• Game 21 •
[1 AP/1 Coaches] Duke (18-2, 5-1 ACC) vs. Virginia (7-9, 1-4 ACC)
Sunday, February 1, 2009 • 2:08 PM ET • FSN
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
Blue Devil Bits
Duke is 18-2 on the year, including a 5-1 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play, following a 70-68 loss at No. 6 Wake Forest on Wednesday.
Duke is 12-0 at home this season with a 3-0 home record in league play. The Blue
Duke returns to Cameron to host Virginia at 2:00 this Sunday
Devils have won 10 or more home games in each of the last 14 seasons, posting a 193-18 (.915) record during that span, including four undefeated seasons.
The Blue Devils are ranked first in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Duke has now been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll 111 times, the second-most in NCAA history.
Duke is also rated first in the latest RPI according to CollegeRPI.com. The site ranks Duke’s strength of schedule sixth in the NCAA.
Sophomore Kyle Singler finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds against Wake Forest. Singler now has six double-doubles this season and 10 for his career.
Gerald Henderson scored 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting on Wednesday. He also had eight rebounds and three steals in the loss. Henderson has scored 20 or more points in four of the last six games.
Senior David McClure matched a career high with 12 rebounds in 25 minutes against the Demon Deacons. The Ridgefield, Conn., native grabbed nine rebounds in the second half and now has three career games with 10 or more rebounds.
Numbers Game -
Duke will play its first February game of 2009 on Sunday against Virginia. Under Coach K, the Blue Devils are 165-63 in the month of February, including a 14-7 record against the Cavaliers.
The Blue Devils have won the last 12 meetings with Virginia in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke lost at home to the Cavaliers was on Jan. 14, 1995, under Pete Gaudet, 91-88, in double overtime. The last loss at home to Virginia under Coach K was a 77-69 setback on Jan. 17, 1993.
Duke has a 14-0 record all-time against Virginia when ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Blue Devils have been ranked in each of the last 27 games against the Cavaliers.
The Blue Devils are the only team in the ACC holding opponents to under 60 points per game in conference play. Duke is allowing 54.7 points per game in league action and has held five of its six opponents under 60 points, including two opponent to under 50 points.
Duke leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense in conference-only games. The Blue Devils are holding teams to .365 shooting from the field and .243 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Kyle Singler is tied for sixth in the ACC with six double-figure rebound games this season. Singler is third in the league with six double-doubles, including two games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Gerald Henderson has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, which is tied for the fifth-longest streak in the ACC. He has scored 20 or more points in four of the last six games, averaging 20.8 points per game in that span.
Junior Brian Zoubek is two blocked shots shy of 50 for his career. Duke has 29 players all-time with 50 or more blocks, including two other current Blue Devils Gerald Henderson (60) and David McClure (50).
Duke is ranked No. 1 for the first time since the final AP poll of the 2005-06 season. Under Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll 93 times. Since 1990, Duke has held the top spot in the country for 80 weeks, more than any other school in the nation.
Junior Jon Scheyer ranks fourth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.854, 88-of-103). He has made 16 consecutive free throws and now ranks fifth all-time in the league history in free throw percentage (.864, 323-of-374).
Junior Gerald Henderson is leading the ACC with a .595 (47-of-79) field goal percentage in conference play. He also ranks seventh in scoring at 19.7 ppg., 11th in rebounds at 7.2 rpg. and second in steals at 2.7 spg. in ACC contests.
Duke is 471-54 under Coach K when outrebounding the opposition. The Blue Devils have outrebounded their opponents 15 times this season, posting a 14-1 record in those games.
The Duke Blue Devils moved to the top of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this afternoon,
Since the year 2000, Duke has more wins than any other college basketball team
garnering all but one first place vote. Duke has now been number one sixty times since the polls inception in 1999. UNC is a distant second since that same time frame.
The Blue Devils will carry that #1 ranking into Winston Salem on Wednesday night to take on last weeks #1 team in Wake Forest. Duke joins, UNC, Pitt and Wake Forest as teams that have held the position so far this season.
As you probably know by now, Duke walloped Maryland and is poised to go to number one for the 60th time since the ESPN/Coaches Poll has existed. Oh, and nobody is a close second;) We'll get to the game shortly, but until then, here is a look at the freshman who got some good minutes -
Maryland players are posterized by Elliot Williams
The Duke offense erupted in the second half and that helped the Duke Blue Devils move to 17-1 overall and 3-0 in the ACC with a 73-56 win over N.C. State.
To call this game a tale of two halfs for the Dukies is an understatement. Duke shot 29% from the
Henderson drives in for a dunk after an assist from McClure, helping Duke to a 73-58 win over N.C. State on Tuesday evening.
field in the first half and 76.9% in the second. The Blue Devils managed to score just 22 points at the break, but came on to roll up 51 in the second half.
“Our offense, as bad as it was in the first half, it was that good in the second half. I thought they played us really hard. I was worried about today’s game for a couple reasons – one, I think State’s good. After that big win against Georgetown, there’s a little bit of a let-down emotionally, crowd-wise and team-wise," said Krzyzewski.
Duke jumped out to an early 8-1 lead, but then went ice cold from the field as if they were sleep walking after Saturday's big win over Georgetown. Duke trailed the Wolfpack the rest of the way, until the 9:27 mark, when back to back Nolan Smith three pointers gave them a 52-49 lead.
N.C. State rode the scoring punch of Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner who scored 15 points each, but they were shut out down the stretch when the vaunted Duke defense kicked in. The Pack scored a single point in the last 4:41 of the game.
Duke finally broke the game open when David McClure made a steal and hit Gerald Henderson for a dunk and a 62-55 lead.
"There’s game pressure – I thought the second half, the start of the second half, we had great energy. Gerald, especially in the first eight minutes, was great . Nolan – I thought this was his best game, and he’s put three really terrific games together. And Kyle playing with four fouls for eight minutes. It was a one-possession game, and all of sudden we got two steals and turned them into buckets. McClure was huge for us, especially on that top ball screen. It was a hard-fought win for us, but with the score you’d think we kind of walked throgh this," stated Krzyzewski.
Henderson left no doubt that he was the player of the game, continuing his torrid play of late. He put his team on his back on the way to scoring 21 points to go with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 key steals. The junior continues to play at a very high level and that has been a Godsend in that some other Devils have been in a slump.
“I knew I was going to have to be way more aggressive than I was. Kyle wasn’t playing like he usually does. Jon wasn’t hitting like he usually does. So I guess I kind of took it on my shoulders. My teammates were going to me, Coach was going to me, and I knew that if he was going to call some plays for me I had to make something happen,” said Henderson.
N.C. State Coach Sydney Lowe said, "He (Gerald Henderson) took over the game for a period there and that’s the one guy I talked about in pre-game to the media. He can change the game and he did it again tonight. That’s what he expects of himself and I’m sure that’s what his team expected. He did exactly what a leader is supposed to do. He took over.”
Jon Scheyer had a miserable night scoring a late three pointer, but led his team with 5 assists. Scheyer has now had four sub par scoring games.
Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas also continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court, but there were several shots in which the seven footer altered the shot. But Zoubs will have to learn to
copyright BDNP
finish his shot with more authority to get back on track and Thomas needs to find his way back into being a key contributor down the stretch is Duke is to continue their winning ways come the meat of a tough ACC schedule.
Kyle Singler was saddled with four fouls and that made it hard for him to be aggressive on the boards in that he had just 4 rebounds tonight. But Singler is Duke's best interior defender and his 17 points cam at key moments in the second half enabling a late Duke run.
The aforementioned three pointers from Nolan Smith were big and he finished with 13 points but failed to dish a single assist. Paulus had one assist and nine key points off the bench, but Kryzyzewski would most certainly like to see more distribution from the point guard position, although he called this Nolans best game this season.
Despite some struggles, any ACC win is huge in a tough conference. Duke got things rolling late
The Duke staff was really getting into the game in the second half
and escaped what would have been a trp for most teams. It was an evening when the weather caused some no shows and Cameron was nowhere near it's best.
It was clear that Coach K and his staff came out in the second half and got a bit more animated than usual. On a night with so many odd intangibles, there is no way to measure how important that support was.
[2 AP/2 Coaches] Duke (16-1, 3-0 ACC) vs. N.C. State (10-5, 1-2 ACC)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 • 8:05 PM ET • Raycom
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
Game Quick Facts
TV: Raycom; Steve Martin (play-by-play), Mike Gminski (analyst).
Radio: Duke Radio Network (flagship WDNC 620 AM in Durham); Bob Harris (play-by-play), John Roth (analyst) and Matthew Laurance (sideline).
All-time Series: Duke leads the all-time series135-96, including a 44-23 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils have won two straight in the series and six of the last seven contests.
Coaches:
Mike Krzyzewski
Overall Record: 819-268 (34th year)
Duke Record: 746-209 (29th year)
vs. N.C. State: 43-19
Blue Devil Bits
l Duke is 16-1 on the year, including a 3-0 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Blue Devils have now started the season with a 16-1 mark 12 times, including eight times under Mike Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils are ranked second in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Duke is 108-16 all-time when ranked second in the AP poll.
Duke is first in the latest RPI according to CollegeRPI.com. The site also ranks Duke’s strength of schedule third in the NCAA.
The Blue Devils posted their eighth straight victory with a 76-67 win over 13th-ranked Georgetown on Saturday. Duke posted its 68th straight non-conference home victory and improved to 3-0 on the year against ranked teams with the win over the Hoyas.
Junior Gerald Henderson paced the Blue Devils with 23 points, including 17 points in the first half, on Saturday. The Merion, Pa., native knocked down his first seven field goal attempts, including three three-pointers, against Georgetown.
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Sophomore Kyle Singler posted his second straight double-double and fifth of the year with 15 points and a career-best 16 rebounds versus the Hoyas.
Jon Scheyer added 11 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals on Saturday. Scheyer has 10 assists and just one turnover in Duke’s last two games.
Numbers Game
Tuesday’s game marks the 232nd meeting between Duke and N.C. State, making it the most played series in league history. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 135-96, including a 44-23 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils have won 11 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium against N.C. State. Under Mike Krzyzewski, they are 20-5 at home against the Wolfpack.
Duke has won 18 straight games in the month of January dating back to a 74-63 loss at Georgia Tech on Jan. 10, 2007.
The Blue Devils are 197-54 under Coach K in the month of January, including a 91-7 mark since 1998.
Since losing to Michigan, 81-73, on Dec. 6, the Blue Devils have not allowed more than 70 points in a game. Duke’s opponents are averaging just 57.9 points per game over the last eight contests. Five of Duke’s last eight opponents have scored fewer than 60 points.
Sophomore Kyle Singler leads Duke in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Christian Laettner is the only Blue Devil to lead the team in four major statistical categories in a season. Laettner led the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocked shots during the 1990-91 season.
Junior Gerald Henderson has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last nine games, averaging 17.3 points per game in those outings. He has scored at least 15 points in six of his last seven games.
Duke is one of three teams in the ACC to have three players rank among the top 20 in the league in scoring. The Blue Devils are led by Kyle Singler who ranks ninth (16.8 ppg.). Gerald Henderson ranks 17th at 14.0 points per game and Jon Scheyer is tied for 18th at 13.8 points per game.
Gerald Henderson is shooting .807 (46-of-57) from the free throw line this season. Entering the year, he was a career .657 (138-of-210) shooter from the charity stripe. Henderson is also shooting a team-high .449 (22-of-49) this season after shooting .318 (28-of-88) from three-point distance in his first two seasons.
Sophomore Kyle Singler averaged 15.0 rebounds per game in Duke’s last two contests. He had 14 rebounds against Georgia Tech and a career-high 16 boards in the win over Georgetown. Singler had six offensive rebounds in each game.
Sophomore Nolan Smith is shooting .930 (40-of-43) from the free throw line on the season. He has been perfect from the line in 12 games this season and has made his last 10 free throws.
The Blue Devils have the top scoring defense in the ACC, allowing only 60.6 points per game. Duke has held 11 of its 17 opponents to 60 points or less on the season.
Sophomore Kyle Singler has five double-doubles this season to rank tied for fifth in the ACC. He has posted double-doubles in each of Duke’s last two contests.
The Blue Devils are 13-0 when outrebounding their opponent this season. Duke ranks second in the ACC with a rebounding margin of +8.0 this season. Last year, Duke ranked ninth in the conference with a +0.1 rebounding margin.
Junior Jon Scheyer has a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last six games. He has 10 assists and just one turnover in Duke’s last two games.
The trio of Kyle Singler, Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer are averaging a combined 44.6 points per game. They have accounted for 55.4 percent of Duke’s scoring through the first 17 games.
Duke is 15-0 when leading at the half. The Blue Devils have faced a second-half deficit just two times (Rhode Island, Michigan) this season.
Duke managed to put away Georgia Tech last evening 70-56 to go to 3-0 in the young ACC season despite struggling from the field offensively. With a loaded schedule that includes Clemson, North
Duke got off to a 3-0 start in the ACC for the 14th time in the Krzyzewski era
Carolina and Wake Forest twice, each win is important and you can bet that Coach K has his team trying to avoid a letdown.
While Krzyzewski will not allow his team to look too far ahead, with a big national showdown against Georgetown looming this Saturday, perhaps it couldn't help but be in the back of the players minds. That thought likely went away after tip off against Tech in that Duke found themselves down eight early in a night where it seemed they couldn't throw the ball in the ocean in the first fifteen minutes of play.
On a night where the Blue Devils got little production from the center or anchor position, Duke depended on it's big three stars in Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson. Coach K let it be known to voice of the Blue Devils Bob Harris in the post game radio show that he was not too happy with the fact that Zoubek and Thomas managed 4 points, 6 rebounds and 8 fouls.
It's vital that Thomas and Zoubek reassert themselves with a Georgetown team coming in that handled #8 Syracuse easily at home on Wednesday. That team features former Duke prospect Greg Monroe, a freshman sensation that can pass or dish assists with the best of them, not to mention control the paint.
Kyle Singler found himself having to play much of last evenings game down low and he certainly produced against the Jackets, going for 19 points and 14 rebounds. The thing is that he was forced to play almost the entire game and should that continue there is a possibility he'll wear down as the season progresses.
Jon Scheyer has had two miserable shooting games from the field, but he always finds ways to help with his court savvy. He struggled with his shot early but always plays a great floor game on a consistent basis. Last evening was no different, where he tallied 14 points and led his team in assists with 5 and grabbed 5 boards for good measure.
While Greg Paulus gave Duke a much needed lift in scoring eight points off the bench, he failed to hand out one assist. That is not necessarily his role this season, but with Nolan Smith having an off night offensively and dishing just one assist, distribution has to be an area of concern at the moment for the Devils.
Quite simply, Duke needs two positions to be more productive on a consistent basis to continue to flourish as they have early, earning the #2 ranking in college hoops.
Despite the aforementioned concerns, Duke finds ways to win and more often than not it is with their defense. Krzyzewski has his team playing at a very high level defensively and so far this season, they have held three conference opponents to around 53 ppg.
Another vital part of the team pushing their record to 15-1 is the play of Gerald Henderson. "G" has adjusted as the season has gone along and has been very consistent of late. Henderson can do things other players can't with his athleticism and versatility. A well rounded performance against the Jackets was what the doctor ordered. His final stat line was 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
One has to be impressed with the results so far this season. On a night when Duke struggled with their shooting from the field and the free throw stripe they managed a win. If this teams offense becomes more consistent, they'll be a load for whomever they face the rest of the way.
Coach K post game comments, courtesy of Duke Sports Information -
Opening Comment:
"We won a hard-fought game tonight. We knew coming in that Georgia Tech, for the first time this season, was close to being 100 percent. They didn't start the year with Clinch, then Miller was sick, and then Peacock was sick the last game, but they had everyone tonight. Obviously those guys will still get in better shape. As a result they can hit you with different lineups now. They can start that big lineup and they can bring Miller in, and you have Shumpert, Clinch and Miller with Peacock and Lawal - they are a good team, tough to score against. I thought our defense helped win the game for us. We played very well, defensively, in the second half. I thought we played the last 10 minutes of the first half well defensively but they kind of knocked us back and we didn't do what we wanted to do on the top ball screen. And they executed well. They are a very big team. Kyle [Singler] came up with some huge plays for us, especially on the defensive boards. And then G had a really good second half offensively. Both teams had trouble scoring because we are both pretty good defensive teams. We got a big boost in the first half from Paulus and Marty [Pocius]. Greg and Marty gave us a big boost, and then Dave [McClure] was terrific in the second half, defensively. He had two big blocks and was a heck of a defensive player. And we needed that. It was hard fought, and a good win for us. Hooray for me, I'm happy. When you win a game like this, it's not an easy game. They are good."
Comment on rebounding:
"Yeah, we had a couple more. But that fact that we weren't hit hard, a lot of it had to do with Kyle. Kyle had 14 rebounds. All of a sudden on some of those misses, you saw Kyle with two hands coming up and that gives you a possession. Neither team scored quickly, so when you got a possession it meant a little bit more in this game. Dave came up - his blocks were the main thing. And then trying to stay in front of Lawal was huge. Our post defense was a lot better in the second half."
Comment on Gerald Henderson coming up big in the second half:
"He's a good player, first of all. Their defense was taking away the drive. They were really playing like zoning up, and we ended up just kind of pounding the ball in the floor. I told him to either shoot it or pass it - don't just keep dribbling it. He wants to beat you, he's a good player. In the second half our offense had a little bit more movement and we put him in a couple different places so he could do it. He lost it a couple of times, but we went to both him and Kyle. We tried to run a bunch of things through those two kids."
Comment on big men going over top of the screens:
"I thought Kyle, in particular, defended that well. We're a very good defensive team. In the first half, we did not do that well. We started switching, and then our little guy went down, instead of the big guy staying and the little guy staying up on top, which is what we practiced. I felt like the father that tells their kid, and they say that they never heard you. Well I said it, I said it a bunch - I even called a timeout. In fact, you're even IN timeout right now. But that's what happens, and to our kids' credit, they got it straight after a while."
Comment on the league:
"I think our league is the best it's been for a long time. We've got four teams in the top-10. We just played Tech and Florida State, and they can play anybody that we've played. Our league is the best league. The fact that we have 12 teams shouldn't be discriminated against. Believe me, we don't want more - I don't want more. But we have a hell of a league. It's an older league and a bigger league. We have some big teams in our league - Tech and Florida State are two of the biggest teams in the country when you put those lineups out. We've been No. 1 in the RPI, We have had the best non-conference. I've always been a cheerleader for the ACC, but this year, even more because we have a lot of good teams. And always in the league, there are always two things that bring around the differential: an injury and close losses."
Comment on strategy on defending Lawal:
"We wanted to pressure the passer. I think we were the first team this year that pressured the high post instead of dropping off. We tried to stay where we were between him and the ball. Ball pressure is key - we wanted to pressure the passer (because) the passer can see more. But he's good. He's gotten really strong, and you can tell that kid's really worked. I don't think anybody that I've seen yet, and I know I haven't seen everybody, but I don't think anyone runs the floor quicker than Lawal. He goes from the defensive end to the offensive end real fast. He's a big time player and competitor.
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