Duke Blue Planet BLOG

After every practice and game, manager Eric Skeffington promptly and carefully compiles “True Blue” stats, which essentially provide a box score for hustle.  Plays that go unmarked in the traditional hoops stats — loose balls, fouls drawn, deflections, steals, rebounds, and a number of others — are included to reward players for doing the little things.  And Saturday night in the Greensboro Coliseum, with time running out and the season on the line, these types of plays pushed the Blue Devils to the Sweet 16.Duke jumped out to a seven-point lead at the break, Texas closed to within one with 14:13 left, and then the Devils pushed the lead up to 10 with 6:53 left.  At that point, Texas fought back again, with star guard A.J. Abrams scoring five straight points and Verez Ward providing an offensive spark for the Longhorns.  With 1:44, Ward hit a tough jumper to tie the game and Coach K signaled for a full timeout.  Each team would have only a few possessions left and Texas seemed to have the momentum having rallied from 10 down in about five minutes.  The crowd was buzzing in Greensboro and March Madness fans all over the nation were smiling.  It was at this time that the Blue Devils responded to a pressure-packed situation in True Blue style, putting together a clinic in hustle plays and heads-up hoops.

Out of the timeout, Coach K looked to Gerald Henderson to get a bucket.  The athletic wing from PA made an aggressive move to the rim but the ball bounced out.  Just as it looked like the Horns would get possession and a chance to take the lead, Kyle Singler came soaring through the paint.  The forward tipped it up and in, giving his team a two-point lead and hitting the deck having fully extending for the tip-in.

After Texas answered with two points from the charity stripe to tie it up at 69, G tried again to give Duke the lead.  His jumper missed but Nolan Smith got in and battled between two big Longhorns bodies, somehow getting a hand on the rebound.  The 6’2″ guard jumped up again and drew a foul, earning two shots from the line.  Nolan calmly drilled both free throws to give his team a two-point lead, 71-69.  Texas came down and a three-pointer just rimmed out, with Elliot Williams grabbing the rebound and dishing it over to Gerald.  Texas was forced to foul and G hit one of two from the line.

Now down by three, Abrams took a jumper that rimmed out.  The ball bounced around and the Longhorns got a few tips at it before Jon Scheyer knocked it loose from Damion James for a steal.  The ball bounced away towards the endline and Jon chased down the loose ball.  Falling out of bounds, he heaved it behind his back towards the other end of the court, almost hitting the scoreboard.

“To be honest with you, I was just trying to get it out of there,” Jon said about the play.  “It worked out pretty well where it landed.  I couldn’t tell you I was positive that’s where it was going.  Time was an issue, so I was just trying to get it down the court and give my teammates a chance to go get it.”

Elliot Williams ran it down and drew a foul.  With a chance to push the lead to four, Elliot missed a pair of foul shots.  After the second miss, again a Blue Devil made a big hustle play among several large burnt orange bodies.  This time, Dave McClure batted the ball up into the air volleyball style, Elliot got a hand on it and it ended up in G’s hands.

“At first, I was contemplating whether to try and get in there, because I didn’t want to get a stupid foul,” Dave said.  “Coach told me to try and get in there if I could and get a hand on it.  I was able to gather it for a second, and once I got it knocked away I tried to bat it out to where I knew some of my teammates were.”

“Dave was in there, and he made a heck of a play,” G added. “Coach told him to try to get in there to tip it without fouling.  He tipped it.  I think Elliot tipped it.  I knew once I got it that we had the (possession) arrow, so they just fouled me.  That was that.”

Tipped balls, loose balls, offensive rebounds, drawn fouls — The Blue Devils focused on the little things and survived.  As a result, the 2008-09 season will include a trip to Boston.

Fast Facts – Sweet 16 by the Numbers

Sweet 16s Since 1985 (64-team era)
1. Duke: 18
2. UNC: 17
3. Kansas: 16
4. Kentucky: 14
5. Arizona: 12
5. UConn: 12

Sweet 16s Since 1998
1. Duke: 10
2. Michigan State: 8
3. UConn: 7
3. Kansas: 7
3. UCLA: 7

Around the Web
*Duke does little things right
*Return to familiar territory
*Duke escapes in wild finish
*Devils thrive in clutch
*Duke sidesteps UT
*After 2-year lull, Duke returns

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Quote of the Day
“Our junior class has been the backbone of this team.  You’re not born with backbone.  You develop it, and you develop it playing tough competition.  They did it for the last two years and they did it again this year.  They’ve become a really good basketball team because they’ve stuck with it.”
Coach K

Duke got to a solid start in the NCAA Tournament last night, with six Devils scoring in double figures in the 86-62 win over America East champion Binghamton.  The team will get some rest today with last night’s contest not ending until around midnight and then spend a day scouting and practicing at the Greensboro Coliseum.

After taking an 11-point lead into the break, the team jumped on the Bearcats and put the game out of reach with a 17-2 run to start the second half.   “We said that the first four minutes (of the second half) we have to come out of the gate and not only play tough defense but really attack the offensive boards,” said Coach K.  ”They did that to the highest level for that five-minute period and just broke the game open.”   After the run, the coliseum started to empty with mostly only the Duke fans sticking around.  It is on to the second round for the 12th time in 13 years with a talented Texas squad awaiting.

“Everybody came out confident, and everybody was in the right mindset to win,” said Lance Thomas.  ”We went out and executed.  It’s good to get a win in this tournament, whether it’s a one-point win or 25-point win.  A win is a win in this thing.  The more you win, the more confidence the team gets.”

Fast Fact Duke scored 24 points off 15 Binghamton turnovers.

Quote of the Day “I have Duke going all the way in my bracket.” Kyle Singler, when asked about Coach K’s comments on President Obama’s tourney bracket