Duke came into the Wake Forest game riding a ten game winning streak which helped them earn a number one ranking in the nation, but as Wake will tell you, teams don't stay there long.
The Deacons who were ranked in the same position a week ago held on to win by a 70-68 score in a game that was not decided until the final buzzer.
Duke woke up to play outstanding basketball over the last ten minutes of the game, but not before digging a 13 point hole. While Duke is likely disappointed with their effort over forty minutes, the comeback proved that you cannot count them out.
Kyle Singler, Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and David McClure put the Dukies on their back in the second half. SIngler scored 22 points and grabbed 12 boards while Henderson chipped in with 20 points and 7 rebounds. A total of 32 of their 44 points were scored after intermission.
While Scheyer continued to struggle from the field, he drained some key free throws while David McClure played good defense and had a team high tying 12 rebounds.
The problem is that most of the other Devils were missing in action. Smith had 6 points, Paulus 5 and Plumlee 4 to round out the scoring. That's just six players scoring against one of the leagues deepest teams.
Despite the lack of early intensity, Duke looked poised to send the game to overtime, but a missed switch on the defensive end allowed an easy Johnson bucket.
The Wake Forest fans rushed the court and Duke was hanging their heads, but it is a game they'll learn from. Duke will now regroup and prepare for Virginia on Super Bowl Sunday.
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.
DURHAM, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Duke women’s basketball team used a stellar defensive effort on Sunday afternoon to down Georgia Tech, 60-34, to win its 15th straight game this season and 29th straight contest against the Yellow Jackets. The Blue Devils held Georgia Tech to its second-worst single-game output in school history, while holding the Yellow Jackets to only 25.5 percent shooting.
Abby Waner scored 14 points, while Chante Black and Jasmine Thomas each added 10 points for the Blue Devils.
It's hard to find a starting point in talking about how dominant the Blue Devils 85-44 win over Maryland was today. I mean the Devils defense held Maryland to four points over the last ten
Nolan Smith takes it to the rim versus the Terps
minutes of the first half and limited the visitor to 27% shooting on the day and their lowest point total in forty years. Here are some random thoughts -
Duke hit their three point shots- The Blue Devils shot better from the three point stripe than they did the field where they finished 12 of 25. If Duke can continue this kind of production, they'll be tough to beat come March. An interesting side not is that all of Scheyer's (4 of 13) made field goals were three pointers.
Gerald Henderson - "G" is starting to dominate the game as he finds his comfort level. I mean 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 23 minutes of play is ridiculous!
The Duke defense- I don't want to jinx these Blue Devils, but could this be the best defensive team Krzyzewski has ever had? While Maryland was ice cold, Duke still created 17 turnovers, held them to 28.2% from the field and a high school
Coach K has Singler and Duke playing good defense
point total of 44. A 12-2 advantage on points off turnovers help too. We may get a more definitive answer after this coming Wednesday's road game at Wake Forest.
Good Match up- This year's Maryland team doesn't have the intimidating front court players as they have in years past. Duke matches up very well with the Terps, as witnessed by their 56-38 rebound advantage.
Chemistry coming around- If you have read my recent game stories, you'll see where I pointed out how few assists Duke was getting from the point guard spot. Well, they woke up today for 85 points on 23 assists is pretty darn good. Duke got 8 assists from their two quarterbacks, Paulus and Smith.
Fun atmosphere in Cameron - It's been a while since the Cameron Crazies, fans and team had as much fan as they did on Saturday. Everything went right and walloping a team that has been a thorn over the years was sweet. The cheers were great and well, it was a lot of fun for Duke fans.
Freshman get minutes- Is anybody tired of the message board talk on Elliot Williams or is it just me? Okay, there will always be some, but Williams showed flashes of coming along. He tossed in 9
Sweat Gary, sweat!
points, many on dunks today and played good defense. He is gradually getting accustomed to the speed and physical nature of the ACC. Mile Plumlee had a time getting a shot to drop, in fact he was 0-5, but he did grab 5 rebounds and swatted 3 shots away. Olek Czyz got some burn as well, playing nine minutes.
Is Duke #1?- While UConn may get some votes, Duke should be tops in the land in both polls come Monday afternoon. This week will mark the 60th time Duke has been at the top pf the heap in the ESPN/Coaches poll since it's inauguration. UNC is a distant second.
5-0, 18-1 -The fast start in the ACC is a blessing in that Duke has Wake and UNC coming up twice each and a road trip to Clemson. Trust me in that at Virginia Tech, Boston College and Maryland are no walks in the park. The neighboring team has a much more conducive schedule.
Senior leadership - So, have you noticed the selflessness of Duke seniors David McClure and Greg
McClure nailed this jumper in the Blue Devils romp of Maryland
Paulus? Well take notice for they have five more games to play in Cameron for their career.
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
• Game 19 •
[2 AP/2 Coaches] Duke (17-1, 4-0 ACC) vs. Maryland (13-5, 2-2 ACC)
Saturday, January 24, 2009 • 12:02 PM ET • ESPN
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
Blue Devil Bits
l Duke is 17-1 on the year, including a 4-0 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Blue Devils
Kyle Singler - BDN Photos
have now started the season with a 17-1 record 10 times, including nine times under Mike Krzyzewski.
l The Blue Devils are ranked second in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Duke is 109-16 all-time when ranked second in the AP poll.
l Duke is first in the latest RPI according to CollegeRPI.com. The site also ranks Duke’s strength of schedule third in the NCAA.
l The Blue Devils moved to 4-0 in league play with a 73-56 win over N.C. State on Tuesday. Duke shot 76.9 percent (20-of-26) and outscored the Wolfpack 51-30 in the second half of the game.
l Junior Gerald Henderson scored 17 of his game-high 21 points after halftime. He also led Duke in rebounds (7), assists (4), blocks (1) and steals (5) for the game.
l Kyle Singler scored in double figures for the 17th time in 18 games with 17 points against N.C. State. He was 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, in the win.
l Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler combined to outscore N.C. State, 31-30, in the second half. The duo shot 13-of-18 (.722) from the field in the final 20 minutes of play.
l Sophomore Nolan Smith added 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers to spark a 27-7 second half run, against N.C. State.
Numbers Game
l Duke has won 19 straight games in the month of January dating back to a 74-63 loss at Georgia Tech on Jan. 10, 2007.
l The Blue Devils are 198-54 under Coach K in the month of January, including a 92-7 mark since 1998.
l 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 57.7 points per game over the last nine contests. Six of Duke’s last nine opponents have scored fewer than 60 points.
l 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.
l Junior Gerald Henderson has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last 10 games, averaging 17.7 points per game in those outings. He is shooting .556 (68-of-128) from the field, including .536 (15-of-28) from three-point range during that span Henderson has scored at least 15 points in seven of his last eight games.
l Gerald Henderson is shooting .797 (47-of-59) 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) from three-point range this season after shooting .318 (28-of-88) from three-point distance in his first two seasons.
l The Blue Devils have the top scoring defense in the ACC, allowing only 60.3 points per game. Duke has held 12 of its 18 opponents to 60 points or less on the season.
l Duke is allowing just 53.5 points per game in league play, 15.7 points per game better than
Maryland (second in the ACC at 69.2 ppg.). The Blue Devils are also first in the ACC in field goal defense (.378) and three-point field goal defense (.269) in league play.
Duke is 15-0 when leading at the half. The Blue Devils have faced a second-half deficit just three times (Rhode Island, Michigan, N.C. State) this season.
l Junior Jon Scheyer has led the team in assists in each of the last five games and eight games overall this season. He currently has 197 career assists and needs three more to become the 36th player in school history with 200 career assists.
l The Blue Devils have won 14 games by double digits this season. Duke ranks second in the ACC in scoring margin (+19.7 ppg.). The Blue Devils lead the ACC with a +16.0 scoring margin in conference-only games.
l Sophomore Kyle Singler is averaging a team-high 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in Cameron Indoor Stadium this season. He is shooting .515 (69-of-134) from the field at home with a team-high 18 three-point field goals.
l Greg Paulus has only committed one turnover in 56 minutes of action in Duke’s four ACC games. For his career, Paulus has a 1.6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in league play.
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