Shortly after Duke's victory over California several players were glancing over at a televison in the locker room as they were being interviewed. Before the interviews were finished, the players and staff knew they would be facing Purdue who had just defeated Texas A & M in overtime. One of the players especially interested was Mile Plumlee, whose Mom played center for the Boiler Makers. The Plumlee family grew up in Indiana and the Boilermakers were one of the teams they rooted for. Now that I have given sports journalists everywhere a good idea for an article, here is some exclusive audio from BDN.
Miles Plumlee throws one down in practice which took place in the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Jacksonville, FL - The Duke Blue Devils just finished up their open practice for fans in Jacksonville, Florida as they prepare for their NCAA opening round game with Arkansas Pine Bluff. BDN is on the scene and we bring you a one on two interview with the brothers Plumlee, Mason and Miles.
This Mason reverse dunk brought the house down - Lance King photo
Durham, N.C. - Brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee both had good nights in Duke's 90-70 win over Wake forest. The BDN Locker Room Report caught up with both of the after the contest and got their thoughts on the game and their play.
Miles Plumlee audio - [just press play]
Mason audio will be added here shortly. We are having a few tech issues today which should be resolved shortly.
Singler explodes in the 2nd half against Wake in Duke's 90-70 win - Photo special to BDN copyright Lance King Photo
Durham, N.C. - The Duke Blue Devils survived a cold shooting first half by their big three of Singler, Scheyer and Smith to defeat Wake Forest 90-70 pushing their season record to 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC.
Duke used a 35-15 run after the game was tied at 55 apiece and that 20 point difference was the final margin of victory.
After the aforementioned three went 5 of 28 in the first half, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith warmed up. In fact, Singler broke out of his semi slump tossing in 21 points to go with his 15 rebounds.
Smith helped the Devils going 7 of 7 from the free throw stripe in route to 20 points. His backcourt teammate Jon Scheyer once again struggled from the three point stripe going just 1 of 6, ending the game with 9 points and a team high 6 assists.
But the real story for Duke tonight was the brothers Plumlee who came to play. Both Miles and Mason brought the Crazies to their feet with sensational dunks and the two served notice that they are pretty darn good.
Miles Plumlee had an amazing first half and ended the game with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. His brother Mason missed just two shots from the field ending the contest with 11 points and 6 rebounds.
"Obviously, it was a really physical game and tough ACC game. It was great that me and Mason came out and rebounded hard and played hard. It was really good for us," stated [Miles] Plumlee.
The Blue Devils enjoyed a 48-43 rebounding edge over the visiting Demon Deacons in a game that was quite physical throughout the evening.
Another good sign for the Devils was the fact they hit just 4 of 13 three pointers, yet they won by twenty points. Duke has now played in consecutive games where they proved they can win via the two point field goal.
We'll have the Blue Devil Nation Locker Room Report up shortly, where we talked with Mason and Miles Plumlee and Nolan Smith.
Duke will next face North Carolina State on Raleigh on Wednesday evening.
Sidebar - The game was the 300th consecutive sellout in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has won 11 straight versus Wake in Cameron. Duke reached the 90 point mark for the sixth time this season. Duke is 14-0 when outrebounding their opponent this season. Masons 7 boards matches his season high to date. Miles had his third double-double of the season. Senior Jon Scheyer did not score in double figures for the first time this season. Kyle Singler has started 44 consecutive games. Nolan Smith leads the team with six 20 point contests.
Courtesy: Lance King
Nolan Smith matched a career high with 24 points to go along with four assists and three steals in Wednesday’s win over Boston College.
Game 17
Duke (14-2, 2-1 ACC)
vs. Wake Forest (12-3, 2-1 ACC)
Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 l 8:00 p.m. l FSN
Cameron Indoor Stadium l Durham, N.C.
The Opening Tip
Duke (14-2, 2-1 ACC), ranked eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces Wake Forest (12-3, 2-1 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8:00 p.m. Sunday’s game will air on FSN with Tim Brando, Mike Gminski and Jenn Hildreth calling the action.
The Last Time Out
Duke is coming off a 79-59 win over Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. The Blue Devils broke the game open with a 16-2 run to start the second half after leading 38-35 at intermission.
Junior Nolan Smith matched a career high with 24 points to go along with four assists and three steals. He was 9-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the contest.
Kyle Singler recorded his 15th career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win. He also added three steals in the contest. Senior Jon Scheyer and sophomore Miles Plumlee each recorded 12 points for the Blue Devils.
Senior Brian Zoubek registered a game-high 11 rebounds as Duke posted a 40-27 edge on the glass. The Blue Devils grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, including five each by Zoubek and Singler.
Duke made just 1-of-12 three-point field goals, but finished 27-of-48 (.563) from inside the arc in the contest. The Blue Devils also shot 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the free throw line to secure the win.
Numbers Game
Duke is the only team in the country to rank in the top 10 in both the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll as well as the College Basketball News Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Strength of Schedule (SOS). The Blue Devils, eighth in the AP Poll and seventh in the Coaches’ Poll, rank second in the RPI with the 10th-best SOS.
Sunday’s game is the 300th consecutive sellout at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 16, 1990, against Boston College.
The Blue Devils have won 12 straight and 42 of the last 44 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke has won 23 of its last 25 games in the month of January. The Blue Devils are 202-56 under Mike Krzyzewski in January games.
The Blue Devils have won 37 consecutive home games against unranked opponents.
Senior Jon Scheyer leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.62:1) while playing 35.6 minutes per game. He has led Duke in assists in all 16 games with six turnover-free games. Scheyer is tied for ninth in the NCAA at 6.1 assists per game.
Nolan Smith is shooting 48.9 percent (93-of-190) from the field, including 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from three-point range, to rank ninth in the ACC in field goal percentage. He is the only guard to rank in the top 10 of the league in that category.
Duke has had 19 individual 20-point scoring games this season, including seven each by Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. The Blue Devils have had multiple 20-point scorers in the same game six times on the year.
Junior Nolan Smith is averaging 20.1 points per game, while shooting 59.1 percent (52-of-88) from the field and 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from three-point range, in the last seven games. He has topped the 20-point mark in five of those games.
Miles and Mason Plumlee are averaging 16.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game combined over the last five contests. The duo is shooting 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the field during that span.
Jon Scheyer is the only player in the country averaging better than 19.0 points and 6.0 assists per game.
Duke has a +31.3 scoring margin in 10 home games this season. Nine of Duke’s 10 wins have been by 20+ points.
Miles Plumlee flushes down a dunk in Duke's win over Boston College - Lance King Images
Durham, N.C. - BDN caught up with Mile Plumlee after Duke defeated Boston College 79-59 on Wednesday evening. Plumlee went 5 of 6 from the field for 12 points and pulled down 5 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
Press play to hear Miles comments on the game and his development -
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