Game 21
^{[8 AP/7 Coaches]} Duke (17-3, 5-2 ACC) vs.
^{[7 AP/11 Coaches]} Georgetown (15-4, 6-3 Big East)
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 • 1:00 p.m.
CBS Verizon Center (20,600) • Washington, D.C.

The Opening Tip

Duke (17-3, 5-2 ACC), ranked eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Georgetown (15-4, 6-3 Big East) at the Verizon Center on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1:00 p.m. The Hoyas enter the contest ranked seventh in the AP poll and 11th in the Coaches’ Poll. The game will air on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Duke posted a hard-fought 70-56 win over Florida State on Wednesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils forced 22 turnovers in the game and limited the Seminoles to 34.5 percent shooting in the second half of play.

Senior Jon Scheyer paced the offensive attack with 22 points for his ninth 20-point game of the year. He went 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 from the foul line in the game. Scheyer also had four rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win.

Kyle Singler added 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Junior Nolan Smith added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in the contest.

Duke’s five upperclassmen (Scheyer, Singler, Smith, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek) combined to score 65 of the teams 70 points on Wednesday. The group also recorded 25 of the team’s 30 rebounds as the Blue Devils were outrebounded for just the fourth time this season.

Numbers Game

• Duke and Syracuse are the only teams in the country to rank in the top 10 in the AP Poll and Coaches’ Poll as well as The College Basketball News Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). The Blue Devils rank eighth in the AP Poll, seventh in the Coaches’ Poll, third in the RPI and 10th in SOS.
• Duke is 7-2 on the year against teams currently ranked in the top 50 of The College Basketball News RPI, including a 3-1 mark against the top 25.
• Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler have accounted for 209 of Duke’s 294 points scored (71.3 percent) in the last four games.
• Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 19.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game over the last 11 contests. He is shooting 52.4 percent (77-of-147) from the field and 55.3 percent (21-of-38) from three-point range in that span. He has topped the 20-point mark in seven of those games.
• Jon Scheyer is the only player in the ACC to rank in the top 5 in six statistical categories; scoring (second, 18.8 ppg.), assists (fourth, 5.7 apg.), free throw percentage (first, .899), three-point field goals (first, 2.7 3pg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (first, 3.4:1) and minutes (first, 36.0 mpg.).
• Kyle Singler has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games. He is averaging 18.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in that stretch.
• The Blue Devils are 4-1 this season against ranked opponents. Duke has held its first five ranked opponents to 35.4 percent shooting and just 54.2 points per game. The Blue Devils have a +14.8 margin of victory in those five matchups.

Big Three Pace Blue Devil Offense

Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith combine to average 53.0 points per game or 64.5 percent of Duke’s scoring.

Scheyer is second in the ACC in scoring at 18.8 ppg., while Smith (18.1 ppg.) and Singler (16.1 ppg.) rank third and eighth, respectively.

Texas Southern, Nevada, UC Davis, Fairfield, TCU, Kentucky and North Dakota State are the only other schools with three players ranked among the top 10 scorers in their respective leagues.

The trio of Scheyer, Smith and Singler is the highest scoring threesome in the NCAA this season and the fourth-highest at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski.

Checking in on ...

#2 Nolan Smith - +9.7 ppg. increase from a year ago leads the ACC ... averaging 18.6 ppg. with three 20+ point games against ranked opponents

#3 Seth Curry - Sitting out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer rules

#5 Mason Plumlee - Averaging 1.0 blocks per game

#12 Kyle Singler - Has led the team in rebounding nine times and in scoring six times ... tied for the team lead with 25 steals

#20 Andre Dawkins - Fourth on the team with 27 three-point field goals ... shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range

#21 Miles Plumlee - Leads the team with 25 dunks ... has tripled his scoring and rebounding averages from a year ago

#30 Jon Scheyer - Has scored in double figures in 19 of 20 games with nine 20-point games ... has led the team in assists in all 20 games

#34 Ryan Kelly - 14 blocked shots ... one of five Blue Devils with 10+ blocks

#42 Lance Thomas - Shooting 81.6 percent (31-of-38) from the foul line ... leads the Blue Devils with nine charges taken

#55 Brian Zoubek - Five or more rebounds in 14 of 20 games ... averaging 16.7 rebounds per 40 minutes played