Singler scores 2 of his 17 points vs St. John's - Lance King Photo

Durham, N.C. – Nothing cures a loss like a win and Duke got one today over a pesky St. John’s team by the score of 80-71 pushing their record to 7-1 on the young season.  During the post=game interviews it was clear that the residual effect from a close loss to Wisconsin still lingered.

In fact, Kyle Singler was adamant in not addressing the loss, wanting instead to concentrate on today’s win.  Singler once again led the Blue Devils with 17 points to go with his 8 rebounds and 4 steals.  He was helped by the rest of the fab three in Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith.  Scheyer didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but still managed 15 points. More importantly, he dished a team-high 6 assists without turning the ball over a single time.

Nolan Smith was banged up after the Wisconsin game,  but many of his 16 points came during key stretches in the game.  But the bright spot for Duke was the play of seniors Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek, who combined for 24 rebounds and 15 points.  Both struggled against the Badgers but served notice that it was but one game.

Duke had several runs in the game, the biggest being in the first half where they scored 17 straight points after trailing 15-14.  There was a second half run of 12-2 as well.  Despite those runs, St. John’s would never roll over.

It should be noted that the Red Storm also lost Justin Burrell to injury early in the game and Anthony Mason Jr. was out with a hamstring injury.  Duke defended D.J. Kennedy well, holding him to 2 points before he got into a groove and finished with a team-high 18 points for St. John’s, who suffered their first loss of the season.

The Duke team was visibly drained after the game where Krzyzewski said his team got back to Durham at 4 A.M. after the loss to the Badgers during the Big Ten – ACC Challenge.

While the win wasn’t a work of art, it was just what Duke needed to settle in before a much needed ten day break where the team will take exams.

Stay tuned for the locker room report and interviews from Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas.

Tidbits - Coach Krzyzewski exhorted the Cameron Crazies before the game and spoke of getting them in the spirit in order to lift his team.  It worked well, for Cameron was good today.

- Nolan Smith has scored in double figures in every game he has played this season.

- Scheyer is shooting 90 plus percent from the free throw stripe this season and his 5 for 5 made attempts makes his season total 38 of 42.  Again, no turnover today for Scheyer.

- Miles Plumlee’s block brings his total to a team-high 12 for the season.

- Duke extended its non-conference home winning streak to 73 straight.

- Duke has not lost a game in December since Michigan in 1996.

- Singler 4 steals was his personal season high.

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.).

Both players made positive plays, but Williams showed flashes that he could be a huge contributor as Duke readies for the season’s stretch run.  Williams played

Elliot Williams had his best game of the season against St. John's

good on ball defense and switched up with overall precision in Duke’s man to man defense.

Williams also showed off his athleticism by making most of his offensive touches count leading his team in scoring at the half.  More importantly, he looked more comfortable within the team concept than any other time this season.

Earlier in the season, Williams seemed to be seeking his shot first and foremost, but he played well within the team concept against the Johnnies.  In not seeking his shot right away points came to him allowing him to show off other abilities beyond his scoring prowess.

Plumlee also had nice ups on a block, some good boards and was more relaxed on the offensive end which resulted in some key points.  The emergence of the two freshmen also allowed Duke to experiment with new lineups.

But the most important thing the two newcomers brought to the table were fresh legs.  Those fresh legs meshed well with team leaders Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer.

Duke also got some great play from Lance Thomas who is showing consistency and the team survived the loss of David McClure due to a flu bug.

Paulus and Smith continued to struggle and that’s part of what led to lineup changes.   But the important thing on this evening was a win and this win cannot necessarily be measured by normal standards.

Duke will now try to build off this victory when Wake Forest comes into Cameron for the second to last home game of the season.  Needless to say Duke needs a victory over a team ranked just ahead of them, but more importantly to stay in a crowded ACC race for the top four spots which earns a bye in the fast approaching conference tournament.

Go Duke-AP. Article