Coach David Cutcliffe lauded the improvement of Austin Kelly on Tuesday and the Blue Devil Nation caught up with the eldest Duke wide out shortly thereafter to get his thoughts -
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Tag Archives: Duke-NC State
Henderson leads Duke past N.C. State 73-56
The Duke offense erupted in the second half and that helped the Duke Blue Devils move to 17-1 overall and 3-0 in the ACC with a 73-56 win over N.C. State.
To call this game a tale of two halfs for the Dukies is an understatement. Duke shot 29% from the
field in the first half and 76.9% in the second. The Blue Devils managed to score just 22 points at the break, but came on to roll up 51 in the second half.
“Our offense, as bad as it was in the first half, it was that good in the second half. I thought they played us really hard. I was worried about today’s game for a couple reasons – one, I think State’s good. After that big win against Georgetown, there’s a little bit of a let-down emotionally, crowd-wise and team-wise," said Krzyzewski.
Duke jumped out to an early 8-1 lead, but then went ice cold from the field as if they were sleep walking after Saturday's big win over Georgetown. Duke trailed the Wolfpack the rest of the way, until the 9:27 mark, when back to back Nolan Smith three pointers gave them a 52-49 lead.
N.C. State rode the scoring punch of Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner who scored 15 points each, but they were shut out down the stretch when the vaunted Duke defense kicked in. The Pack scored a single point in the last 4:41 of the game.
Duke finally broke the game open when David McClure made a steal and hit Gerald Henderson for a dunk and a 62-55 lead.
"There’s game pressure – I thought the second half, the start of the second half, we had great energy. Gerald, especially in the first eight minutes, was great . Nolan – I thought this was his best game, and he’s put three really terrific games together. And Kyle playing with four fouls for eight minutes. It was a one-possession game, and all of sudden we got two steals and turned them into buckets. McClure was huge for us, especially on that top ball screen. It was a hard-fought win for us, but with the score you’d think we kind of walked throgh this," stated Krzyzewski.
Henderson left no doubt that he was the player of the game, continuing his torrid play of late. He put his team on his back on the way to scoring 21 points to go with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 key steals. The junior continues to play at a very high level and that has been a Godsend in that some other Devils have been in a slump.
“I knew I was going to have to be way more aggressive than I was. Kyle wasn’t playing like he usually does. Jon wasn’t hitting like he usually does. So I guess I kind of took it on my shoulders. My teammates were going to me, Coach was going to me, and I knew that if he was going to call some plays for me I had to make something happen,” said Henderson.
N.C. State Coach Sydney Lowe said, "He (Gerald Henderson) took over the game for a period there and that’s the one guy I talked about in pre-game to the media. He can change the game and he did it again tonight. That’s what he expects of himself and I’m sure that’s what his team expected. He did exactly what a leader is supposed to do. He took over.”
Jon Scheyer had a miserable night scoring a late three pointer, but led his team with 5 assists. Scheyer has now had four sub par scoring games.
Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas also continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court, but there were several shots in which the seven footer altered the shot. But Zoubs will have to learn to
finish his shot with more authority to get back on track and Thomas needs to find his way back into being a key contributor down the stretch is Duke is to continue their winning ways come the meat of a tough ACC schedule.
Kyle Singler was saddled with four fouls and that made it hard for him to be aggressive on the boards in that he had just 4 rebounds tonight. But Singler is Duke's best interior defender and his 17 points cam at key moments in the second half enabling a late Duke run.
The aforementioned three pointers from Nolan Smith were big and he finished with 13 points but failed to dish a single assist. Paulus had one assist and nine key points off the bench, but Kryzyzewski would most certainly like to see more distribution from the point guard position, although he called this Nolans best game this season.
Despite some struggles, any ACC win is huge in a tough conference. Duke got things rolling late
and escaped what would have been a trp for most teams. It was an evening when the weather caused some no shows and Cameron was nowhere near it's best.
It was clear that Coach K and his staff came out in the second half and got a bit more animated than usual. On a night with so many odd intangibles, there is no way to measure how important that support was.
N.C. State at Duke stats, facts and figures
Game 18-
[2 AP/2 Coaches] Duke (16-1, 3-0 ACC) vs. N.C. State (10-5, 1-2 ACC)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 • 8:05 PM ET • Raycom
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
Game Quick Facts
TV: Raycom; Steve Martin (play-by-play), Mike Gminski (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 series135-96, including a 44-23 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils have won two straight in the series and six of the last seven contests.
Coaches:
Mike Krzyzewski
Overall Record: 819-268 (34th year)
Duke Record: 746-209 (29th year)
vs. N.C. State: 43-19
Sidney Lowe
Overall Record: 45-37 (third year)
N.C. State Record: 45-37 (third year)
Blue Devil Bits
l Duke is 16-1 on the year, including a 3-0 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Blue Devils have now started the season with a 16-1 mark 12 times, including eight times under Mike Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils are ranked second in the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Duke is 108-16 all-time when ranked second in the AP poll.
Duke is first in the latest RPI according to CollegeRPI.com. The site also ranks Duke’s strength of schedule third in the NCAA.
The Blue Devils posted their eighth straight victory with a 76-67 win over 13th-ranked Georgetown on Saturday. Duke posted its 68th straight non-conference 
home victory and improved to 3-0 on the year against ranked teams with the win over the Hoyas.
Junior Gerald Henderson paced the Blue Devils with 23 points, including 17 points in the first half, on Saturday. The Merion, Pa., native knocked down his first seven field goal attempts, including three three-pointers, against Georgetown.
l
Sophomore Kyle Singler posted his second straight double-double and fifth of the year with 15 points and a career-best 16 rebounds versus the Hoyas.
Jon Scheyer added 11 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals on Saturday. Scheyer has 10 assists and just one turnover in Duke’s last two games.
Numbers Game
Tuesday’s game marks the 232nd meeting between Duke and N.C. State, making it the most played series in league history. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 135-96, including a 44-23 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils have won 11 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium against N.C. State. Under Mike Krzyzewski, they are 20-5 at home against the Wolfpack.
Duke has won 18 straight games in the month of January dating back to a 74-63 loss at Georgia Tech on Jan. 10, 2007.
The Blue Devils are 197-54 under Coach K in the month of January, including a 91-7 mark since 1998.
Since losing to Michigan, 81-73, on Dec. 6, the Blue Devils have not allowed more than 70 points in a game. Duke’s opponents are averaging just 57.9 points per game over the last eight contests. Five of Duke’s last eight opponents have scored fewer than 60 points.
Sophomore Kyle Singler leads Duke in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Christian Laettner is the only Blue Devil to lead the team in four major statistical categories in a season. Laettner led the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocked shots during the 1990-91 season.
Junior Gerald Henderson has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last nine games, averaging 17.3 points per game in those outings. He has scored at least 15 points in six of his last seven games.
Duke is one of three teams in the ACC to have three players rank among the top 20 in the league in scoring. The Blue Devils are led by Kyle Singler who ranks ninth (16.8 ppg.). Gerald Henderson ranks 17th at 14.0 points per game and Jon Scheyer is tied for 18th at 13.8 points per game.
Gerald Henderson is shooting .807 (46-of-57) from the free throw line this season. Entering the year, he was a career .657 (138-of-210) shooter from the charity stripe. Henderson is also shooting a team-high .449 (22-of-49) this season after shooting .318 (28-of-88) from three-point distance in his first two seasons.
Sophomore Kyle Singler averaged 15.0 rebounds per game in Duke’s last two contests. He had 14 rebounds against Georgia Tech and a career-high 16 boards in the win over Georgetown. Singler had six offensive rebounds in each game.
Sophomore Nolan Smith is shooting .930 (40-of-43) from the free throw line on the season. He has been perfect from the line in 12 games this season and has made his last 10 free throws.
The Blue Devils have the top scoring defense in the ACC, allowing only 60.6 points per game. Duke has held 11 of its 17 opponents to 60 points or less on the season.
Sophomore Kyle Singler has five double-doubles this season to rank tied for fifth in the ACC. He has posted double-doubles in each of Duke’s last two contests.
The Blue Devils are 13-0 when outrebounding their opponent this season. Duke ranks second in the ACC with a rebounding margin of +8.0 this season. Last year, Duke ranked ninth in the conference with a +0.1 rebounding margin.
Junior Jon Scheyer has a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last six games. He has 10 assists and just one turnover in Duke’s last two games.
The trio of Kyle Singler, Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer are averaging a combined 44.6 points per game. They have accounted for 55.4 percent of Duke’s scoring through the first 17 games.
Duke is 15-0 when leading at the half. The Blue Devils have faced a second-half deficit just two times (Rhode Island, Michigan) this season.
Tough loss for Devils – support needs to improve
[private]Duke fell to 1-4 in the ACC and 4-5 overall with a disappointing loss to neighboring rival N.C. State on 
Saturday afternoon. When it counted redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Wilson and the Pack executed while Duke couldn't do the same.
Well, actually Duke did execute between the twenties, but once again the red zone offense failed to take advantage of key opportunities. One was a bungled exchange from center to quarterback which caused the timing for a wide open touch down to be just a second off.
Then there was a running play where the back stopped moving his legs and driving. But it wasn't all on the offense. Time and time again, the Duke secondary got beat when the chips were on the table. In fact, they made the talented Wilson look even better. The frustrating thing for our coaches is that they were in position to make the plays, but either jumped too soon or had their back turned to the play.
In short, all that could go wrong did on this day. Duke went into the game expecting to win, but the Pack seemed to have an edge or sense of urgency early on and it took the Devils a few series to match the intensity. If you were to point to one play of the many which could have made the game closer, it would be the return of a kickoff for a touchdown after a field goal knotted the game at 3-3.
As disappointed as many fans were leaving the game as the fourth quarter started, Duke was a lot closer than it looked early on. In fact a look at the stats makes one realize that things just didn't click, for Duke rolled up 400 yards of offense and Thad Lewis was incredibly accurate.
Perhaps the most painful thing from a fans standpoint, was that N.C. State red was all over the place. IMO, Duke fans didn't turn out as I would have expected. I can't give the students a pass in this one for the stands were empty save the hard cores and band at games start.
Much has been made of late about student apathy in Cameron and on Saturday it carried over into Wade. For the first time this season, I visited the students party in the parking lot on the west side. It was quite the party, and they were second to none in their revelry. I thought to myself, if we have this crowd of wild ones in the stands in their various outfits, we'll be ready.
As game time came around, very few of the of the crazily Christmas outfitted under grads made it over. Some were obviously too toasted. While they in no way had a part in the loss, they did remind many how far we have to go to change the culture. On a day when we were playing a rival, the message seemed lost in the mail and too many were into the extra curricular activities to be bothered by supporting the team. I mean, I thought that is why they were partying, but I now know I am wrong.
That said, I hope the students realize how much the players need them there in the future. Heck, I need them there as a fan. I can't tell you how much they added to the James Madison game, but the reasoning for not showing up on Saturday obviously perplexes me. And it was not only at the game, but the Blue Devils Walk where I counted a grand total of 40 students throughout the quad.
Despite all of the disappointments, Cutcliffe still has the program on the right track. A big part of the puzzle will be recruiting success and the many who were there should see not only the direction the program is going in, but the opportunity to make a mark early.
Other than that, we need to continue to work on the culture collectively and despite the Thanksgiving break versus North Carolina, I hope the students who stay commit themselves to their classmates for the last home game. Duke needs your support and we all want you to help us with this pursuit of a true ACC Football atmosphere.[/private]
Anything less than standing room only for the Duke-NCSU game in Wade is unacceptable
[private]The Duke Blue Devils will entertain the North Carolina State Wolfpack in football for the first time 
since 2003 this weekend in Wallace Wade Stadium. It's a shame it took this long for these two rivals to hook up again, but that's the way it is since the new ACC alignment.
There is no reason for this game to be anything other than a sell out. N.C. State is sure to bring many a red clad fan in for the 3:30 kickoff and Duke fans need to realize just how long it's been since their team was 4-4 this time of the season.
Coach Cutcliffe worked hard all summer long to get fans excited and involved and it seems to be working. I listened to a heart breaking defeat to Wake Forest at a local Durham establishment, Devines, located on Main Street last Saturday.
In the past, it was not unusual for Duke fans to turn out, but they were for the most part old school. 
On this day, a large group of students joined the old guard in the courtyard and we all sat around together in unison rooting for Cut's kids.
The great thing is that generation gaps were bridged and conversations were those you might expect from friends or fans you've known for a long time. In short, there was a new level of interest compared to the years of Franks and Roof.
The crowd prompted long time Herald Sun sportswriter and my pal Frank Dascenzo to say, "Can you believe this?" When asked what, he continued, "Look at all the people in here, they are into Duke Football." He went on to say he'd never seen it like that before and coming from someone who cut his teeth on ACC football that's saying a lot.
All season long, Duke fans have come together and that's a testament to Cut's dedication to turn 
this long dormant program around. Shortly after the opening victory over James Madison, I ventured to Cookout for a quick bite after the game, The simple fact that I was wearing Duke colors prompted two band members (pictured with thumbs up) to strike up a conversation in the line about Duke Football.
People who know that I run a Duke related web site come up and say things like, "Wow, Duke is for real" or "Cutcliffe really knows what he is doing," The best might have been, "Man, I can't believe it! Duke really has a football team." The thing is that most of these comments came from fans of another school, the same ones who were making fun of the program at the start of the season thinking it was the same old Duke.
No matter where I go or what I do, it seems the repercussions of a few wins are prevalent in the community. The mere fact that I could give ten to fifteen more examples as those above says a lot, but the ultimate statement would be to show our support to Cut's kids by making the fire marshall come to Wade for tomorrows game.
This team has put in a lot of hard work as has the staff. There is no reason why any fan within four hours wouldn't want to venture to Wally World to immerse themselves in a great college football atmosphere.
There is nothing like the contrasting colors or red and royal blue when Duke and N.C. State get together. Add to that Autumn backdrop on a slightly crisp November afternoon and well, it doesn't get much better than this.
We have two more chances to see the 2008-09 Duke Blue Devils football team and super senior leaders like Michael Tauliliili. That said, join me this weekend, cheer hard and wear your Duke Blue proudly for it is the "Dawn of a New Day."[/private]
Coach Cutcliffe Weekly Teleconference
[private]Opening statement -
We had four quarters of unbelievably good effort and play. For the second week in a row, they've maintained 
that kind of intensity. That's growth in eight quarters since the Miami game. Unfortunately when you have four turnovers and they have one and you set them up for touchdown drives of 22, 33 and 46 yards after turnovers and that's 22 points. We gave up basically 5 points on a blocked punt for a safety and the ensuing kickoff was fumbled. Then there was the onside kick that set them up on our own 26 with the penalty and they got points out of that. We gave them a short field to play with. Wake Forest is a very opportunistic team. We played good enough in all areas to have won and will have to get back to practice in an effort to eliminate the errors.
After a tough loss where your team was resilient yet came up short, what do you tell your team as a coach to keep them up? (Mark Watson, BDN)
Well, I just talk to them straight forward about what happened and how it occurred. We are in between meetings and getting ready to go out on the field and we don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves. It's as simple as this, football games aren't won in the video room in Sunday. We're going to correct these mistake and move forward. When you play as hard as we played you just have to move on. We have a difficult opponent, a rival opponent in North Carolina State coming off and open week. They're well coached and have a good football team and we better not be spending any time not getting back up, so we're going to challenge them pretty good.
On the onside kick - (Lucie Chavez, News and Observer)
It's a judgment call. I felt like the guy was laid out and he would have never have gotten the ball. He hit Johnny Williams after he had gotten the ball, but the official has to go out and use his judgement and it's a tough call. Again, my philosophy on all those things is it could have gone another way. We could have done ten or fifteen things another way and we would have won the game. We evaluate it and move on. I will probably be getting an explanation, but you have to move on.
Was the reaction similar to that of the Northwestern game?
Yes, it was very similar. We thought we could win and we competed hard. We did everything we had to do to win against Northwestern - a return for a touchdown but it was called back. It was that kind of experience and we are just hoping all of those things help us grow. We're not just trying to have a good team, that's what everybody needs to understand. We're going to build a football program here. We're serious about that. Thes guys this year? They are laying the groundwork. People are missing out if they don't come see htis team play, they're competing. I certainly hope with a big rival game like N.C. State coming in that we feel this stadium up good.
Duke hasn't played N.C. State since 2003. Do you feel like you should be able to play a rival every year and what do you think of the divisions the way they are set up now. Would you rather see them more regional?
I'd love to see N.C. State in there but I'm brand new. I'm sure if you looked at the economics of the conference, if you let us all be in the same division right here, we'd be playing each other every year and that would be some pretty good road trips for everybody and probably wouldn't be fair to the rest of the conference from Miami to D.C. There was a lot of thought that went into it and I wasn't privy during those thoughts or meetings but you would love to play that game, not that I want to play N.C. State in particular. You just love those rival games. It is what it is and the league is getting better and it is working well as it is, I guess.[/private]
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