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Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball Notebook – March Madness begins

RCP_9020It's time of year again when every team in America (well, those that are still playing) is in the same boat.  You win, you advance or you lose and you go home.  The stark reality of that  makes for a bundle of emotions and nerves.  Thankfully for Duke fans, Coach K is at the helm and this obviously will not be his first dance.  But the road will be a tough one.  BDN starts our tournament coverage today with the latest edition of our Duke Basketball Notebook.

Insanely loaded Midwest

The last thing I wanted to do was whine about the Blue Devils' seeding yesterday, but once the pairings were announced, I was like, "you've got to be kidding me." But it's not worth a lot of time at this point, because there are no words or actions that will change a thing and to get too caught up in it will serve no purpose moving forward. The Midwest field is loaded.  I could point to all the teams and All American players in the region, but you've probably already heard all of that. So let me just say that a Louisville vs Duke matchup, should it happen, is a Final Four quality game at worst. In fact, in my opinion Midwest #3 seed Michigan State could feasibly beat all four of the top seeds in the West Regional on a neutral court and none of them would be an upset. In short, the committee did Duke no favors.  While they claimed to look at a lot of factors in making their seeding and bracketing decisions, is seems their criteria were only loosely applied when it came to Duke. Over the course of this season, Duke faced a brutal schedule.  Yet when at full strength, the Blue Devils lost a single game. Where is the reward for that?  Why should this team have to play a rematch with a Louisville team which is the overall #1 seed, just to get to the Final Four, if Duke gets that far?  Ridiculous.

They're a team to beat ... no, they'll go out fast

I wouldn't give you a wooden nickel for the various talking heads' predictions this time of year. I have never been one to give too much weight to the "What have you done for me lately" bit. I didn't pick N.C. State, the pre-season favorite, to win the ACC as the media did, nor will I make too much over Duke's one untimely loss to Maryland in the ACC Tournament. Now that the parings have been announced, none of the so-called experts are giving Duke a chance, which Coach Krzyzewski may use as a motivator heading to Philly. But before the loss the Maryland, those same talking heads were close to naming Duke one of the teams to beat for all the marbles. Well, guess what? They still are a team to beat and their body of work shows they are capable of beating anybody anywhere.  The fan part of me is loving the Blue Devils flying below the radar in a world which seems to think you're only as good as your last game.

Albany and the next game if you win, forget about the rest

It would not shock me if there were some grumblings within the program when you compare the Midwest bracket to the West, but you can bet that Krzyzewski and company are only focused on Albany and the winner of the Creighton vs. Cincinnati game. First things first for Duke. The Blue Devils should handle Albany and I am not taking them lightly, but I do not expect a Lehigh upset here. The next game will be very competitive and both Creigthon and Cincy offer different challenges, each a stiff one. We'll talk more about that later in the week.

Miscellaneous notes

- Duke has never played Albany in the NCAA Tournament.

- Duke is undefeated at 4-0 in the state of Pennsylvania in NCAA play.

- Duke is 79-24 in th NCAA Tournament under Mike Krzyzewski. This will be the Blue Devils'  37th overall appearance in the tournament.

- Looking for a Duke player to blow up on the offensive end? Don't.  Danny Ferry went for 34 points in 1989 against Seton Hall. Jason Williams also scored 34 against UCLA in 2001 and Bobby Hurley dropped 32 against Cal in 1993.  Duke is 1-2 in those games.

Duke Basketball

Duke throttles UNC behind Curry and Plumlee

The Duke Blue Devils were all business as they rolled out to a 14-0 lead over archrival North Carolina and never looked back, winning 69-53 to secure sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Duke was led by Seth Curry in the first half, as the senior scored 20 points on a wide array of shots, and in the second half the Blue Devils rode the play of Mason Plumlee, who ended he game with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds.

"Seth was the best player on the court in the first half and Mason was the best player in the second," said Coach Mike Krzyzewski during the post game press conference. He continued, "The second half was a man's half. Mason was superb and has had an unbelievable year for us."

The play of the two seniors was the difference, as was a Duke defense that held Reggie Bullock scoreless in the first half, held the Tar Heels to a single made three point shot in the entire game, and switched off well all night long.  "Our defense was outstanding. They missed some open shots and we defended well, limiting second chance opportunities," Krzyzewski said.

The Blue Devils simply took it to the Tar Heels and by doing so, they were able to take the home crowd out of the game. Every time North Carolina tried to make a run, a Duke player stepped up for a big bucket giving them a constant double-digit lead.

Krzyzewski also praised his team's unselfishness, and it was apparent to all that the Blue Devils are on their way to finding that early season chemistry which made them so efficient in the early season against one of the nation's toughest schedules.

A few weeks ago, Krzyzewski wondered out loud how good his team would be when Ryan Kelly returned.  This game may have provided the answer.  That return means that teams can no longer double down on Plumlee, and while Kelly did not have a stellar game against UNC compared to his two previous performances, his presence was felt in multiple ways.

In a game most thought would go down to the wire and indeed many felt it would not even be an upset if the Tar Heels were to win, Duke made a statement, and that statement is that they are still tops in this league going into the tournaments.  And I'm not the only one who thinks so.  While Duke finished second to Miami in the regular season standings, and that season included an unbalanced schedule, the Blue Devils' win convinced ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi to consider them the tournament's overall #1 seed at this point.

Duke will next play in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro on Friday at 7 PM against the winner of Thursday's Maryland-Wake Forest game.

Duke Basketball

Blue Devils up for ACC Post Season Honors

37Media members have until early Sunday evening to turn in their votes for ACC Post Season Awards.  Here is a statistical breakdown of the Duke players issued by Duke for thir consideration.

Mason Plumlee - All-ACC & ACC Player of the Year

Career Notes

• Member of Duke’s 1,000-point club

• Became the 31st player in ACC history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds

• Top-10 all-time at Duke in rebounds (6th, 1,033), field goal percentage (9th, .570), blocks (5th, 195) and dunks (1st, 195).

• Five blocks shy of becoming the second player in ACC history to record over 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 blocks and 100 steals in a career.

2012-13

• Second in the ACC and 15th nationally in rebounding (10.2)

• Tied for third in the ACC in scoring (17.0)

• One of two players in in the ACC and 14 nationally averaging a double-double

• Double-figure scoring in 27 of 30 games ... double-figure rebounding in 17 of 30 games

• One of only seven players in the country averaging over 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game

• Seven games with 20 or more points scored

• Capital One First Team Academic All-America ... named to All-ACC Academic Team

• Oscar Robertson & Wooden Award Finalist

• USBWA National Player of the Week (Feb. 12) ... two-time ACC Player of the Week (Dec. 3, Feb. 11) ... ESPN.com National Player of the Month (November)

Seth Curry – All-ACC

Career Notes

• Member of Duke’s 1,000-point club

• Top-five all-time at Duke in three-point field goal percentage (3rd – .419, 207-of-494) and free throw percentage (5th – .826, 266-of-322).

• Has 207 made three-pointers in just three seasons in Durham

• Makes up one half of NCAA’s highest scoring brother tandem, along with his older brother, Stephen, who played at Davidson from 2006-09

2012-13

• Tied for third in the ACC in scoring (17.0)

• Second in the ACC with 2.7 made three-pointers per game

• Shooting .439 from three-point range, the third-highest clip in the ACC

• First in ACC in conference play with 3.1 made three-pointers per game

• Second in ACC with 15 20-point games ... at least 20 points in 10 of 17 ACC games

• Wooden Award Midseason Watch List

• ACC Player of the Week (Dec. 31)

• Tied Duke’s single-game three-point percentage record (min. 5 attempts) by going 6-of-7 from beyond the arc on Jan. 17 against Georgia Tech

Quinn Cook – All-ACC

2012-13

• Top-five in the ACC in assists per game, steals per game and assist-to-turnover ratio

• Has scored in double figures 19 times with three 20+ point efforts

• Second on the team in three-point field goals (52) and three-point percentage (.426)

• Attempting to join Dick Groat (1952), Jason Williams (2000, 2001) and Chris Duhon (2004) as the only players in Duke history to average at least 10.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game

• Finalist for Bob Cousy Award

• Named MVP of the Battle 4 Atlantis after leading Duke to wins over Minnesota, VCU and Louisville ... averaged 13.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game at the tournament

• ACC Player of the Week (Nov. 26)

• Has two games with double-digit assists

• Has played 30 or more minutes in 24 games ... ranks eighth in the ACC in minutes per game (33.6)

• Engineer of a Duke offense that has five players averaging double figures

Rasheed Sulaimon – ACC Rookie of the Year

2012-13

• Wayman Tisdale Award Finalist

• Member of the All-ACC Academic Team

• ACC Rookie of the Week (Feb. 25, March 3)

• Has started 29 of 30 games ... has played at least 23 minutes in all but one game

• Third-leading freshman scorer in the ACC (11.7 points per game)

• Double-figure scoring in 19 games, third-most among ACC freshmen

• Matched a Duke single-game freshman record with six made three-pointers against Maryland on Jan. 26 ... scored a career-high 27 points to lead Duke past Boston College (2/24)

• Has hit at least three three-pointers in seven games and multiple treys in 15 games

• ACC freshman leader in 3-point field goals (45) and seventh in Duke’s freshman record book ... also ranks sixth in the Duke freshmen record books with .391 three-point field goal percentage

• Has grabbed a career-high seven rebounds three times

• Averaging 16.0 points per game while shooting 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from three-point range following losses

• Second on the team with 11 charges drawn

Duke Basketball

BDN’s Duke Basketball Notebook

RCP_2850Duke finally gets a break

I will be th first to admit that I expected a bit more from last nights Duke win over Virginia Tech. Perhaps I expected too much in that Duke was celebrating the last game in Cameron for what has been amazing careers for Mason Plumlee. Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly. A sportswriter friend of mine said he thought it would be a trap game, while i expected a blowout, but we got something sort of in between. Duke was only six points well into the second half before they hit the gas and coasted to an 85-57 win but their performance was at times mildly and surprisingly uninspired. But then came the reality that this was indeed a trap game where they were playing this game just hours after and emotional home win over Miami in a game the nation seemd to be watching per TV ratings released today. I really think this Duke team was a bit spent with the mental aspects of the game and after all, UNC lies ahead and they have not lost since the last time they faced Duke and they deserve some attention and a ranking at this point. Anyhow, they now know whwne they are playing having sewed up the second seed in the ACC Tournament and the team took today off before prepping for UNC on Thursday. They should be revitalized as a team and will likely leave it on the court Saturday evening in Chapel Hill knowing they have a six day break before the ACC Tournament begins.

39Kelly continues to prove his value

Of the three senior day speeches, Kellys was by far the best in my humble opinion if for no other reason than he propped his parents and even his girlfriend. There were times when Kelly looked exhausted, yet he pushed through fatigue to score a critical 18 points but that killed his average. I mean in the last two games since his return he is only averaging 27 ppg now and I hope you can detect the tongue in cheek sarcasm. Anyhow, Kelly is once again allowing for more opportunities in that he stretches the court with his ability to hit the three point shot and his defense is very, very underrated. Too bad Kelly didn't play all season long for he would likely be getting some first place votes for All ACC this coming Sunday evening. I am still in awe of his performance against Miami where he dropped 36 points. In short, there are not enough words to properly describe that performance and it's not like we can stop time long enough for it to come to us.

It's the end of the world as we know it

If you are keeping up with the latest news, it looks as if Notre Dame could join the league next season alongside Pitt and Syracuse. I have already warned people that ACC Tournament tickets will once again be a most coveted thing once the other teams are in, so this is the last season we will go down a familiar path with the tournament. Winning the regular season will be a bear of a task moving forward and yes indeed, the ACC can truly be called a basketball conference again, especially once Louisville comes in. Just take a moment to imagine some of the ACC matchups next season. And for Duke, they'll be a very talented but young team.

37Mason still has a shot at ACC Player of the Year

Mason Plumlee has not had his best games of late. In fact, many felt liek he has played himself out of the ACC POY race in the last three games but take him away from Duke and how well would they have done? And unlike, say, Erick Green, there are a lot of other capable players to take shots away from him on the Duke team. Shane Larkin is making a strong run for the award and me personally? I will wait to see how the last two games shake out for I still see it as a close call. But make no mistake, Mason needs a monster game against North Carolina for the aforementioned to happen. My mailbox is full of ACC SID's pushing their players and for me past three players on first team, nothing is especially clear. That's why i need to see how the teams finish and it will go down to the midnight hour before my votes are turned in.

I will truly miss our seniors

People can accuse me of being a homer all they want, but Duke really recruits classy young men with great character. I continue to b impressed with the type of players the program brings in and as most of you know I am very active on the recruiting trail. This allows me to gt to know prospects or players before they ever set foot on campus if they do at all and sometimes you meet their parents as well. I will sit down later and talk of all the seniors but for now they seem to have more work to do and they hinted as such last evening during senior speeches, but I will especially miss Mason and Ryan who I have known since they were barely old enough to drive. Each of them are high quality young men with bright futures and it was a pleasure to have watched them grow and get to know the parents who raised such fine young citizens.

Tidbits

Coach K won his 401stcareer ACC game and I can honestly say that I have been around for all of them. What a ride and it's not over! Duke won it's fifth straight game over a top 5 opponent over Miami this past week. Duke will play in the 7:00 game next Friday in the ACC Tournament and most folks are hoping to stay in the east in the NCAA Tournament. Duke went undefeated in Cameron this season and the Blue Devils remain the only team in the AP, Coaches polls, the NCAA RPI and strength of schedule.