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Duke Basketball

BDN Post Game Report – Duke 68 Clemson 40

duke-wf rick c 028The Duke Blue Devils held Clemson to 10 points and 12% shooting in the first half, and that stellar defensive effort keyed their 68-40 cruise past the Tigers on Tuesday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It was a good win, just not a pretty one

Watching the first half was brutal, as the refs let Duke and Clemson play physical basketball, ending with the two teams going to the locker room with a 25-10 score in Duke's favor.  The Tigers have a way of getting teams to play in those ugly kind of games.  While it was not pretty basketball, how do you complain about holding a team to 10 points in a half and 40 for a full game in ACC play? You don't. The Blue Devils made it tough for Clemson to score all evening long and the inevitable happened, as the Blue Devils pulled away down the stretch for a nice 28 point win, pushing their record to 2-0 in the ACC and 15-0 overall.

Incredible game from Quinn Cook

As many of you know, Quinn Cook was coming off an O-for-everything from the field in the Wake Forest game.  "You obviously think about it but the next time you're at practice you have to move on. Great shooters always move on to the next shot," said Cook when asked about his last performance.

Tonight he responded with a 27 point effort, his career high at Duke, breaking down the defense at will in the second half.  Cook played an all-court game, garnering 5 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists to go with 4 steals. It was his best game in a Duke uniform.  Cook is still learning the PG position at Duke, which is likely quite scary to opposing coaches after tonight's game.  Of course Coach K had to remind everyone that Quinn had 14 assists versus Wake Forest and joked that he could not pass to himself.  Cook was propped on Twitter by former Duke standout Nolan Smith, and added in the post-game that he had heard from others as well, congratulating him on the great game.

Ryan Kelly injured

Ryan Kelly hurt his foot again in the game and sat out the second half for precautionary reasons.  The versatile forward still finished the game with 12 points and was the only Blue Devil besides Cook to score in double figures.  According to Coach Krzyzewski, he will have an MRI and whatever else is necessary tomorrow, and they will release the result shortly after it is known. Kelly is questionable for the N.C. State game on Saturday.

Mason Plumlee just shy of a double-double

Mason Plumlee scored 8 points and grabbed a team high 13 rebounds, falling just short of another double-double, although he still leads the ACC in that category. Mason has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding in every game this season. When Coach Krzyzewski was questioned about Mason's offensive struggles in the last few games, he noted that teams are playing him differently, and that Mason had just matched up with one of the ACC's better players in Devin Booker, calling their play against each other a wash.

Notes

  • Cook was the fourth Duke player to score 20 or more points in a game this season.
  • Duke outscored Clemson in the paint by a 34-26 margin. The Blue Devils had 19 points off turnovers to the Tigers 7, and the Duke bench outscored Clemson 11-8. Duke shot 72% from the field in the 2nd half after hitting 29% in the 1st. Duke won the rebounding battle by a 42-31 margin.
  • The 10 points scored by Clemson in the first half was the second lowest total in the Coach K era.  Duke's three seniors -- Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry -- combined for a season-low 28 points.
  • Curry scored his 1000th point in a Duke uniform. Mason Plumlee reached the plateau versus Santa Clara earlier this season.
  • Duke improved to 213-31 playing as the #1 ranked team in the nation.
  • Duke played its 191st straight game as a top 10 team.
  • Duke is now 14-0 for the sixth time in school history.

Next time out

Duke will travel down to road to Raleigh to take on N.C. State on Saturday in a high noon showdown. They are the only ACC teams ranked in the Top 25 at the moment.  The Wolfpack was the pre-season choice by the media to win the league.

Duke Basketball

Blue Devils atop the ACC after win over Clemson

Property of BDN Photo

The Duke Blue Devils are atop the ACC standings as the only undefeated team after a key road win over the Clemson Tigers. "I'm really proud of our guys. We played a really good team tonight. Brad (Brownell) is such a good coach and those guys are veterans, said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski after his team earned a 73-66 win.

Krzyzewski continued, "Our guys came off a great win against Virginia and to come on the road and tough it out was a good win for us."  With the victory Duke, now ranked 4th nationally in the polls, but as mentioned, being atop the conference standings is the immediate goal of this team as they continue to get better.

"Obviously, Andre (Dawkins) played an outstanding game. His three-point shot when we had a four-point lead was huge shot." said Krzyzewski.  Dawkins scored a game high 24 points on a night when there were just two other double figure scorers for the Blue Devils.  But Duke was the first team to have more than two double figure scorers versus the Clemson defense to date this season.

Dawkins missed his first few shots before finding his range and coaches always want a shooter to keep shooting and that's exactly what the junior did.  Each three pointer he made ripped through the heart of the Clemson team and on this night he was indeed the main key to victory.

There were some statistical bright spots as well, "Miles Plumlee was a force for us with 14 rebounds. Down the stretch, our guys hit free throws and I thought we finished the game very well,: said Krzyzewski.  His 14 boards, which is monster by any teams standard was done in just 23 minutes.

His brother Mason Plumlee, knocked down 4 of 4 free throws after struggling from the line in previous games, showing a new follow through from the stripe.  Mason added 12 points and 7 rebounds as well and has proven himself one of the most, if not the most, consistent players on the team to date.

In fact the team was 15 of 18 from the free throw line and that was another huge key as was the Blue Devils ability to maintain a working lead after being down big early in the contest going on an 18-4 run of their own to take control of the game and quiet a hostile and packed Littlejohn Coliseum.

Coach Krzyzewski decided to go with his veterans down the stretch, which proved wise as the Tigers defense forced 17 turnovers.  Duke will next face Wake Forest in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday and then come back on Saturday to face a Florida State team that demolished North Carolina.

Notes:
• Duke improved its all-time record against Clemson to 104-29. The Blue Devils have won four straight in the series and 26 of the last 28 meetings.
• Head coach Mike Krzyzewski improved to 50-11 against Clemson during his 32 years at Duke.
• For the fourth straight game, Duke held Clemson under 25.0 percent shooting from three-point range. The Tigers have shot just 20.0 percent (13-of-65) from behind the arc against Duke during those four meetings.
• Clemson is the sixth team Duke has faced this year that ranks among the top 40 defensive teams in the nation (by defensive scoring average). Duke has averaged 70.2 points in those six games, while each those teams combine to hold opponents to less than 60 points per game. Duke ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense with 81.9 points per game.
• Duke became only the fourth team all season to have more than two double-figure scorers against Clemson. Andre Dawkins (24 points), Mason Plumlee (12) Quinn Cook (10) all scored at least 10 points against the Tigers.
• The post duo of Miles and Mason Plumlee combined for 18 points and 21 rebounds while shooting 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the floor. Miles and Mason combine to average 9.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season.
• Duke trailed 18-9 at the 11:04 mark in the first half, but went on an 18-4 run over the next 6:50 to take a 27-22 lead. Duke outrebounded Clemson 10-7 and went 7-of-12 from the floor during that span.
• The Blue Devils carried that momentum into the second half, scoring on six of their first seven possessions as part of a 14-5 run. After overcoming an early 13-4 deficit and heading into halftime with a slim 32-28 lead, Duke led by as much as 13 points in the second half.
• Duke’s eight three-pointers tied for the most allowed by Clemson in a game this season. The only other teams to hit eight treys against Clemson were Southern Illinois (Dec. 23) and Boston College (Jan. 12).

Player Notes:

Quinn Cook
• Scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the second time in Duke’s three ACC games. Cook went 4-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range.
• Ignited a second half run by sinking a driving reverse layup in the first 15 seconds, knocking down a three-pointer less than two minutes later and assisting on an Andre Dawkins three-pointer that put Duke ahead 46-33. Cook scored five of Duke’s first seven points in the second half as the Blue Devils opened that frame with a 14-5 run.

Seth Curry
• Made his 30th consecutive start and played a team-high 31 minutes. Duke is 25-5 during that 30-game start streak.
• Is now averaging 16.3 points per game in three career games Clemson (including one game during his freshman season at Liberty).
• Hit a three-pointer for the seventh straight game. Curry has hit a trey in 16 of Duke’s 17 games this season.
• Went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, improving his percentage to .891 (49-of-55) for the third highest mark in the ACC.

Andre Dawkins
• Scored a game-high 24 points for his seventh double-figure scoring game of the season. Went 7-for-12 from the floor, 5-for-9 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free throw line for Duke’s eighth 20-point game of the season.
• Dawkins scored Duke’s final six points over the final 1:16. Duke led by a slim four-point margin at 65-61 before Dawkins hit his fifth three-pointer of the game to improve Duke’s lead to 68-61. He then sank 3-of-4 free throws to hold off a late charge by the Tigers.
• Dawkins became just the second player to hit five three-pointers against Clemson this season. He is the first to shoot over 50 percent from three-point range against the Tigers (minimum five attempts).

Ryan Kelly
• Took his team-leading seventh charge of the season.
• Recorded a block and a steal in the same game for the team-leading ninth time this season. Kelly ranks third on the team in both blocks and steals.

Mason Plumlee
• Made his 38th consecutive start. Duke is 32-6 during that 38-game streak.
• Converted two three-point plays. Plumlee was fouled on a dunk both times and followed through by making the free throws.
• Threw down his 100th career dunk, becoming only the seventh player in school history to record 100 dunks. Plumlee has 31 dunks in 17 games this season.
• Put Duke ahead for good by converting a three-point play in the first half. With Duke trailing 20-18 at the 5:55 mark, Plumlee threw down a dunk, was fouled and sank the free throw to put Duke ahead 21-18. Duke did not trail for the remainder of the game.
• Had a perfect night from the free throw line, hitting all four attempts. It was Plumlee’s first career game without a missed free throw on more than three attempts.

Miles Plumlee
• Hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds, giving him 10 or more rebounds in four games this year. The 14 rebounds were one shy of his career high.
• Recorded a block for the ninth straight game. Miles has 20 blocks during that streak for an average of 2.22 per game.

Austin Rivers
• Tied a season low by attempting just seven shots. Rivers went 2-of-7 from the floor to finish with a season-low four points.

Tyler Thornton
• Saw a streak of seven consecutive made three-pointers come to an end. Thornton had not missed a trey since Dec. 19 for a span of five straight games without a miss from beyond the arc. He is shooting .500 (12-of-24) from three-point range this season.

Duke Basketball

Singler, Smith help Duke down Clemson on Senior Day

Photo by Lance King for BDN

DURHAM - Having followed both Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith's path to Duke since their high school days, it was hard for me to come to the realization this was their last game in Cameron.  Singler picked Duke late in the process and I can remember discussing that he'd watch video of Larry Bird with his Father.

Smith was smiling the first time I met him and he'll be smiling the last time I see him or maybe I should say, he smiles every time I see him?  I guess as you age time flies, for it seem like just yesterday when I was interviewing them for the premium section of our site.

The two seniors went out with a bang tonight helping Duke set up a showdown with North Carolina for the regular season championship this Saturday.  Make no mistake, the Clemson Tigers came to play and Brad Brownell has made quite the impression as their first year coach.

In the end, there was just too much positive mojo in Cameron for the Tigers to do anything other than keep the game close as Duke cruised to a 70-59 win.  Smith ended the game with a game high 21 points and 7 assists while Singler added 18 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double and his 25th game at Duke with 10 or more boards.

Seth Curry bounced back after a miserable game at Virginia Tech and added 16 points while Mason Plumlee chipped in with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks.  His aggressive play earned the praise of Coach K un the post game press conference.

We'll have more on the game shortly.  Actually, it could be morning in that we are running quite late this evening.

Duke Women's Basketball

Duke Women crush Clemson on the road by a 67-41 margin

Jasmine Thomas (5)CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - This time, it was the Duke women's turn to show Clemson how the Blue Devils play defense.

No. 9 Duke used a first-half run and relentless defense to open Atlantic Coast Conference play with its 13th straight victory over the Tigers, 67-41 on Thursday night.

The win, Blue Devils' sixth straight this season, came after the school's Top 10 men locked down Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday night in a 74-53 victory.

"We take after the men, they take after us," Duke forward Joy Cheek said. "We all represent Duke, so we all want to go hard and get those wins."

Cheek was a big reason why the Blue Devils (13-2) got this victory. She and Jasmine Thomas had 15 points each. The two helped Duke to a 21-6 first-half run to take control, while the Blue Devils defense did the rest.

"I think tonight, we really let our defense trigger everything," Thomas said.

Clemson's point total was the lowest in its history against Duke. The Tigers missed 13 shots in a row during one stretch and finished shooting 25 percent (13 of 52) from the field.

The Blue Devils got 15 steals and forced the Tigers into 23 turnovers.

The effort looked like a replay of Duke-Clemson men's game from a few nights earlier. In that one, the Blue Devils gave the Cameron crazies plenty to cheer about as they moved in front 30-12 and held the Tigers to a 5-of-30 shooting in the first half.

"I guess were both 1-0 against Clemson in ACC play," Thomas said, laughing.

The Blue Devils have not lost a league opener since Dec. 9, 2000 - also the last time they lost to the Tigers (9-8).

Shaniqua Pauldo scored 12 points to lead Clemson, which has lost its last 38 games against ranked opponents.

Bridgette Mitchell added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils.

Duke came in with its top 10 ranking, a solid winning streak this season and a run of success against Clemson that has lasted nearly a decade.

But the Blue Devils couldn't find their rhythm early on, going 3 of 9 from the field and leading 6-5 seven minutes in.

"It's okay to have a slow start if you're defending," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

Then Duke showed off the talent that's made it one of the ACC's top women's programs in the country.

Thomas got the run started with a driving basket and a foul shot, and Cheek followed with two straight jumpers.

Cheek added a 3-pointer that increased the lead to 22-9, then Thomas followed with a long-range basket of her own. By the time Karima Christmas made two foul shots, Duke lead 27-11 to all but wrap the game up.

Clemson hasn't beaten a Top 25 program in more than six years, and the Tigers lose their latest chance with some awful first-half shooting.

The Tigers have shot less than 40 percent in three of its past four games.

"Now, it's more in their heads," Clemson coach Cristy McKinney said. "It is confidence in my mind and they just need the reps and seeing it go in the hole."

That might be difficult since the Tigers face ranked opponents Georgia Tech, Florida State and North Carolina their next three games.

Clemson also couldn't handle Duke's size, getting outrebounded 48 to 31.

The Blue Devils opened the second half with a 17-9 run and the lead eventually stretched to reached 30 points, prompting McCallie to send her starters to the bench.

Duke's intensity didn't let up, though. When reserve guard Chelsea Hopkins took a charge on Clemson's Keyrra Gillespie with less than six minutes left, McCallie led the cheers on the Blue Devils' bench.

"Finally, we got a charge," McCallie said.

Hardy, Clemson's leading scorer, was held to eight points - six fewer than her average - on 3 of 15 shooting. Reserve Jasmine Tate finished with nine rebounds and five blocks for the Tigers