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Duke Basketball

Previewing the Johnnies

DukeSt. John’s (6-0) is off to their best start since the 1994-95 season. The matchup against Duke (6-1) on Saturday features two of the winningest programs in college basketball history with Duke fourth (1,883) and St. John’s seventh (1,692). The two teams have played 18 times with Duke leading the series 13 – 5. In their last meeting, on February 19, 2009, Duke prevailed 76 – 69, at Madison Square Garden.

The Red Storm brings experience onto the court starting five juniors. Wing D.J. Kennedy (6’5” 215) is the Red Storm’s leading scorer at 17.7 points per game. Kennedy can play inside and outside. He has knocked down 43.5 percent of his 3-point attempts this season and 77.3 percent of his free throw attempts including going 9-9 from the charity stripe in a win over Temple on November 28th. Kennedy has scored in double figures in all six of St. John’s games. Against Duke last season, Kennedy played 39 minutes and scored 20 points with nine rebounds.

St. John’s floor leader is Malik Boothe (5’9” 188). Boothe averages only 4.8 points per game but is an 82.4 percent free throw shooter and made two key free throws in a late game situation against St. Bonaventure. He has a 1.8:1 assists to turnover ratio. Against Duke last season, Boothe played 37 minutes and scored 10 points, but he turned the ball over six times.

The frontcourt players in St. John’s starting line-up are Sean Evans (6’8” 255) and Justin Burrell (6’8” 235). Evans is averaging 8.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Burrell is contributing 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds. Against Duke last season, Evans played 31 minutes scoring 15 points with five rebounds, and Burrell added one point and one rebound in 13 minutes.

Guard Paris Horne (6’3” 191) is the fifth starter. Horne is averaging 7.3 points per game this season. He has twice as many turnovers (10) as assists (5) through six games. Against Duke last season, Horne was in foul trouble playing 20 minutes and scoring seven points.

The keys to the game will be:

1. The Blue Devils must execute on offense and not settle for the dribble-drive. Running their motion offense to achieve open looks at the basket, setting ball screens, going high-low, and converting offensive rebounds into points are all important aspects of the multi-dimensional offense Duke must run to be successful.

2. On defense, Duke must force St. John’s to make mistakes. On the season, the Red Storm has averaged more turnovers (13.8) than assists (12.2) per game. Duke must exploit this weakness, while ensuring they do not allow the Red Storm to score in transition.

3. Duke must control the glass and out rebound St. John’s. Duke cannot allow St. John’s frontcourt to score second chance points. St. John’s plays several 6’7” – 6’8” physical athletes who will attempt to score off of missed shots. Duke must limit second chance points.

St. John’s is a deep team with nine players averaging double digit minutes per game. Dwight Hardy (6’2” 187) and Justin Brownlee (6’7” 232) are two key players off the bench for the Red Storm. Hardy is the team’s second leading scorer at 10.7 per game, while Brownlee is contributing 8.3 points per game.

This will be another tough game for the Blue Devils who are coming off their first loss of the season at Wisconsin. The final outcome of the game should be decided over the final three minutes. St. John’s is a program that is working hard to restore its program back into the upper echelon of college basketball after some tough times the past few years. Duke has won 72 consecutive non-conference games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke’s last loss was to St. John’s, 83 – 82, on February 26, 2000. The Red Storm would love to break Duke’s winning streak once again.

Duke Basketball

St. John’s (6-0) at Duke (6-1) Game Notes

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Game 8

[6 AP/5 Coaches] Duke (6-1) vs. St. John’s (6-0)

Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009  •  3:30 p.m.  •  espn2

Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)  •  Durham, N.C.

The Opening Tip

Duke (6-1), ranked sixth in the AP poll and fifth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked St. John’s (6-0) on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s contest will be aired by espn2 with Dave O’Brien and Jay Bilas calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Duke is coming off a 73-69 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Junior Kyle Singler scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the loss. He also added six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in the game.

Freshman Andre Dawkins went 4-of-4 from three-point range to finish with 12 points, while Nolan Smith (13) and Jon Scheyer (10) also reached double figures in scoring.

The Blue Devils shot 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the foul line in the game, but were unable to overcome eight three-point field goals, including three threes in the opening five minutes of action, by the Badgers.

The Duke-St. John’s Series

Duke has won six straight games in the series and is 13-5 all-time against St. John’s. The Blue Devils have won four straight home games and are 4-1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the series. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski boasts a 13-2 record against St. John’s.

Numbers Game

l Duke has won 32 straight home games against unranked opponents, dating back to a 68-67 loss to Florida State on Feb. 4, 2007.

l The Blue Devils have won a current NCAA-best 72 consecutive non-conference home games. Duke’s last home loss against a non-conference foe was an 83-82 decision against St. John’s on Feb. 26, 2000.

l Duke has won five of the last six games in the series with St. John’s by double figures. The Blue Devils have a +14.1 ppg. scoring margin in that span.

l The Blue Devils have won seven of their last 10 games against Big East opponents, including a 68-59 win over Connecticut on Nov. 27. Duke is 105-44 all-time against the conference.

l Duke has won 45 straight December home games, dating back to a 62-61 loss to Michigan on Dec. 8, 1996.

l The Blue Devils are 156-26 in the month of December under Coach K. Duke is 48-4 since the 1999-2000 season in December contests.

l Duke is 9-2 following a loss in the last three seasons. The Blue Devils are 34-11 in the last 10 seasons after a loss.

l Andre Dawkins leads the ACC in three-point field goals (2.9 3pg.) and has made two or more threes in six of seven games. He ranks second in the conference in three-point percentage at .556 (20-of-26). Over the last four games, Dawkins is averaging 12.8 points  per game, while shooting 14-of-18 (.778) from three-point range.

l Duke is the only team in the ACC with more than one player averaging over 15.0 points per game. Nolan Smith (17.4), Kyle Singler (17.1) and Jon Scheyer (15.9) are each average over 15.0 points per game for the season.

l Jon Scheyer has reached double figures in scoring in 19 straight games. He has scored 10 or more points in 83 of 111 career games.

l Junior Nolan Smith has scored 10 or more points in all five games he has played this season. He is averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game, a +9.0 ppg. scoring jump from a year ago.

l Duke leads the ACC in free throw percentage at .799 (115-of-144). Five Blue Devil regulars (Andre Dawkins, Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler & Lance Thomas) are shooting 85.0 percent or better from the charity stripe.

l The Blue Devils have three more fouls committed than their opponents through the first seven games of the season. The last time Duke finished the year with more fouls committed than its opponents was the 1995-96 season.

l Kyle Singler had a career-high 28 points in the loss to Wisconsin. He now has three 20-point efforts on the year and 18 for his career.

l Senior Jon Scheyer has led Duke in assists in all seven games this season. He leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.2:1) and is sixth in assists per game (5.1 apg.).

Duke Basketball

ACC – Big Ten Challenge Preview: Wisconsin Badgers

DukeDuke (6-0) takes on the Wisconsin Badgers (4-1) in the 11th annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge on December 2nd, in their first true road game of the young season. The two teams last faced each other two years ago with the Blue Devils pounding the Badgers 82 - 58. In last year's event, Duke defeated Purdue 76 - 60, while Wisconsin beat Virginia Tech 74 - 72. Duke has a perfect 10 - 0 record in the challenge, while Wisconsin is 4 - 6.

Wisconsin is coming off a 20 - 13 season where they advanced to the NCAA tournament before falling to Xavier 60 - 49 in the second round.

Coach Bo Ryan will rely upon a pair of senior guards to lead his team, Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon. Both players started all 33 games last season and averaged 12.1 and 10.3 points per game respectively. Across the front line, Wisconsin is big and athletic. Junior Jon Leuer (6-10, 225) started 12 games and averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds as a sophomore. Junior Keaton Nankivil (6-8, 240) started 20 games and averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds last season. Several players will compete to be the fifth starter: redshirt freshman Ryan Evans (6-6, 195), sophomore Rob Wilson (6-4, 175), and junior Tim Jarmusz (6-6, 210).

The reports coming out of Madison indicate this year's team will look to push the ball up the floor in order to force a more up tempo game pace. Wisconsin has traditionally played a grind it out style with emphasis on defense. During pick-up games over the summer, Wisconsin players were practicing with a 25 second shot clock to discourage the tendency to walk the ball up the court.

Through the season’s first five games, the Badgers are averaging 67.4 points per game while holding their opponents to 58.2 points so the early season games do not provide any evidence the Badgers have actually changed their style. Wisconsin’s one loss was to Gonzaga, 74 – 61, in the semi-finals of the Maui Invitational. The Badgers rebounded by defeating Maryland, 78 – 69, in the 3rd Place game.

The media has predicted Wisconsin will finish 9th in the Big Ten this season, but no Bo Ryan coached Wisconsin team has ever finished worse than 4th. This will surely be bulletin board material for the Badgers and there would be no better way to silence the media doubters than an early season defeat of Duke so the Badgers will be motivated when the Blue Devils arrive at the Kohl Center.

For the Blue Devils, this will be their first true road game of the season. With a hostile crowd cheering on the Badgers, Duke’s players must keep their emotions in check and execute Coach Krzyzewski’s game plan. Playing in big games is old hat for Duke so the experienced Blue Devils should have no problem coping with the atmosphere in Madison.

The keys to the game will be:

1. Duke must contain speedy point guard Trevon Hughes. Duke cannot allow Hughes to dictate the game so it is imperative Nolan Smith plays solid defense and avoids foul trouble. The Smith – Hughes match-up will be critical to the outcome of this contest. Hughes is averaging 14.2 points per game this season.

2. Duke’s inside players must equal Wisconsin’s physicality. Duke has more depth on the interior so Miles Plumlee, Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas, and Ryan Kelly must take advantage by attacking the basket and drawing fouls. This game represents a second straight litmus test for Duke’s assertion they are a bigger team this season. Duke’s big men must play big against the Badgers, like they did in the win over the UConn Huskies, and out rebound the Badgers.

3. The team that takes better care of the basketball will gain an advantage. In games with slower tempo, it is imperative to not lose scoring opportunities. Duke has 99 assists against 66 turnovers through six games with guard Jon Scheyer leading the way with an 8:1 assists/turnover ratio. The Badgers have 61 assists against 60 turnovers in five games.

4. Exploiting Kyle Singler’s versatility and capitalizing on mismatches. Singler is an All America quality player who had subpar offensive performances during Duke’s two recent games at Madison Square Garden. If Singler is on track against Wisconsin, it will help open up good looks at the basket for Duke’s other players.

Wisconsin will be a solid early season road test for Duke such as Purdue and Michigan were last season. This will be Duke’s only true road game prior to playing at Georgia Tech in January. The game has the makings to be a competitive challenge for the Blue Devils.

Duke Basketball

NIT Season Tip-Off Preview: UConn Huskies

DukeThe UConn Huskies (4-0) are a tough matchup for Duke (5-0). Defending against talented backcourt mates Jerome Dyson (6’3” 180) and Kemba Walker (6’1” 172) will be a huge challenge for Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. Both Dyson and Walker were named to the All Big East Preseason Team. The Huskies are also big across the frontline with Stanley Robinson (6’9” 220), Gavin Edwards (6’9” 230), and Alex Oriakhi (6’9” 240). UConn brings speed and strength onto the court.

Depth could be an issue for the Huskies as their top five players are clocking 170 minutes of action per game. Comparatively, Duke’s top five are on the court for 147 minutes. In their 76 – 67 second round win over Hofstra, the Huskies bench contributed only four points, while Duke’s bench scored 24 points in Duke’s 101 – 59 win over the University of Charlotte.

Dyson, a senior, is averaging 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists in 36.7 minutes per game so far this season. He missed the end of last season after tearing the meniscus ligament in his right knee on February 13th against Syracuse. Dyson had started all 24 games for UConn prior to the injury.

Robinson averaged 8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23 minutes per game over his first three seasons at Connecticut. As a senior, he is playing 36.3 mpg and averaging 16.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. With the departure of A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, and Hasheem Thabeet, Robinson will be expected to step into a leadership role for the Huskies.

Edwards, the third senior starter, is averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game so far this season. He has made 19 of 23 field goal attempts this season and scored 15 points in the win over LSU.

Walker, a sophomore, is averaging 14.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4 assists in 33.7 minutes per game. In the win over LSU, Walker dished out 5 assists in addition to scoring 20 points.

Oriakhi, starting as a freshman, is averaging 6.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 33.3 minutes per game. UConn is known for physical inside players and this freshman is heir apparent to be Coach Jim Calhoun’s next intimidator. Against LSU, he had 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The keys to the game will be:

1. Foul trouble could be a problem for the Huskies who play all five starters 30 or more minutes per game, while Duke goes nine deep. Therefore, the Blue Devils should attack the basket and force the Huskies to respond. This game will be a test for Duke’s bigger line-up philosophy and their inside players must respond to the physical play of UConn’s frontline.

2. Who will guard Kyle Singler? Actually, UConn is a team that should be able to match-up with Singler. Stanley Robinson will be Coach Calhoun’s first option, but it would be a tall order to expect Robinson to keep up with Singler for 35 plus minutes so Coach Calhoun will probably look to freshman Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (6’7” 210) to assist Robinson in defending Singler. It will definitely be a trial by fire experience for the freshman wingman.

3. Guard play will eventually decide who wins this game. The team which gets the best performance from its perimeter players will be the tournament champions. With UConn’s ability to match-up with Singler, starters Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith are going to have to outperform Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker in order for Duke to leave New York undefeated. Duke freshman Andre Dawkins must be strong when he is on the court. There is no room for error in this contest.

UConn advanced to the championship game via an 81 - 55 dismantling of the LSU Tigers. Duke defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 64 – 53 in a game which was closer than expected. The Huskies were led by Dyson and Walker with 20 points each, and Robinson contributed a double - double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. For the Blue Devils, Jon Scheyer was the leading scorer with 16 points, while Smith and Singler chipped in 14 and 13 points respectively.

Duke and UConn have played some classic games over the years and this game should be another barn burner. Coaches Krzyzewski and Calhoun are familiar with each other so both teams will come into the game prepared and ready to execute an effective game plan. This game will be a good one so all the fans need to kick back and enjoy the show. After the long off season, it is time to enjoy the ride of another college basketball season.

Duke Basketball

Nolan Smith named ACC Player of the Week

BDN Photo
BDN Photo

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke guard Nolan Smith was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday as announced by the conference office. Smith averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 56 percent (15-of-27) from the field, including 60 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range, and 100 percent (8-of-8) from the foul line in wins over Charlotte and Radford.

The Upper Marlboro, Md., native had a career-high 24 points, five rebounds and five assists in Tuesday’s 101-59 win over Charlotte. He went 9-of-15 from the field with a pair of three-point field goals against the 49ers. Smith recorded his second 20-point game of the week and the third of his career with 20 points in a 104-67 win over Radford. He knocked down a career-best four three-pointers and added three rebounds and seven assists in the contest.

Smith earned ACC POW honors for the first time in his career.

The Blue Devils return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 25 against Arizona State (9:00 pm – espn2) in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Duke Basketball

NIT Season Tip-Off Preview: Arizona State Sun Devils

nitlogoDuke (4-0) will face the Arizona State Sun Devils (4-0), on Wednesday Nov. 25, in the semi-finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off, at Madison Square Garden. The Sun Devils return three starters off of last season’s 25 -10 team: senior point guard Derek Glasser, junior forward Rihards Kuksiks, and junior shooting guard Ty Abbott.

The big challenge for fourth year coach Herb Sendek will be replacing first team All American James Harden and first team All Pac-10 Jeff Pendergraph who are both now on NBA rosters. Harden and Pendergraph combined to average 34.6 points and 13.8 rebounds per game last year. That is a lot of productivity no longer available so Arizona State is a team which could struggle early this season.

Derek Glasser (6-1, 190) averaged 8.8 points with a 2.2:1 assists to turnover ratio as a junior. He does not possess blinding speed but he is a capable point guard who will execute Coach Sendek’s game plan. Significantly, in his 102 game career, he has had 19 turnover free games. Glasser was named to the 2009 Pac-10 All-Tournament team by averaging 13.7 points, shooting 45.5 percent on three-pointers, and dishing out 12 assists against four turnovers during three tournament games. Glasser has dished out 18 assists with 8 turnovers so far this season.

Rihards Kuksiks (6-6, 205) is the third best returning three-point shooter in the nation. As a sophomore, he made 44.3 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Kuksiks averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per contest. He has started 47 games over the first two seasons of his career, including all 34 games last season. In Arizona State’s most recent outing, against San Francisco, Kuksiks scored 27 points and shot 7-13 from behind the 3-point arc.

Ty Abbott (6-3, 207) had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the off-season and did not play in the Sun Devils opening game. However, he played in the first two games of the NIT Season Tip-Off averaging 9.5 points per game. The athletic wing started 65 of 69 games during his first two years as a Sun Devil. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last season. Abbott set an ASU freshmen record with 76 made three-point shots his first season. This season, in three games, Abbott is averaging 17.3 points per game and is 7-10 on 3-point attempts.

Additional experienced players include seniors Jerren Shipp (6-3, 220) and Eric Boateng (6-10, 245), and junior Jamelle McMillan (6-2, 180). In Arizona State’s 52 – 49 victory over TCU, in their NIT 2nd Round game, Boateng was a huge factor setting career highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Coach Sendek also has six freshmen on his roster and he has demonstrated a willingness to give freshmen significant playing time in previous seasons so those freshmen are a wildcard for the Sun Devils. If one or two step up with meaningful contributions, especially one of the big men, Arizona State could develop into a solid contender.

The keys to the game will be:

1. The Blue Devils must defend the three-point arc as the Sun Devils will attempt to score in bunches from the bonusphere. Kuksiks and Abbott will be looking to take over as Arizona State’s primary scoring options, and both players like to launch shots from behind the three-point line.

2. On offense, the Blue Devils will need to execute their high-low offense so the big men can attack the basket aggressively. Duke has an advantage in experience and size and must force Arizona State to focus on post defense in order to take advantage of three-point shooters Scheyer, Singler, Smith, and Dawkins. Those four Blue Devils are shooting a combined 48.1 percent (39 – 81) from behind the 3-point line in Duke’s first four games.

3. Who guards Kyle Singler? This will be the ubiquitous question all season for Duke’s opponents. Singler is a sensational player who should be able to score from the outside and the inside from his natural small forward position. If the Sun Devils opt to play a lot of zone defense, look for the Blue Devils to attempt to shoot them out of it via a 3-point barrage.

Herb Sendek is experienced coaching against Duke from his days at the N.C. State helm so he will keep it interesting, but in the end, Duke has too much talent and experience for Arizona State to handle. Duke should advance to the Championship game without undue difficulty. Of course, in the sports world, nothing is guaranteed, which is why we play the game.