Duke broke away with a 13-2 late in the first half to push the lead to 13. The Blue Devils were in control the rest of the way.
Blue Devil Ballers
Austin Rivers led the Blue Devils with 18 points and added five assists and five rebounds. Ryan Kelly scored 15 points.
Duke Data
16-3 — Duke’s record in the past 19 games against Virginia Tech
.474 — Ryan Kelly’s 3pt FG percentage (tops in the ACC)… Ryan was 2-for-4 from downtown in the game.
13 — Turnovers in the game by VA Tech (compared to just seven for Duke)
Coach K’s Comments
“I thought our guys were very mature tonight. We played outstanding defense and we didn’t turn the ball over. We only had seven turnovers… We knew Virginia Tech would be ready for us. Your back is up against the wall when you lose a few games in our conference.”
Locker Room Reaction
“Everybody’s so unselfish now and it makes everything fun.” Austin Rivers
“It was 100 percent effort tonight. Things weren’t perfect. But guys played hard for 40 minutes and were willing to sacrifice their bodies for all 40 minutes. If we continue to do that, good things are going to happen.” Ryan Kelly
Crazies
A few Duke fans made it out to Virginia Tech including this young Crazie.
Duke used a 20-3 first-half run to lead 45-29 at the break. St. John’s closed to within four late in the game but the Blue Devils held on.
Blue Devil Ballers
Duke’s leading scorers were Ryan Kelly (16 points), Mason Plumlee (15 points), Andre Dawkins (14 points) and Austin Rivers (12 points). Mason hauled in a career-high 17 boards as well.
Duke Data
94 — Consecutive wins by Duke at home against non-league teams
11-0 — Duke’s record this season when scoring at least 80 points
5 — Consecutive opponents Duke has out-rebounded (39-36 was the margin in this game)
Coach K’s Comments
“I didn’t think we played well and St. John’s had something to do with that because they came to play. Those two kids especially [Moe] Harkless and [D’Angelo] Harrison are just outstanding basketball players. Harkless had a terrific stat line against us. I thought the first half we played well defensively and we have to finish plays. Quite frankly, we should have had over 60 points in the first half I think we had 45. Even at the start of the game we missed so many shots inside. I thought we started the second half well and once we got a lead. Some of it has to do with our kids taking two days off. This has been a very hard month and you know throughout a season a team goes through energy cycles where for this part of time you have to do this and then you get rejuvenated, but at least they feel like we’re going to win, we’re up by 22 or 20 or 18 or 19 and the execution defensively was not there during the second half and St. John’s stayed in it which shows to their character. Then you start missing a couple of shots and you got a lot of game pressure on you. I think our team showed they had game pressure on them, like how are we in this position right now. Well I can tell you, by not playing defensive, not finishing. That’s what the game does, every game, not just in basketball, but in every game, when you have the opportunity to knock someone out; you have to knock them out especially if the other team is going to keep fighting, like St. John’s would. If you play a team that doesn’t have that kind of character, you can get away with it. But these kids are striving to build something and they are playing their best basketball. They just beat West Virginia by double-figures and had Villanova. They feel good about themselves and so you have to stay with it and I don’t think we stayed with it and they did. We did enough to win, which almost makes me sick to say, I hate saying that. I hate saying we did enough to win. That’s not who I am and that’s not who this program is. We don’t do enough to win. We play really good basketball and hopefully we win. And that’s the story.”
Locker Room Reaction
“In the second half, we weren’t as aggressive on the offensive end and our defense was very poor. When you play defense like that, they start getting good looks and knocking down shots. They got their confidence going and we kind of tightened up. We were turning the ball over and not making good basketball plays.” Ryan Kelly
“It was pretty much an embarrassment to go out there and play well for 20 minutes and then in the second half, be a totally different team. That’s totally on my shoulders to go out there and try and handle the ball and not turn it over and try and get us in a position to win games. We didn’t do that.” Seth Curry
Duke trailed 47-46 with 12:54 left but outscored Maryland 28-14 the rest of the way.
Blue Devil Ballers
Mason Plumlee scored a season-high 23 points while grabbing 12 boards and dishing out four assists. Ryan Kelly scored 14 points and Austin Rivers added 10.
Duke Data
10-1 — Duke’s record in the past 11 meetings with Maryland
94.4% — Duke’s FT% in the game, 10th best in school history and tops since March 6, 2001
40-28 — Scoring margin in the paint (favoring Duke)
Coach K’s Comments
“I’m proud of our team. I thought we beat a very energized, well-prepared team tonight. Maryland played with all their hearts, you could tell. They were quick, their game-plan was well conceived, and they knocked us back 18-10. We started playing better defense the last 10 minutes of the first half, and to start the second half they knocked us back again. The crowd was really into it, and in the last 16 minutes of the game we played really well. In the last 10, we got a lot of those scrum balls, just those tough balls to get. In the last four minutes, the play Mason made was spectacular tonight. I thought his best play was when he got that loose ball, he dove for it with a real sense of urgency. Down the stretch, we really executed well, hit our free throws, and it was a big win for us. Any win on the road is big, they have a great crowd, it was a big night for Maryland basketball, and for our guys to come out on top was really good for our team.”
Locker Room Reaction
“The openings were there and [my teammates] got me the ball. I kind of struggled the last two games, so I was in need of a game like this individually. But more importantly, collectively everybody came to play. We didn’t have any weak links and everybody contributed.” Mason Plumlee
“We had two really good days of practice leading up to this and prepared for [Maryland]. You’re not going to play against a team that has a greater crowd at their home court and you have to be amped up for it. For us to respond the way we did was a good sign for our team.” Ryan Kelly
The Blue Devils fell to 16-3 and 4-1 in the ACC after FSU connected on a pair of 3′s at the buzzer to close the first and second halves. Duke returns to action Wednesday at Maryland (9 PM, ESPN).
Andre Dawkins hit seven 3′s in the first half to push the Duke lead to as much as 16 points. The Devils led the rest of the way.
Blue Devil Ballers
Andre Dawkins scored 21 points, while Austin Rivers and Rylan Kelly each had 20.
Duke Data
14 — Consecutive wins by Duke over Wake Forest by double digits
47.8% — Duke’s 3pt FG% in the game (11-for-23)
39-30 — Rebounding margin in the game (favoring Duke)
Coach K’s Comments
“I thought our guys did a good job tonight. And I thought [Wake Forest] did a good job. I thought [head coach] Jeff [Bzdelik] did what his team would do – throw away their last game and really pay attention to what they’ve done the whole season, which is play good basketball. They were 10-6 before the last game, and their offense is well-conceived. Their kids play hard, and we had to play well to win. I thought Andre’s performance in the first half was phenomenal and that gave us that 13-point lead. He was a key for them in the second half and it opened it up. I was impressed with Seth’s performance in the second half with three fouls. Because Andre was getting so much attention, it kind of opened up some things for us. And then Austin and Ryan coming off the bench was outstanding. So good performance, quick turnaround and a huge game on Saturday.”
Locker Room Reaction
“I feel like I’m more focused than I ever have been here at Duke. After the Clemson game, all you hear is, ‘He’s done this before. It’s happened before and then he comes back and falls off again.’ I pay attention to that stuff, and I’m trying to prove people wrong. My coaching staff the last few days has really been encouraging me to keep it going and keep the good things moving forward.” Andre Dawkins
“It’s always big when you can score early, especially around the basket and to get some things in transition and layups around the basket. It really gets you going and then fortunately we had Andre to take it from there.” Ryan Kelly
“Duke has a lot of fire power, and they were able to do a great job at spacing the court because of their ability to shoot from not one player or two players, but several players.” Wake Forest Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
