Greensboro, N.C. - The key player in Duke's run through the ACC regular season and tournament is Kyle Singler. The pre season MVP has really started to come into his own after a position change. Singler scored 20 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the Blue Devils' victory. BDN made it a point to catch up with him in the green room away from the television cameras and four of us tag teamed Singler for a pretty good Q & A session.
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Greensboro, N.C. - BDN just caught up [away from the television cameras] to Kyle Singler for a five minute chat after his teams win over Miami to advance to the ACC Championship on Sunday. Singler played an amazing game, scoring 27 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing a team high 6 assists.
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Duke (19-4, 7-2 ACC), ranked eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked North Carolina (13-10, 2-6 ACC) at the Dean E. Smith Center on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 9:00 p.m. The game will air locally on Raycom with Tim Brando and Dan Bonner calling the action. ESPN will also show the game with Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews handling the broadcast.
The Last Time Out
Duke posted a hard-fought 66-63 win over Boston College on Wednesday in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler combined for 54 points in the contest.
Scheyer delivered 12 second-half points as the Blue Devils held off a Boston College surge in the final 12 minutes of play. Duke managed just two made field goals in that span, but Scheyer and Smith each made a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds of play to seal the victory.
Smith finished with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Scheyer had 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Singler added 12 points, three rebounds and three blocked shots.
Duke shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field, including 60.0 percent (15-of-25) in the opening half of play. Smith was 9-of-15 from the floor, including 8-of-10 from inside the three-point arc. The Blue Devils posted a 31-27 rebound edge as Brian Zoubek and Mason Plumlee each grabbed six boards.
Numbers Game
l Duke is ranked eighth in the AP poll, marking the 50th consecutive week ranked in the top 10. The Blue Devils are 66-16 all-time when ranked eighth in the AP poll.
l Wednesday’s game marks the 999th career game on the sidelines at Duke for Mike Krzyzewski. The contest will also be his 500th career ACC game. Coach K is 779-219 at Duke with a 349-150 mark against conference foes.
l Duke is 10-3 on the year against teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI, including an 7-3 mark against top 50 opponents. The Blue Devils are third in the RPI, while North Carolina enters the week 79th overall.
l Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler are the top scoring trio in the NCAA at a combined 53.6 points per game. The threesome has accounted for 29 of Duke’s 30individual games with 20 or more points scored.
l Jon Scheyerleads the ACC in four statistical categories and is the only player in the league to rank in the top 5 in six statistical categories; scoring (second, 18.9 ppg.), assists (fourth, 5.6 apg.), free throw percentage (first, .907), three-point field goals (first, 2.7 3pg.), assist-to-turnover ratio (first, 3.15:1) and minutes (first, 36.5 mpg.).
l Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 20.0 points per game, while shooting 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the field in the Blue Devils’ last four road games. He has led the team in scoring in each of the last three road contests.
l Jon Scheyer (18.9 ppg.) and Nolan Smith (18.1 ppg.) are averaging a combined 37.0 points per game. The duo ranks fifth among the top scoring backcourts in Duke history and ninth in ACC history.
l Jon Scheyer has scored 20+ points in four of the last six games. He leads the Blue Devils with 11 games with 20+ points.
l Kyle Singler is averaging a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game and is attempting to become just the third Blue Devil to lead the team in rebounding as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
l Brian Zoubek ranks third in the ACC in offensive rebounds at 3.2 orpg. He is averaging 8.2 offensive boards per 40 minutes of action. Zoubek is the only non-starter in the ACC to rank among the league leaders in total rebounds and offensive rebounds.
l Jon Scheyer is averaging 20.3 ppg., while shooting 50.0 percent (23-of-46) from the field and 95.8 percent (23-of-24) from the free throw line in the last four games.
Checking in on ...
#2 Nolan Smith - +9.7 ppg. increase from a year ago leads the ACC ... shooting a career-best 44.2 percent from three-point range ... second on the team with 10 games with 20+ points scored ... double figures in 20 of 21 games played
#5 Mason Plumlee - Second on the team with 16 dunks ... third with 15 blocks in 17 games
#12 Kyle Singler - 20 double-figure scoring games this season ... attempting to lead the Blue Devils in rebounding for the third straight year ... averaging 20.0 points per game in the last four contests ... has started 92 of 93 career games
#20 Andre Dawkins - Fourth on the team with 28 three-point field goals ... shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range
#21 Miles Plumlee - Leads the team with 27 dunks ... shooting 58.8 percent (60-of-102) from the field ... averaging 12.7 rebounds per 40 minutes of play
#30 Jon Scheyer - Has scored in double figures in 22 of 23 games with 11 games with 20+ points ... ranks in the top 10 of the ACC in nine statistical categories ... leads the league in minutes, free throw percentage, three-point field goals and assist-to-turnover ratio
#34 Ryan Kelly - 14 blocked shots ... one of five Blue Devils with 10+ blocks
#42 Lance Thomas - Five or more rebounds in six straight games ... leads the Blue Devils with 11 charges taken ... shooting over 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line for the year
#55 Brian Zoubek - Five or more rebounds in 16 of 23 games ... four or more offensive rebounds nine times
Durham, N.C. - Once again the Blue Devil Nation was on the scene for Duke's 70-56 win over Florida State and we bring you post game comments from Kyle Singler [20 points, 7 rebounds] in our Locker Room Report.
I sat down with Prep Stars' Rob Harrington to get his thoughts on Duke Basketball Recruiting. In our conversation, Rob breaks down what he likes about the kids Duke already has locked in with verbal commitments and covers prospects as well. We talk about Kyrie Irving to Quincy Miller and Austin Rivers and then backtrack to Harrison Barnes and more. For more information on Prep Stars visit their site by going here Prep Stars Link- To listen to this article and have full site access, join BDN Premium.
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Durham, N.C. - BDN was on hand for today's press conference with David Cutcliffe who as we all know will remain at Duke. Listen to Cutcliffe's comments for yourself for here it is in its entirety.
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