[private]• Game 15 •
[2 AP/2 Coaches] Duke (13-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. Florida State (13-2, 0-0 ACC)
Saturday, January 10, 2009 • 2:05 PM ET • ESPN
Donald L. Tucker Center (12,100) • Tallahassee, Fla.
Game Quick Facts
TV: ESPN; Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst).
Radio: Duke Radio Network (flagship WDNC 620 AM in Durham); Bob Harris (play-by-play), John Roth (analyst) and Matthew Laurance (sideline).
All-time Series: Duke leads the all-time series 26-6, including an 11-5 mark at the Donald L.
Senior David McClure
Tucker Center. Duke has won six of the last eight games in the series.
Coaches:
Mike Krzyzewski
Overall Record: 816-268 (34th year)
Duke Record: 743-209 (29th year)
vs. Florida State: 25-5
Leonard Hamilton
Overall Record: 306-286 (20th year)
Florida State Record: 106-86 (seventh year)
Blue Devil Bits
Duke is 13-1 on the year, including a 1-0 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Blue Devils have now started the season with a 13-1 mark 17 times, including 11 times under Mike Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils moved up three spots to second in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Duke is 107-16 all-time when ranked second in the AP poll.
The Blue Devils have won 274 games this decade, the most wins in a decade by the program. The win total is the fifth-most in any decade by a team in NCAA history.
Duke is coming off a 79-67 win over Davidson on Wednesday. Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer each had 22 points to pace the Blue Devils.
Junior Jon Scheyer scored his 1,000th career point on a free throw with 33 seconds left to play in the win over Davidson. He is the 57th player in school history with at least 1,000 career points. Duke has the third-most 1,000-point scorers in NCAA history.
Gerald Henderson added 11 points and seven rebounds against the Wildcats. He has now scored in double figures in six consecutive games.
Junior Brian Zoubek finished with seven points, nine rebounds, one block and one steal on Wednesday. Zoubek has grabbed five or more rebounds 10 times this season, including eight of the last nine games.[/private]
[private]Ravenscroft defeated Word of God on Wednesday evening 68-57 to push their record to 13-3. Duke bound Ryan Kelly went 8 of 15 from the field to score 23 points while grabbing 7 rebounds.
Word of God slipped to 7-7, but one must consider that both of these teams play in national
copyright BDNP
tournaments. Hot prospect John Wall scored 17 points and N.C. State commitment C.J. Leslie garnered 20 points in the losing effort.
The game was tied at the half before Ravenscroft took the lead in the third quarter and held off a rally only to stretch the lead back out at the end of the game.
The game tipped off at the exact same time as the Davidson at Duke contest which prevented many Duke fans from attending.
[private]The Duke Blue Devils boosted their record to 13-1 with a 79-67 win over Davidson in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke was led by the dynamic duo of Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler who scored 22 points apiece.
Duke held Stephen Curry in check during the first half, but the nation's leading scorer erupted for 25
Photo is courtesy of GoDuke.com
points in the second half. Curry's scoring effort allowed Davidson to cut a 25 point lead to 8, before Duke gained control to close out the victory.
"I think their help defense allows them to do that because if they create a mismatch where I’m guarded by a big guy, I usually try to take him off the dribble. If I see a guy right behind him on the second line of defense it’s tough to create something. That’s why they’re really good if they can switch and take away the initial shot and then when you drive they’re right there to help and make you make a tough decision,” said Curry in regards to the way the Devils defended him.
Early on, the Dukies defense picked up where it left off against Virginia Tech. Davidson finally scored Curry's average as a team at the 15:20 mark in the second half making it 51-29. They finally found their offensive game scoring 38 points to close out the game.
"We beat an outstanding team tonight. I think when two really good teams play one another, you have blows. At the end of the first half, those last eight minutes, we played really well and gave us the lead, and the first six minutes of the second half we played great. Then it looked like we got tired. We took some quick shots that missed, and I thought Lovedale made some big blocks when we did get a good shot," said Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils played very well as a team for the most of the game before losing some momentum after maintaining large leads. There is no question that the strong play of Jon Scheyer helped Duke thwart the Wildcats comeback.
"It was just plays needed to be made and opportunities were there, and I just had my shots, had some drives. We took some pretty good shots in the second half I thought. Most of them fell, some of them didn’t, but we when we move the ball like that, whether it’s me, Kyle, G or whoever, we can have some good opportunities to make some plays like that,” said Scheyer.
The victory was the Blue Devils 67th straight in Cameron versus a non conference opponent. Duke will now travel to Talahassee to take on Florida State in a nationaly televised game which tips off at 2:00 this Saturday.
Sidebar -The Blue Devils have started the season 13-1 for the 17th time in school history. The Blue Devils have begun the year 13-1 for the third straight season and sixth time this decade. Coach K has led Duke to a 13-1 start a total of 11 times.
-Duke has now won its first nine home games in a season a total of 25 times, including 17 times under Coach K.
-Duke now leads the all-time series with Davidson, 87-17. The Blue Devils have won the last 22 meetings in the series dating back to a 75-73 loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 29, 1981.[/private]
[private]Statistically, you've really picked it up of late. What do you attribute that to? Are you getting in a comfort zone or something like that?
I guess you could say that, but I'm just realizing that I need to play like a really good player every game - not just every now and then. Part of becoming the player I want to become is being that person on a consistent basis.
My teammates are finding me and I'm being more aggressive on the offensve end. Being more hungry to score with the ball and also getting points off of my defense, getting out and running the floor has helped.
After the Michigan loss, I felt like I had't contributed like I need to do. Even though we lost, we were in the game for most of it and that kind of pushed me to contribute more.
Now that the team is getting into ACC play, do you feel fresher as a team than say last year?
Definitely my body feels good. The guys fell good. We've have some hard practices, but we've rested ourselves well and are prepared for whats coming.
Is there more intensity going into ACC play during practices?
Coach is always intense. We are always intense, but there is an added level of intensity as we go into the season - a little bit more urgency. Every ACC team - you're going to get their best fight every game - we get that from anybody. You can't get knocked back. Really at the beginning of the game we try to set the tone early.
Can you comment on the play of center Brian Zoubek -
He's a heck of a player. He's really developed his game and is becoming one of the better post players in the country. There are some simple things he does which make him a better player. Since Brian has come here, we've always had confidence in him. I think a big thing is that his injuries have definitely set him back. He played well as a freshman, but injuries were a set back. Brian is going to do fine. We have confidence in him and he is confident himself now. He's going to be a huge part of what we do this year.
Are you guys at the place you want to be so far this season?
Absolutely. We feel like we are in a good spot. We feel like we are in a good spot, but we can definitely continue to get better.[/private]
[private]DURHAM, N.C.—Freshman Shay Selby registered a career-high 14 points, while senior Chante Black added 15 for the fifth-ranked Blue Devils as Duke downed Temple, 87-52, on Monday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils forced Temple to 29 turnovers marking the fourth straight contest the Duke defense has forced an opponent to 29 or more turnovers in a single game.
Jasmine Thomas chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Blue Devils and Joy Cheek added 13 points and eight rebounds as Duke won its 10th straight contest.
Duke will next host Miami on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7:00 p.m.[/private]
The Duke Blue Devils are recruiting one more player in the class of 2009 and he just so happens to be the best high school point guard in the country. John Wall dazzles all with his ability to go from baseline to baseline in just under three seconds.
Wall has until May 21st to decide where he wants to play his college basketball and Duke has made
Wall drives to the rim during the Glaxo Invitational
the final cut. Coach K has been able to watch John Wall play this season, most recently during the Glaxo Invitational where he was accompanied by two assistants and key players on this seasons roster.
During yesterdays ACC opener, John Wall was sitting behind the bench to see the Blue Devils play lock down defense on Virginia Tech. Blue Devil Nation Premium was able to get Walls thoughts and details of the visit.
"I came over the there house and watched a pretty exciting game [private] and watched the crowd go crazy when they made some big plays," said Wall when asked about his trip to Durham.
After the contest he was able to hang out before heading back to school, "I went to the back (locker room) and talked to Coach K for a little bit and had a good time," said an upbeat Wall.
When asked if he had a chance to sit down with Coach Kryzyzewski, Wall stated, "No, that's all I had a chance to do right then."
Wall has been planning a visit to Duke for a while now, but scheduling conflicts kept him from making a trip until Sunday. "I've been busy of late with Glaxo and all but I am going to set up a visit them hopefully soon, so I can go over there and talk to them. They just wanted me to come over and watch a game and I said alright."
Wall had some company during his visit, "I went with my AAU Coach Clifton and my sister." Wall has six sisters all of whom from Raleigh. I couldn't help but ask the sleek star if there was pressure from siblings to stay at home and he stated, "No, not really. I think my family - they realize that this is a decision I've got to make even thought they probably wouldn't go far. I know they'll come to all my games they can whether I am far away or close to home."
When asked if he could see himself playing for Duke, Wall stated, "Right now I am just trying to go to the games and see the atmosphere, crowd and how the coaches coach in situations. Since you are right there behind the bench you can hear what the coaches are saying and how they're telling the players to play, which is something you need to do before making a decision."
I asked of his contact with Coach Krzyzewski - "He really didn't get a chance to say too much. I had to get back to school. He just said it was great having me there and he would love to have me as a point guard and that he saw me at Glaxo and we lost a tough game."
When asked if Duke offered him, Wall said no, but that he expected one to come when he sits down to talk with Coach Krzyzewski.
Wall makes no secret of his desire to play in the NBA as soon as possible. "More than likely right now I am hopefully looking at just being one and done. It'll be tough because you have to live up to the hype. It's not just about scoring, but helping your team win which and play like the kind of player the NBA wants to see."
Another thing that stands out is his confidence in his ability. "Which ever school I end up choosing, I feel like I will be the go to or set up man. But I will have other great players with me, so if I draw a double team or get trapped, I hope to have teammates that can make big plays."
Wall also recognizes the challenge. "I know it'll be pretty tough on me because I'm just a freshman but I want the ball under pressure. So I really want to go to a school where I am going to be around great players."
While there are many out there that will tell you Wall is leaning one way or the other, you wouldn't know it when talking to him. In my opinion, Wall is truly undecided and trying to figure out what eh most important factors are in his pending commitment. "If you are not going to feel comfortable and feel like you're home, then I figure you shouldn't go to the school. If you get down and you are far away from home and your coaches are not there for you, who will be there?"
Wall has made no secret of his desire to have a close relationship with the head coach and staff and it always seems to come up in conversations. "You've just got to pick the situation that'll be best for you. I will go to the school that wil let me be me and prepare me best for the next level, said Wall.
The young phenom will lead his team against Ravenscroft this Wednesday night at 7:00. "It was originally supposed to be on ESPN. It's a big game with me playing and Ryan playing. It'll be a pretty excited crowd," said Wall.
The schools were unable to accommodate a time change to 9:00 due to a vote from higher ups concerned that it was on a school night. Thus the battle will not be televised and unfortunately for Duke fans, the time is exactly when the Blue Devils tip off against Davidson and Stephan Curry. [/private]
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