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Duke Basketball

Duke at Florida State Game Notes

• Game 28 •

[5 AP / 4 Coaches] Duke (23-4, 10-2) vs. [15 AP / 16 Coaches] Florida State (19-7, 10-2)

Thursday, February 23, 2012 • 7:00 p.m. • ESPN

The Opening Tip

• Duke (23-4, 10-2) faces Florida State (19-7, 10-2) in an ACC road contest on Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

• Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Dick Vitale (analyst) and Jeannine Edwards (sideline) will call the game for ESPN.

• Duke is ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Blue Devils are 67-24 when ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll. Florida State is ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.

• Duke is the only team in the NCAA to rank in the top 5 in RPI, Strength of Schedule as well as the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. Duke has three wins against top 10 teams in the RPI.

• The Blue Devils are currently 6-0 on the road in league play. Duke has not won seven straight ACC road contests since the 2005-06 season.

Duke-Florida State Series

• Duke and Florida State have met 38 times heading into Thursday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming on Jan. 3, 1955.

• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 30-8, including a 29-8 ledger since Florida State joined the ACC.

• Duke has lost two straight in the series after winning the previous five meetings. The Blue Devils have won 10 of the last 14 games between the two schools.

• Mike Krzyzewski is 28-7 at Duke against the Seminoles, including a 12-6 record at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Duke has won four of the last six road meetings in the series.

• Duke’s eight losses to Florida State have been by a combined 24 points (3.0 points per game). The Blue Devils have not lost by more than five points to the Seminoles.

• 11 of the last 15 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

Numbers Game

l The Blue Devils are 4-1 on the season against ranked opponents. The last time Duke played a ranked Florida State team was an 84-81 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 1990.

l Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for 90 straight weeks, the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

l The Blue Devils are 12-3 on the year in games decided by 10 points or less. The Blue Devils have five wins in ACC play by less than 10 points. Duke’s 12 wins by 10 points or less are the ninth-most in school history.

l Duke averages 25.2 points per game off the bench with 10 games with 30 or more bench points. The Blue Devils have had a double-digit scorer off the bench in 20 of 27 games this season.

l The Blue Devils have had at least one 20-point scorer in each of the last six trips to Tallahassee.

l Only five Duke teams have won their first six ACC road games. The Blue Devils are 6-0 in ACC road games to start this season, joining the 2005-06, 1999-2000, 1998-99 and 1962-63 teams as the only ones to win their first six ACC road contests.

l Duke has hit at least eight three-pointers in six straight games. During that streak, the Blue Devils are averaging 29.0 ppg. from three-point range.

l The Blue Devils have scored at least 40 points in the second half in five straight games. The Blue Devils are averaging 41.5 points in the second half of games this season.

l Seth Curry has scored in double-figures in six consecutive games and is averaging 18.5 points per game in that span. He is 18-of-37 (.486) from three-point range and is also averaging 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in the last six contests.

l Austin Rivers leads Duke in scoring at 15.0 points per game and has reached double figures in 23 contests. He is attempting to become just the third Blue Devil freshman to lead the team in scoring.

l Miles Plumlee is averaging 8.7 points and 12.7 rebounds over his last three games. He has two double-figure rebounding games during that span, including a Coach K-era record 22 boards against Maryland on Feb. 11.

l Seth Curry has made 12 straight free throws and 33 of his last 36 free throw attempts. He ranks second in the ACC with an .882 free throw percentage, which would rank as the seventh highest single-season mark in school history.

l Brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee combine to average 17.7 points and 16.3 rebounds per game this season. Either Mason or Miles has led Duke in rebounding in 25 of Duke’s 27 games. The duo has also combined for 20 double-figure rebounding games on the year.

l Seth Curry and Austin Rivers have combined to average 36.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game over the last six contests. The tandem is 36-of-79 (.456) from three-point range in that span.

BDN Premium Articles

BDN’s Duke Locker Room Report – Scheyer, Smith and Mason interviews and more

We have a new format for our BDN Premium Locker Room Report and to start it off we have audio interviews from Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Mason Plumlee to go with game and team analysis and a few tidbits.  We go out of our way to bring you as many one-on-one and joint chats with the players as possible, fresh after every home game.

While we'll continue to have a lot of free audio clips, the majority of them will remain in the new format.  In order to gain full site access to our private members-only message board and read all the latest on the team and recruiting, join BDN Premium and start the new year off getting inside the goings on around Duke Athletics.

The Blue Devils had little time to celebrate their walk in the park victory over Pennsylvania, for the ACC season has taken center stage in the teams thoughts.  No matter which player I chatted with after their 11th win of the season, no one said they would have a big New Year and many mentioned that they had been practicing really hard.

In fact, one Duke Assistant Coach said, "They better not be," despite hearing me say that all of the players claimed it would be a calm New Year's Eve, which echoed the businesslike nature of the team.

Coach Krzyzewski made it clear in his press conference that it was time to see how Duke measured up in the ACC for teams would expose any weaknesses.  That's why the players and staff are more than just a little focused for their Sunday visitor.

[private] The Devils used games with Long Beach State and Penn to prep for an athletic Clemson Tiger team that will be looking to pull off the upset and prove they're an upper level ACC team.

Scheyer is on fire!
Scheyer is on fire!

Jon Scheyer is now on everybody's list as one of the ACC's best players, many saying he is the best to date which includes myself.  The thing about Scheyer is that he has embraced his role where his assist-to-turnover ratio is incredible.  That stat will go down a bit after his four turnovers against Penn, er ... actually with 11 assists maybe not so much.  Watching Scheyer has become more popular than watching preseason All ACC pick, Kyle Singler, of late.  Of course, Singler is still adjusting to his role on the team this year and is still putting up good numbers.  Here is a one on one with Jon from last evening -

No more joking for Duke as they enter ACC play
No more joking for Duke as they enter ACC play

Nolan Smith had a great shooting night, going 8 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc on his way to 23 points.  Smith seemed a bit gassed after the game and mentioned tough practices in preparation for the ACC season.  Smith will need to be at his best to help Duke win their conference opener.  Here is what Nolan had to say -

masonMason Plumlee realized that anyone could have had a good night against Penn, but he was still elated to be swarmed by the media.  Mason had career highs in points with 18 and rebounds with 7 in 21 minutes of action.  Even though the competition was weak, just seeing the ball drop in the basket had to help Mason.  I asked him about letting the game come to him after he finished his Duke Radio interview with Bob Harris, which enabled me to get him away from the media swarm.

We hope you enjoyed the BDN Locker Room Report. [/private]