Blue Devil Nation » Singler leads Duke

Singler leads comeback as Duke whips Miami 81-74

Mark Watson — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:07:38 +0000

Kyle Singler leads Duke past Miami

It looked as if Miami were about to spring an upset on the sixth rated Duke Blue Devils as they carried a 37-25 lead into the locker room. But then Krzyzewski turned to a veteran line-up and the Blue Devils outscored Miami in the second half by a 56-37 margin and Duke came away with a 81-74 victory.

Kyle Singler led the Duke comeback and he finished the contest with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and a team high 7 assists. Nolan Smith warmed up in the second half as well, adding 21 points.

The win helped push Duke’s record to 10-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 22-4 overall. Duke remains in first place in the conference going into a showdown with Virginia Tech, currently second in the standings, this Sunday evening.

Jon Scheyer was held scoreless in the first half, but the senior kept shooting and ended the game with 15 points and 6 assists.

Brian Zoubek had another solid performance scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds, but what doesn’t show in the box score is how well he was moving on offense, setting picks and the like.

After an icy first half from the field, the Blue Devils warmed up and swarmed the Hurricanes in the second half. A huge difference was Duke’s effectiveness from the three point arc, where they hit 13 out of 29.

Duke was also solid from the free throw stripe, hitting 18 of 22, most of them coming in the second half. The Blue Devils continue to lead the league in free throw percentage.

It was a solid win for Duke in that they almost fell into a trap and willed their way out of it which is the mark of a veteran team.

More to come -

Box Score

Game Notes, courtesy GoDuke.com -

- Duke has now won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Miami, owning an 8-1 record since the Hurricanes joined the ACC in 2005.

- The Blue Devils earned their 10th ACC victory of the season, improving to 10-2. They have now won at least 10 games in conference play in 13 of the last 14 seasons and in 18 of the 30 seasons under Mike Krzyzewski.

- Duke is now 4-2 on the road in conference play, the only team in the league with a winning record on the road against ACC competition.

- Four players reached double figures in scoring, marking the 15th game this season Duke has had four or more players score at least 10 points.

Player Notes:

Jon Scheyer

- Senior Jon Scheyer has started in 33 consecutive games and in 94 career contests.

- Scheyer recorded his 101st career game with 10 or more points. He has scored 10 or more points in 25 of the 26 games on the year. All 11 of his points came in the second half.

- Scheyer extended his streak to 19 consecutive games with a made three-point field goal and leads the team with 73 treys this season.

- The three three-point field goals give Scheyer four straight games with at least three treys and 15 games overall.

- With six assists Scheyer has dished out five or more in 17 games on the year.

- Scheyer matched a career high with five steals, the third time in his career he has had five in a game. He also had five earlier this season against Georgetown and against Georgia Tech his freshman year.

Kyle Singler

- Junior Kyle Singler extended his consecutive starts streak to 54 games and has now started in 98 career contests.

- Singler recorded his fourth double-double of the season and 17th of his career. Three of his four double-doubles this year have come in conference play.

- Singler reached the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season and fifth time in conference play. He reached double figures in scoring for the 23rd time this season and 82nd time in his career.

- Singler pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, giving him five games on the year with 10 or more boards. He has three double-figure rebounding games in ACC play.

- With four made three-point field goals Singler has had three or more treys in eight games this season.

- The four assists give Singler over 200 in his career, as he becomes one of 37 players in school history with at least 200 assists.

Nolan Smith

- Junior Nolan Smith posted his 11th game with at least 20 points this season, including six against ACC competition. He has scored at least 10 points in 23 games this season and 46 career games.

- Smith connected on a career-high five three-point field goals for his fifth game this season with at least three treys and first since he was 4-of-5 against Pennsylvania on Dec. 31. In his previous 13 games, he was shooting .302 (13-of-43) from deep. He had made four treys in a game three times in his career.

Brian Zoubek

- Senior Brian Zoubek notched his sixth double-figure scoring game this season to go along with five rebounds. In his two starts this season, he is averaging 13.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.

- Zoubek recorded a career-high five steals, passing his previous best of three against Virginia Tech on Jan. 4, 2009. His previous season high was two steals against UNC Greensboro in the season opener

Duke at North Carolina Game Notes

Duke Sports Information — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:21:10 +0000

Lance King Images

[8 AP/7 Coaches] Duke (19-4, 7-2 ACC) vs. North Carolina (13-10, 2-6 ACC)

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 • 9:00 p.m. • Raycom / ESPN

Dean E. Smith Center (21,750) • Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Opening Tip

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 30 individual games with 20 or more points scored.

l Jon Scheyer leads 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