Game 14[1 AP / 1 Coaches] Duke (13-0, 1-0 ACC) vs. UAB (10-2, 0-0 Conference USA)
Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 • 7:00 p.m.
The Opening Tip• Duke faces the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
• The game is being televised by espn2 with Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) calling the action.
• Duke is ranked No. 1 in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, while UAB is unranked in both polls.
• Duke has won 23 consecutive games entering Sunday’s contest. The Blue Devils have also won 27 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke is looking to improve to 14-0 for the fifth time in school history. The Blue Devils opened the 2005-06, 2004-05, 1991-92 and 1985-86 seasons with 14 straight victories as well.
Duke-UAB Series History• Duke is 2-0 all-time against UAB with both wins coming at neutral sites.
• The Blue Devils posted a 76-62 win over UAB on Dec. 28, 1984 in the Trojan Bud Light Classic in Los Angeles.
• Duke also topped UAB, 66-54, in the second round of the 1985 Preseason Big Apple NIT in Houston, Texas.
Duke vs. Conference USA• Duke is 32-2 all-time against teams currently in Conference USA.
• The Blue Devils have won 15 straight games against current Conference USA teams.
• Mike Krzyzewski is 18-1 at Duke against Conference USA opponents.
Numbers Game
l Duke has won 23 consecutive games dating back to a 79-72 loss at Maryland on March 3, 2010. Duke has won 31 of its last 32 games.
l The Blue Devils have won an NCAA-best 84 consecutive non-conference home games. 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 Duke has won 39 consecutive games against teams outside the traditional power conferences (Big Ten, Big East, SEC, ACC, PAC 10, Big 12). Virginia Commonwealth’s 79-77 win over Duke in the 2007 NCAA Tournament was the Blue Devils’ last loss to a team from a non-power conference.
l Duke has only lost two home games in the past four seasons, posting a record of 56-2 in Cameron Indoor Stadium during that span. The Blue Devils currently have a 27-game win streak at home.l Duke has won 49 straight 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 Kyle Singler is five points shy of becoming the 11th player in Duke history to score 2,000 or more points. He would also become just the sixth Blue Devil with 2,000 points and 800 rebounds in a career.
l Senior Nolan Smith has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive games. He is averaging 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, while shooting 66.7 percent (34-of-51) from the field and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from three-point range in that span.
l Kyle Singler has made 15 three-point field goals in the last five games. He is averaging 20.6 points per game, while shooting 45.5 percent from behind the arc in that span.
l Sophomore Andre Dawkins has come off the bench to score in double-figures eight times this season. He is the top scoring reserve in the ACC at 12.2 points per game. Dawkins leads the league in three-point percentage (.532) and is tied for third in three-point field goals per game (2.5 3pg.).
l Nolan Smith was named ACC Player of the Week after averaging 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in wins over UNC Greensboro and Miami. He shot 63.0 percent (17-of-27) from the field, including 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range, and had a 7.0:1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the week.
l The Blue Devils rank third the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (.436) and tied for sixth nationally in three-point field goals (9.6 3pg.). Duke has made 10 or more threes in a game six times and has made 61 more treys than its opposition.
l Duke ranks second in the NCAA with a +26.2 scoring margin. The Blue Devils have won seven games by 30 or more points.
Tag Archives: Coach K
BDN Post Game Report – Duke defeats Elon 98-72, Coach K post game audio
The Duke vs Elon game will most be remembered for Coach Mike Krzyzewski tying North Carolina's Dean Smith at 879 all time wins. Duke came away with a 98-72 win over their outmatched performance and the Phoenix played with a lot of heart and found some good looks in the Duke defense. Without further ado, here is the BDN Post Game Report with Coach K audio after his historic win.
Coach K ties Dean Smith on All Time NCAA wins list
As we alluded to in our Monday Musings column, Coach K downplayed an historic win in favor of concentrating on his team's improvement. He was very gracious in the postgame chat, where he complimented Dean Smith and gave the media the quotes they needed to fill the numerous pieces you'll see in the morning papers. For those of you who were around during the Krzyzewski-Smith years, you know this was quite an accomplishment, but with Kyrie Irving still not projected to be back any time soon, working on his team is the right thing to do. Still, BDN sends out a hearty congratulations to a man who has built quite a program and is a living legend. Duke fans should enjoy and embrace every moment he remains the head coach of Duke University.
Happy with the performance?
Coach Krzyzeswski said his team played well and at times they did but there was quite the lull before media was allowed into the Duke locker room. The players told me the message was that they couldn't play like that in ACC games, and the maestro knows a brutal January slate awaits his Devils. "It was intense and Coach K told us we had a long ways to go to be the team we are going to be," said Kelly of the post game meeting with their coach.
Kryie Update
According to Coach Krzyzewski, Kyrie Irving is still out indefinitely. He is being evaluated every ten days and could miss the season still according to the Duke coach. You can hear Coach K's comments via BDN audio below.
Kyle was the man
Kyle Singler tallied a team-high 24 points to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Singler told BDN he wasn't sure why his game elevated in late December going into the rest of the season, but we know why. He loves competition and it gets better every step of the way from here. Kyle dished 5 assists in the first half and that helped Duke take an 18 point lead into the half. Duke also had a 14-0 run early and that put the game pretty much out of reach.
Ryan Kelly had a nice game
Kelly scored a career high 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had a team-high 6 assists. I tried to attribute the 6 assists to Andre Dawkins which you'll hear shortly when my eyes crossed a bit on the score sheet in the locker room. "Every play I'm out there trying to play my hardest. If I can earn more time by doing that, it's great. I'm going to play just as hard when good things happen," said Kelly.
Nolan was effective when he was in
With 19 minutes to go in the game, Smith got his fourth foul. He played just 21 minutes and scored 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting. He had 4 assists and his 6 rebounds were impressive as well. Smith was not too happy with their team's performance saying, "We just want everybody to step up, start talking and be ready to play when we come back."
A.D. played well too
We'll have a chat with Andre Dawkins up in the morning. Dawkins reached double figures in scoring for the seventh time this season. Dawkins leads the team with 30 three point field goals on the year. He tallied 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 dimes.
Sidebar - Duke moves to 11-0 on the season and for the first time was not the unanimous number one team in the nation when today's A.P. poll came out. Duke outscored Elon 34-24 in the paint, 28-18 off turnovers, 15-11 on second chance baskets and just 9-4 on the fast break. Elon's bench tossed in 33 points but the Duke bench beat them by 1 at 34 points. Duke will now have a nine day Christmas break before Krzyzewski passes Dean Smith when they take on winless UNC-G. The Duke wireless internet went down in the media room, so the picture gallery from Lance King will come in the morning.
Coach K's post game audio below, just press play -
BDN’s Monday Musings – It’s time for the Holidaze
I imagine some of you are just getting your Christmas or Holiday shopping started, just make sure you stay out of my way in the stores if that's the case. Seriously, the holidays can bring on quite the daze but, as a Duke fan, you have a lot to be happy about and we take a look at some of those things in our Monday's Musings column. We have decided to salute the Blue Devil as our cheerleader of the week, for nobody works harder pumping Duke fans up on the sideline.
K-Sing, the stretch run
The college basketball season begins in earnest in January with games coming at a breakneck pace, unlike the brief holiday break we are currently witnessing. This time of year means that a special senior, Kyle Singler, will be turning his game up a notch. Each time you watch Duke in person or on television keep in mind that four-year guys are special when they return when they could have left two seasons earlier had they wanted to. It is clear to see that Kyle Singler loves the Duke uniform and he's having a blast with his college experience. It's not often this kind of thing happens, so enjoy the moment and take time to realize that Duke is the nation's top-ranked team and you simply cannot have it any better than that.
Kyrie Irving's toe
In the pre-season, it was Nolan Smith's feet getting the attention after ESPN's All Access coverage where he called them his "money makers." Of course, that was jest and Kyrie Irving's toe is nothing less than serious. As the boards exploded with worry, I have maintained a stance that we'd not seen the last of the outstanding freshman. When it comes to Duke basketball, I am a glass half full kind of guy. I mean, how can you ever not have your glass half full if you are a fan of the elite program? Still, the worry of Blue Devil fans was more than evident and for good reason -- they simply wanted to see the kid play. I expect we'll be hearing some news sooner rather than later on the situation, so stay positive if you haven't been all along.
A low key approach
The media will take anything but a low key approach when Coach Krzyzewski ties North Carolina's Dean Smith on the all time wins list this evening. I mean no disrespect to Elon, but a win by them would be the greatest upset in the history of sports when looking at each team's talent level. There is plenty of reflection for those of us who have been around long enough to see Coach Krzyzewski arrive on campus and had witnessed Dean Smith's accomplishments. In Bob Harris's new book, "How Sweet It Is," he mentions a game between the two schools where Dean rapped the scoreboard in Cameron yet didn't get a technical. People or those involved can say what they want to about the incident, but that was the game where a line was drawn in the sand by Duke. A Michael Jordan led Tar Heels team ended up winning the game by a hair, but notice was served that the Blue Devils were here to stay and since that time Duke basketball has been golden. While there is no disrespect from Coach K towards Dean, expect him to downplay the situation, for he wants the focus on his team and their season. Expect more of the same in Greensboro, when they face a winless Spartans team in a game where he'll pass the UNC legend. It's as if he knows there will be plenty of time to reflect in the off season or maybe when the actual record itself is broken. Still, as fans, we need to appreciate the fact that Krzyzewski stuck with Duke and for that Blue Devil faithful are lucky. And for the aforementioned game where Coach let the world know Duke was coming hard, we'll revisit that classic game that television somehow didn't pick up, meaning you had to be there. So look forward to hearing from some Duke dignitaries who were there.
Frequent Flyer Miles
The men's basketball staff has been hitting the recruiting trail, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to find the nation's top prospects this week. The staff will, of course, be at tonight's games, but some flights probably await a portion of them once the game concludes. One of the tournaments they emphasized is the City of Palms in Fort Meyers, Florida. Austin Rivers will play again at 11:00 and later in the day Alex Murphy will take to the court as well for his St. Mark's team. Marshall Plumlee led his team in scoring and rebounding in his first game.
Duke Football is working it too
The Duke football staff has been hard at work on the recruiting trail as well and BDN's Patrick Cacchio has been all over the action. Check out our recent interviews with future Duke footballers if you haven't already, for the future talent level is getting better and better. Season ticket renewals went out recently, so secure yours today and back an up and coming program.
Holiday Season is upon us
BDN wishes all of you joyous, safe and happy holidays. It's a time to let by-gones be by-gones, let go of the petty stuff and spend time with your family and friends. Some of us tend to stress this time of year but keep in mind that you pull for the nation's top team and that stress could be worse. Be kind to all you meet at this time and understand that everybody you come in contact with is someone's father, mother, son, daughter, sister and brother. Think about facilitating a few acts of random kindness and it'll make you glow inside.
BDN Monday Musings – Records, Recruiting, Cheerleader of the Week
It's the Christmas and Holiday season and BDN wishes all of you a safe and happy time. Duke students are hard at work on their exams while the basketball and football staffs gear up for a bit of recruiting.
Tickets still avaliable
On December the 29th, a Wednesday evening in Greensboro, Duke will take on UNC-Greensboro in a game that will push their record to 12-0 on the season. But it is Krzyzewski's record that will be the focus and around 9:00 that evening the HOF coach will pass North Carolina's Dean Smith with 880 wins landing him in 2nd place on the All Time NCAA wins list. There are still tickets available for the historical game, so get on the horn and make arrangements to be there for a piece of history. You'll be hearing a lot more on this as the game approaches and you can see that we have added a graphic to salute Krzyzewski's accomplishment. And 23 wins past that, Krzyzewski will own the record all by himself over his mentor and friend Bobby Knight.
Krzyzewski keeping it low key
One might think Coach K would be living in the moment with such a record coming but he is more concerned with this seasons team and he seemingly will prolong the urge and joy of celebration. No matter how you cut it, this will be one historical season but he wants to be the last team standing in Houston, so his work efforts will be focused on that goal rather than the record.
Holiday Tournaments begin
The Men's Basketball staff wil be hitting up some holiday basketball tournaments where they'll see pretty much everybody on their watch list. BDN will be taking in a few of the events as well so we can keep the information flowing. The recruiting picture will begin to clear this month but it'll be spring before we really get a feel for who the new targets will be.
Let's defend
No, I'm not talking about the national title. Besides, if you are a Duke fan you realize that the Blue Devils do not defend any championship for each year the team changes personnel. Krzyzewski has put great emphasis on defense during the December games though and that is the first sign of what the team might look like without the injured Kyrie Irving. It's really not a big departure from last year but expect the team to morph even more in due time. You can bet that there are some late nights where the staff is rethinking their plans and you of course know by now, that I for one remain positive that Kyrie Irving will be back on Coach K floor before the season is out.
It's "on" come January
Enjoy the break while you can for once January hits it'll seem like Duke is playing a game every night compared to the December lull. Duke plays their first of six conference games starting with Miami in Cameron. Next up will be Maryland who fancies themselves Duke's rival, again at home but away games with Florida State and N.C. State will give one an idea of how Duke measures up before the February-March run. Duke will go out of conference with a trip to New York to face St. John's as well.
Singlers time of year
I continue to be impressed that Duke senior Kyle Singler doesn't bump his averages up against weaker competition. Most players numbers or stats drop come ACC time but that's when Singler picks his game up. Watch as his numbers trickle up against better comp, a rare thing indeed. Kyle wants to win first and all else will fall into place. It should be fun to watch Singler close out his four years at Duke. That said, realize that this kid stayed when he could have been preparing to hit the road to Boston or Golden State for his next NBA game.
A last minute Christmas Gift thought
Looking for some stocking stuffers for a Duke fan? Of course there are tickets available for Elon and UNC-Greensboro but Bob Harris has a new book out too. Bob, of course, is the long time voice of the Duke Blue Devils and his new book "How Sweet It Is!," just hit the bookshelves. It has a forward from Coach Mike Krzyzewski and even a CD with interviews done with Muhammad Ali and a long list of interesting characters. My favorite part of the book was when Bob addressed the game where Dean Smith rapped the scoreboard in Cameron and didn't get a technical. I was there but the game was not on television and Bob recaps what happened on that night and it is simply too good to give away here, so pick up a copy and get the scoop for yourself.
Give the gift of BDN as well
Another gift suggestion is Blue Devil Nation Premium which gives one full site access where you'll be on the inside. BDN Premium cover more than just recruiting but that is the main draw. We'll bring you up close and personal be ith the recruiting trail or the hallways of the Final Four. We'll happilylet somebody know around Christmas that you've purchased them a membership and that is sure to make any Blue Devil fan happy. We have 1, 3, 6 and 12 month rates that you can link to above.
Duke Football Recruiting
Coach David Cutcliffe and his staff have been hard at work on the trail and with official visits of late. BDN's Patrick Cacchio has had a bevy of interviews unlike other subscription sites, these are still free at BDN to all at this time. We'll have more of these interviews as the week progresses so bookmark our site for the best free Duke Football coverage anywhere.
BDN Post Game – Duke defense stymies St. Louis for 84-47 win
The Kyrie Irving-less Duke Blue Devils coasted past St. Louis with a lockdown defensive effort and walked away with a 84-47 victory pushing their season record to 10-0. Duke was led by their senior duo of Kyle Singlerand Nolan Smith who combined for 43 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.
Nolan Smith findng his comfort zone at the PG position
Nolan Smith played his second full game at the point guard position and he told BDN he was much more comfortable in the role in the lockerroom which you can hear via BDN audio shortly. Smith tallied 22 points and a team high 5 assists to go withhis 2 steals. The senior Smith took it upon himself to rise to the occasion today with his play.
Kyle is Kyle
Singler played like a senior as well grabbing a board or nailing a jumper when Duke needed one. Singler told BDN he was really enjoying his senior season and that he looked forward to finishing it up with a bang. We have some good audio with Singler coming as well. Singler has now started 78 consecutive games at Duke and his 120 career starts ties him at 11th on the all time list. Klyle passed Shelden Williams and Grant Hill on Duke's All Time Leading Scorers list in today's win. His 3 steals were a season high.
31-4
Duke scored 31 points off turnovers and they continue withtheir emphasis on defense in the four December games. Remember, we told you not one single Duke opponent would score in the 60's this month and thanks to the Blue Devils, they're making me a prophet. Duke held the Billikens to 1 made three point field goal.
Great game for Josh Hairston
Duke freshman Josh Hairston scored his first career double figure scoring game at Duke with 12 points off the bench. Add 4 rebounds and 2 steals and he had his best game in a Duke uniform statistically. Interestingly, Josh was the program cover boy today and we'll have a nice one on one interview coming from the Virginia native tomorrow. Duke Assistant Coach Chris Collins praised his effort in the post game press conference.
Speaking of Collins ...
Duke Assistant Coach Chris Collins filled in for Coach K today who had family matters to attend to and he was a natural. Collins is never short for an answer and he bounces them back with little pondering. It is plain to see that he will one day be at the podium as a head coach.
On Kyrie ...
It's wait and see according to Collins and the powers that be will access his condition when the cast is removed. No firm timelines have been set as of yet. I still feel good about his return, call it a somewhat educated hunch, but it is nothing more than that. Irving cheered from the sideline on his crutches and laughed it up with teammates as the game became out of reach for the visitors.
Miles Plumlee just short of a double-double
Miles dropped 9 points and snagged 9 rebounds which was just shy of a double-double. We told you that Duke would take December to get Seth Curry and Miles going and so far, it is working out wonderfully for Miles. Let's not forget Miles 2 steals either. Meanwhile, his brother Mason got just 11 minutes of play and we look for him to get back in the groove when Duke takes on Elon nine days from now.
Next up, exams and Christmas break
Many students were studying for exams this week and it showed in the crowd, but the Crazies who were there did a good job of cheering. The Duke players will now concentrate fully on exams before they get back to action on December the 20th in a game which even fewer students will be in the stands. With the win over Elon, Coach K ties Dean Smith atop the All Time NCAA win list and that means he breaks Smith's record in Greensboro on December 29th which is quite a milestone. Have you got your tickets yet? They're still available.
Additional Notes - Today was the 200thtime Duke played as a number one ranked team. Duke now has 83 straight home wins over non conference opponents in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the longest such streak in the country. Duke has won 52 straight games int he month of December. Duke has scored 80 or more points in 8 straight games now. Without further ado, here are Coach Chris Collins post game comments vis BDN Audio -
Just press play -
BDN Monday Musings-Kyrie, Milestones, Motivation, Recruiting and the Cheerleader of the Week
It's time for this week's Monday Musings piece where we think out loud and ponder the happenings around Duke Athletics. This week we talk Kyrie Irving, the December schedule, and recruiting on the Duke Basketball front, Cutcliffe being on the road, a big game for the women's hoops team and we bring you the Duke Cheerleader of the Week.
Will maintaining motivation be a problem for Duke?
Duke just finished a stretch of games that included wins over Marquette, Kansas State, Oregon, Michigan State and Butler leaving us to question if the Blue Devils can keep up their intensity during the easiest stretch of the season. In December, players are hard at work in school and on the verge of the Holidays where many will go home for few days. It is not unusual for focus to drift but the thinking here is that Duke has too many players wanting to show their stuff and that should prevent too many let downs. Duke will take on Bradley and St. Louis this week followed by a nine day break before another home contest with Elon and the team will then take another nine day break before travelling just down the road to face UNC-Greensboro. Face it, Duke will win all of those contests easily and that will push their record to 12-0. The reason for my confidence is as mentioned that players on the bench will want to show their stuff. Duke will see to it that certain players get untracked and Krzyzewski's challenge will be to see his team improve before they enter ACC play in that 13 of their next 14 games will be against conference foes.
Kyrie Irving was never a secret but ...
If the ACC media was to vote today for Rookie of the Year, do you think UNC's Harrison Barnes would still outdistance Irving by a 46-9 vote? I saw the Irving train coming after following the New Jersey native on the AAU trail seeing him play a good 20 or so times. The youngster is capable of taking over games and he showed that in a game against Michigan State and bounced back with another 20 plus scoring effort versus Butler on Saturday. What you have yet to see is when he starts dishing dimes [assists] like they were going out of style and a few double-doubles are ahead. Irving is as advertised and I can happily say that comes as no surprise to me. And this just in -- Kyrie just won his third ACC Rookie of the Week honor of the young season.
The Duke staff will remain busy during the Holiday's
There are some on the staff who stay up until just before dawn breaks watching film on the opposition. I know this after being in close proximity of the situation for most of my life. I also know that they'll be out in force during several December high school basketball tournaments one of which is the State Farm City of Palms event in Fort Meyers, Florida. Check out this cast of characters which as BDN Premium members know that a lot of Duke's key targets are on hand. The Class of 2010 No. 1 includes, Michael Gilchrist, St. Patrick; No. 2 Austin Rivers, Winter Park; No. 3 Adonis Thomas, Melrose; No. 8 James McAdoo, Norfolk Christian; No. 23 Shannon Scott, Milton; No. 27 Julian Royal, Milton; No. 58 Dai-Jon Parker, Milton; No. 75 Marshall Plumlee, Christ School; No. 87 . While the Class of 2012 adds No. 4 Shabazz Muhammad, Bishop Gorman; No. 5 Ricardo Gathers, Riverside Academy; No. 38 Xavier Johnson, Mater Dei; No. 45 Omar Calhoun, Christ the King; No. 47 Evan Nolte, Milton; No. 71 Rosco Allen, Bishop Gorman. You can discuss the various tournaments and find out more on recruiting information with BDN Premium members by joining and supporting Blue Devil Nation.
Football coaches on the recruiting trail as well
Duke Football is making its list and checking it twice in December but the recruiting efforts started in November where the staff was out the Monday following the last game. Duke Coach David Cutliffe will have his own players for the first time next season and he is looking to make some key offers in the foreseeable future. BDN will keep you up to date on the latest on the football front..
The Duke Women face Texas A & M on Wednesday
The Duke Women are flying a bit under the radar now and that's a shame for they deserve more coverage on the Duke front. Duke faces an early season test when they take on Texas A & M tonight in Cameron Indoor Stadium this Monday evening.
And speaking of under the radar
Duke handed out yet another commemorative to fans with Coach K's 800th win being saluted during the Michigan State game. His milestones are so many that it barely gives Duke fans a chance to catch their breath and reflect on his success as he continues to move towards being the winningest collegiate coach of all time.
Click here and follow Blue Devil Nation on Twitter for the best Duke coverage avialable. And be sure to check out Andrew Slaters interview with Kyrie Irving.
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