach his team from the experiences and while the team is being picked apart from talking heads and fans alike, who would actually wager against these Blue Devils possibly growing into a final four contender by seasons end?

There is a ways to go before that happens, but an out of conference loss will be nothing more than a blip on the radar at seasons end in that the one of the nations toughest schedules played to date and wins have Duke practically locked into the NCAA tournament with 17 games to go.  And by the noon Saturday in Atlanta against Georgia Tech, we’ll see if the Blue Devils respond and have learned how to come together enough on the road to win.

But just making the aforementioned tournament is not enough or a goal for a Krzyzewski coached Duke team and my thinking is that this team most certainly has a run in it to obtain one of the top seeds.  Duke was outplayed in last evenings loss to a deserving Temple team and exposed in many areas, but the Owls nor anybody else really want to run into these Blue Devils after they’ve had time to stir the pot and season.