You'll find the Cameron Indoor Stadium farewell from Casey Peters, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith in the video below as well as the game introductions where you'll see Josh Hairston do his thing. BDN salutes the home careers of the seniors who led Duke to two consecutive undefeated seasons on Coach K Court.
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Singler, Smith help Duke down Clemson on Senior Day
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.
Nolan Smith talks Senior Day
Duke senior Nolan Smith is about to embark on his last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium when Clemson come to town tomorrow evening. BDN was on the scene to catch Smith's comments yesterday.
Hokies upset Blue Devils
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Terrell Bell scored 12 points, including five straight to give Virginia Tech the lead for good, and the Hokies beat No. 1 Duke 64-60 on Saturday night.
The Hokies (19-8, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), badly in need of a signature victory to enhance their NCAA tournament credentials, got it thanks to 12-4 run over a span of 4½ minutes that turned a 53-47 deficit into a 62-57 lead with 2 minutes remaining.
The Blue Devils (26-3, 12-2) had chances in the closing minute to pull even when Virginia Tech struggled at the free throw line, but couldn't capitalize. Duke had its seven-game winning streak snapped and allowed the Hokies to get a badly boost to their NCAA hopes.
Kyle Singler led Duke with 22 points and Nolan Smith had 18.
Jeff Allen led the Hokies with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Bell and Erick Green each scored 12 as the Hokies improved to 4-7 in their history against teams ranked No. 1.
The Hokies trailed 51-45 until Malcolm Delaney's driving basket with 9:28 left. It ignited a 12-4 burst, with the last seven coming in succession to give then a 57-55 lead. Bell had the last five -- a 3-pointer to tie it from the right corner and two free throws.
Bell then blocked a driving shot by Smith, and after an exchange of misses at each end, Mason Plumlee went high to block a shot by Allen and was called for goaltending, doubling the Hokies lead to 59-55 leading into a timeout with 2:39 remaining.
Singler scored for the Blue Devils, but Delaney atoned for a rough night by swishing his only 3-pointer from the top of the key, rebuilding the margin to 62-57 with 2:01 to play.
A layin by Plumlee with 1:25 left and his free throw with 23.2 seconds left was all the Blue Devils could muster the rest of the way, allowing Virginia Tech to hang on.
As the buzzer sounded, fans streamed onto the court.
The Hokies led 42-37 until Andre Dawkins's 3-pointer for Duke with 16:45 to go sparked a 14-3 burst for the Blue Devils. Singler had seven points in the run, and capped it with a 3-pointer that gave Duke a 51-45 advantage with 11:08 to play.
When Delaney made a layup, just his third field goal, with 9:28 left, it pulled Virginia Tech to 51-47 -- and ended a scoring drought of 4 1/2 minutes for the home team.
But with Singler repeatedly missing open 3s for the Blue Devils -- he finished 1 for 7 from behind the 3-point line -- the Hokies failed to capitalize right away. Victor Davila missed a pair of free throws badly, and Delaney air-balled a 3-pointer to groans.
But then the Hokies caught fire again, and everything changed.
The game also was the first appearance at Cassell Coliseum for Seth Curry, whose father, Dell, is the second-leading scorer in Hokies history. Seth Curry was recruited by the Hokies, but wound up at Liberty and transferred to Duke after one season seeking a bigger challenge.
He was jeered in introductions, whistled for two quick fouls at the start of the game and again early in the second half, and played little. He came in for the final sequence, but threw the ball away when double teamed at the top of the key, capping a scoreless night.
The Hokies led 33-31 at halftime, and for most of the first half even though scoring leader Malcolm Delaney didn't scratch until he hit a layup just 4:39 before halftime.
Delaney managed only four shots in the half, and was blanketed on defense by Smith, who also hit 6 of 10 shots and led all scorers with 12 points. Green had 10 for the Hokies.
The Blue Devils led just twice in the half, the last at 18-16, but Green's 3-pointer from the right corner launched a 13-4 run that gave the Hokies a 29-22 advantage, their largest.
Duke vs. Temple Game Notes
Game 28[1 AP / 1 Coaches] Duke (25-2, 12-1 ACC) vs. [24 AP / 24 Coaches] Temple (21-5, 11-2 A10)
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 • 7:00 p.m.
The Opening Tip• Duke (25-2, 12-1 ACC) hosts Temple (21-5, 11-2 A10) on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
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• The game is being televised by espn2 with Rece Davis (play-by-play), Bob Knight (analyst) and Jeannine Edwards (sideline) on the call.
• Duke is ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, while Temple is ranked No. 24 in both polls.
• Duke has won 43 of the last 46 games entering Wednesday’s game with Temple. The Blue Devils have won 20 of their 21 contests against non-conference opponents in that span.
• The Blue Devils are looking for their 19th straight win in the month of February. Duke’s last loss in the month was on Feb. 15, 2009 at Boston College.
Duke-Temple Series History• Duke and Temple have met 26 times heading into Wednesday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 1931.
• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 17-9, including a 7-1 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has won eight consecutive games and 14 of the last 17 in the series.
• Mike Krzyzewski is 10-1 at Duke against the Owls. The Blue Devils are 4-0 against Temple at home under Krzyzewski.
• Duke has won seven consecutive games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the series.
• The two teams have met twice in NCAA Tournament play with Duke reaching the Final Four with wins over Temple in 1988 and 1999.
• Five of the last eight games in the series have been decided by 10 points or more.
Numbers Game
The Blue Devils’ current 34-game win streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium is the longest active streak in the country and the fourth-longest home win streak in program history.
The Blue Devils have won an NCAA-best 85 consecutive non-conference home games. The last home loss against a non conference opponent for the Blue Devils was on Feb. 26, 2000, against St. John’s, 83-82.
Duke has won 40 consecutive games against teams outside the traditional power conferences (Big Ten, Big East, SEC, ACC, PAC 10, Big 12). Virginia Commonwealth’s 79-77 win over Duke in the 2007 NCAA Tournament was the Blue Devils’ last loss to a team from a non-power conference.l Duke has only lost two home games in the past four seasons, posting a record of 63-2 in Cameron Indoor Stadium during that span.
Duke has won 28 consecutive games in the state of North Carolina. The Blue Devils’ last loss in the state was at N.C. State on Jan. 20, 2010.l Nolan Smith is attempting to become the first player in ACC history to lead the league in scoring and assists. Smith is currently averaging an ACC-best 21.7 points and 5.3 assists per game.
Seth Curry is averaging 12.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals over the last six games. He is 14-of-30 (.467) from three-point range and has a 3.29:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span.
Nolan Smith is one of three players in the NCAA averaging over 20.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
Kyle Singler is five points shy of moving into the top 15 of the ACC career scoring chart. Singler currently has 2,221 career points.
Duke defense locks down Georgia Tech for 79-57 win
DURHAM - 
The Duke Blue Devils came out of the gate a bit slow after anticipating Georgia Tech would play it's big lineup. Instead the Yellow Jackets played a smaller, quicker line up and had some success. with it. After some adjustments Duke settled in and walloped the visitors by a 79-57 score. It was a rough and tumble first half but the refs managed to keep the game from getting out of hand but that didn't stop Coach Mike Krzyzewski from getting his first technical foul of the season.
That fired Duke up and they went on a tear, breaking open a close game as the half came to an end. Once again Duke was led by Nolan Smith who dropped a game high 28 points on a variety of moves. Smith grabbed 7 rebounds from his guard position as well and added 4 assists to his total. Fellow senior, Kyle Singler, added 15 points and 9 rebounds.
The Blue Devils were strong in the post as well where they outscored the Yellow Jackets 40-24 and they held a 21-4 edge in second chance points. Despite fouling out, Mason Plumlee scored 9 points to go with his 9 boards as he continues to be good on the glass. Ryan Kelly added 10 points and 6 rebounds and both players earned Coach Krzyzewski's praise.
"The big guys keep getting better. You get better if you want to get better," said Krzyzewski after his 994th career victory. He continued by saying, "Mason and Ryan had good games and our defense continues to improve."
Seth Curry also continued his solid play of late, garnering a team high 6 assists to go with his 9 points. Freshman Tyler Thornton helped with 6 points while draining 4 straight free throws.
In the end Duke won with defense and the effort may well have been enough for them to regain the nations top spot in the polls due tomorrow. Duke will face a very solid Temple team next this coming Wednesday evening. Duke pushes their season record to 12-1 in the ACC which is good enough for first place and 25-2 overall.
Sidebar -Ryan Kelly scored in double figures for the seventh time this season. Seth Curry's 6 assists were a career high. Duke has won 34 straight home games. Duke is 15-0 at home on the season with two games remaining. Singler has started in 95 consecutive games. Mason is up to 10.2 rebounds per game in ACC play. Nolan has 20 or more points in 16 games, tops in the ACC. Smith passed Bobby Hurley on the Blue Devils All Time Scoring list. Duke has won 25 or more games in 24th time in school history.
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