Duke extends NCAA-best non-conference home win streak to 77 with win over Tulsa
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Turning Point
With the score tied at 34 a minute into the second half, a Brian Zoubek layup ignited an 18-3 Duke run. The Blue Devils led by double digits the rest of the way.
Blue Devil Ballers
Nolan Smith scored 19 points, Kyle Singler added 18 and Zoubs recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
Duke Data
16-0 — Duke’s home record in 2009-10, matching the Cameron record for most wins in a single season
41 — Consecutive home wins against unranked opponents by Duke
10 — Teams this season that Duke has limited to under 20% shooting from 3-point range (Tulsa was 1-of-10 from downtown)
15.3 — Offensive rebounds per game by Duke on the year, on pace for a school record (Duke had 18 offensive boards against Tulsa)
Coach K’s Comments
“We won a hard-fought game tonight. We knew that it would be that way when we scheduled the game … Tulsa’s had a great tradition of basketball for decades really. They’ve been one of the really good programs in the United States and a who’s who of coaches – the head coaches there. They got down a little bit and Doug [Wojcik], over the time that he’s been there, has really done a great job. I find it hard to say that for a Navy guy, but he’s done a great job … And his kids play hard. Those kids won 25 games a season the last two years. They’ll have a great shot in their conference tournament. The kid, [Ben] Uzoh is a big-time player. Anybody in our league would love to have that kid. That’s why he’s, I think he’s the third-leading scorer in the history of their school. Anybody in our league would like to have [Jerome] Jordan, I’ll tell you that . And their other kids play hard – [Justin] Hurtt – I like their team. I thought they outscrapped us in the first half. I thought we thought we were going to be able to knock them out, and they’re not a team that’s going to get knocked out. And then we kind of rushed everything. We looked rushed in the first half. And in the second half, we tried to play more of a half court game. And I thought we played with a lot of poise and we played great defense in the second half … Brian [Zoubek] and Lance [Thomas] were all over the boards. The second half we dominated the boards because I think they outrebounded us in the first half. In the second half, we were all over the boards, and those two kids had double-figure rebounds. Our bench helped us a lot in the second half. It was a hard, well-earned win for us.”
Locker Room Reaction
Jon Scheyer on playing a non-league game during the heart of ACC season: “This is our second to last home game. We just want to make the most of it and we were really excited to play. It is a little bit of an adjustment, because you are just used to how intense and how much ACC games mean, but this meant a lot to us in our second to last home game, we don’t want to lose at home. So, that was something for us going into this game.”
Sixth Man
Zoubs had another outstanding performance and the Crazies sincerely enjoyed it (as seen here, here, here, and here!). It was Senior Night in Cameron for students with the soon-to-be graduates enjoying their second-to-last home game as students (but not as Crazies).
Around the Web
Box score — Stat recap
AP recap — Duke pushes past Tulsa
Quotes — Coach and player comments
Tulsa enters Devils’ lair — Golden Hurricane excited about playing in Cameron
Notes
*Dr. Art Chandler, the public address announcer in Cameron for the past 40 years, was honored at halftime with a video message from Coach K and a Duke rocking chair. He will be retiring after our final home game of the year on March 6th against UNC.
*Next up: Duke hits the road and returns to ACC action on Sunday at Virginia (7:45 PM on Fox Sports Net).
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