Blue Devils pound Tar Heels on Senior Night to win ACC regular-season title
In Pictures — Game Gallery | Crazies vs. UNC | Senior Night Scenes | ESPN GameDay
Top Plays (and Senior Night Footage)
Turning Point
The Blue Devils hit three straight 3’s (one each by Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith) to race out to a 9-3 lead a little over two minutes into the game. Duke rolled from there, leading by as many as 30 in the first half.
Blue Devil Ballers
Kyle scored a game-high 25 points, which Nolan and Jon added 20 points each (which combining for 12 assists and zero turnovers). The Blue Devil trio outscored UNC in the game by a 65-50 margin. Zoubs was also strong in his final home outing, with eight points (4-4 FG) and 13 boards.
Duke Data
17-0 — Duke’s record in Cameron this year, a new Blue Devil record for most wins in a single season at home
8 — ACC regular-season titles won or shared by Duke in the past 14 years, including 2009-10 thanks to the win over UNC
27 — Duke’s lead at halftime, the biggest advantage at the break for either program in the history of the Duke/UNC rivalry
12 — ACC regular-season titles won by Coach K in his 30 years at Duke
.957 — Duke’s free-throw percentage in the game, a season-high (22-for-23)
42 — Consecutive wins by Duke against unranked opponents at home
20-10 — Duke’s record in the past 30 games against UNC
26.4 — Duke’s average margin of victory at home this year… Duke won every ACC game by at least 12 points and beat every home opponent by double-digits except for St. John’s (a nine-point win)
Coach K’s Comments
“Well we played a full 40 minutes and that was one of the best games we have played all year. Our defensive intensity was there throughout. We really cared for the ball offensively. Our two guards had no turnovers. Jon had seven assists and no [turnovers] and Nolan had five assists and no [turnovers]. Those three veterans on the perimeter set the stage in the first half with how they passed and moved and worked with one another. We played really well. I think we would have been tough to beat tonight against anybody. Our fans were great. Our seniors have been such a good group. They deserve this moment. I am really happy for them.”
Locker Room Reaction
Obviously the seniors were pleased that the outcome of their final home in Cameron secured an ACC regular-season title, a record undefeated season in Cameron and Duke’s largest all-time margin of victory over UNC in Cameron. Said LT, “When that game came here, we wanted to give it our best effort and we did. It hit me [that this is the last home game of his career], but I’m not looking at it as something sad. The way we took care of business tonight, I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life. And I want our younger guys to know that this is the level that you have to bring it to.”
Sixth Man
After camping out for as many as five weeks, the Crazies brought their A game. The DBP decibel meter was in the house and reached as high as 118 db (comparable to a turbo-fan aircraft at takeoff power at 200 feet) on the Nolan Smith drive and dunk.
Around the Web
Box score — Stat recap
AP recap — Duke mauls UNC
Quotes — Player/coach reactions
Big Three Light Up UNC — Singler, Smith, Scheyer score 65
Duke makes a statement – Blue Devils dominate Tar Heels
Cameron Crush — Perfect ending for Duke seniors
Devils stomp Heels — Well-deserved outcome for Duke seniors
UNC gives up without fight — Blue Devils roll in rivalry game
Fitting Goodbye for “Voice of Cameron” — Art Chandler concludes amazing 40-year run as PA voice in style
Growing Together — Jon, LT, Zoubs ready to battle on Senior Night
Notes
*Next up: The ACC Tournament begins Thursday in Greensboro and Duke’s first game will be Friday at noon. The Blue Devils will face the winner of the BC/UVA matchup (televised on ESPN2).
Fave Photos
Terps hit tough shots down stretch to earn ACC win
In Pictures — Game Gallery
Turning Point
With 1:44 left, Maryland scored off an offensive rebound to break a 69-69 tie. The Blue Devils missed a pair of 3’s on our next possession and Maryland pushed the lead to four on a tough one-handed fade-away shot by Greivis Vasquez with 39 seconds left.
Blue Devil Ballers
Nolan Smith led Duke with 20 points, Jon Scheyer added 19 and Kyle Singler scored 14.
Duke Data
6-1 — Duke record in the past seven games against Maryland… The loss snaps a six-game win streak dating back to 2007.
13 — Rebounds in the game by Brian Zoubek
62.5% — Duke’s FT percentage in the game (10-16), compared to Maryland’s 89.5% (17-19)
Coach K’s Comments
“It was just a one shot game. Both teams played so hard and I’m proud of my guys. I thought we played winning basketball. I tell them all the time, if we miss shots, you take your swings and they’re good swings, and you lose, you lose. Just make sure you play your butts off and play to win and I thought that’s what we did tonight. We just came up short. They are to be congratulated; they are playing lights-out basketball, but I thought both teams played really hard. I don’t think one team played better than the other, it was a one possession game and they won.”
Locker Room Reaction
Jon Scheyer: “It comes down to a possession or two of theirs. They made a couple of their shots, we missed a couple of ours. That’s the way it goes.”
Around the Web
Box score — Stat recap
AP recap — Vasquez lifts Maryland
Quotes — Player and coach comments
Notes
*Next up: Duke faces UNC in Cameron on Saturday (9 PM, ESPN). With a victory, Duke claims the top seed in the ACC Tournament and the ACC regular-season championship.
Fave Photo
Kyle Singler scores 21, Jon Scheyer adds 20 as Blue Devils cruise at UVA
In Pictures — Game Gallery
Top Plays
Turning Point
Duke came out of the gates strong and took control with a 20-4 to start the game.
Blue Devil Ballers
Kyle Singer and Jon Scheyer led the way for the Blue Devils. Kyle scored 21 points (6-10 FG, 2-5 3pt), and Jon netted 20 (8-14 FG, 4-7 3pt) to along with three assists and five steals.
Duke Data
134 — With the win, Coach K becomes the ACC’s all-time leader in road wins (134-86), moving past Dean Smith.
19 — Number of seasons under Coach K in which Duke has won 25+ games, including the past three (Duke is 25-4 on the year)
0 — Losses by Duke in the month of February (Blue Devils have won eight games in a row)
13-1 — Duke’s record in the past 14 games against Virginia
Coach K’s Comments
“I thought our team played very well defensively throughout. [Virginia] obviously missed one of the best players in the conference with Landesberg not playing. Sometimes when that happens, you have to be careful that you do not just assume you will win because it is going to be easy. [Virginia] has kids that can really shoot the ball – they have not been shooting it well, but they have during the season. So I thought defensively we did a nice job against them and kind of a workman-like performance, and won. We are pleased with the win.”
Locker Room Reaction
Lance Thomas looking ahead to next week with a road game at Maryland and a home matchup against UNC: “It’s going to be hectic. We have a crazy week ahead of us, but we’re ready for it. We’ve worked to get to this point and we want to finish it off right.”
Around the Web
Box score — Stat recap
AP recap — Duke pushes past Tulsa
Quotes — Coach and player comments
Blue Devils crush Virginia — Devils ready for final road game of year
Duke overwhelms Virginia — Cavs struggle without Sylven Landesberg
Notes
*Next up: Duke travels to Maryland for an ACC showdown against the second-place Terps on Wednesday (9 PM, ESPN).
*Duke can clinch a share of the ACC regular-season title with a win at Maryland or vs. UNC.
Fave Photo
Duke extends NCAA-best non-conference home win streak to 77 with win over Tulsa
In Pictures — Game Gallery
Top Plays
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).
Fave Photo
Late surge pushes Duke past Hokies as Devils win ACC dogfight in Cameron
In Pictures — Game Gallery
Top Plays
Turning Point
With the score tied at 47 with 8:42 left, the Blue Devils went on a 14-4 run sparked by a pair of Nolan Smith free throws and a three-point play by Zoubs.
Blue Devil Ballers
Kyle Singler recorded a second consecutive double-double with 25 points and 10 boards, Nolan Smith scored 23 points, and Brian Zoubek hauled in 16 boards (including eight on the offensive glass).
Duke Data
14-2 — Duke’s record in the past 16 games against the Hokies
27 — Second-chance points scored by Duke in the game, compared to nine by Virginia Tech
15 — Wins in Cameron this season for Duke, marking the ninth time in school history that the Blue Devils have won at least 15 games at home
10 — Three-pointers in the game by Duke (while limiting to Virginia Tech to 2-of-15 shooting from three-point range)
12.7 — Rebounding average by Brian Zoubek in the three recent games he has started for Duke (along with 9.7 PPG in the three starts)
Coach K’s Comments
“Well it is a really big win for us. They are very, very good. Both teams play outstanding defense, so it’s tough to get good looks. We shot 29 percent, I think they shot 32 percent. It’s tough to come by. I thought it was a heck of a game. Even when you got an open look, you were looking to see if someone was going to come there and challenge your shot, because we got some really … some open looks. And we could just not shoot well. You have them for just that instant and then they go away. But then down the stretch, our guys hit everything. When [Virginia Tech] took the lead, [Malcolm] Delaney got that three to go up 45-44, our guys showed a lot of character in winning this ball game. Zoubek’s three-point play was huge. It gave us a five-point lead and then we hit a three at eight points … it just gave us that separation. Then we went up 11 on another three. Our defense was outstanding at the end. We didn’t make any turnovers, so we handled the end of game situation very well. Zoubek getting 16 rebounds is fantastic. He was just so hungry on the boards. Singler played a great game. Defensively, 25 [points] and 10 [rebounds] and some of his offensive rebounds that turned into buckets were huge plays in this game. As you go through a game like this, when buckets are hard to come by and all of the sudden Kyle just getting an offense board and willing it in the basket, you know Kyle is playing very well right now. He has played pretty good all year but he is playing really well right now. I mean we scored 67 points and we hit a three at the end, so it’s like mid-60s and they are mid-50s and Kyle has 25 and 10. That is a heck of a performance.”
Locker Room Reaction
It was another big game for Zoubs as the senior grabbed 16 points and had a key three-point play in the second half that pushed Duke ahead to stay. Said Nolan, “Brian’s been making so many plays for us like that. When he makes those plays, it really gives us a lift and that’s what happened from that play. We really got going. He’s just playing tremendous basketball.” Added Kyle, “Defensively and offensively, he’s been huge for us. He’s kind of our glue guy. He sets great screens for us. Defensively, he’s a big body and rebounds, and he’s very valuable for us.”
Sixth Man
The Crazies seemed to be hoping for a Thanksgiving-style feast in February (as seen here and here). Also, this mini Blue Devil got his own chant from the Crazies (”AWESOME DEVIL”) and was recognized by the full-sized, official Blue Devil.
Around the Web
Box score — Stat recap
AP recap — Duke drops Virginia Tech
Triple threat — Singler, Smith, Scheyer lead Duke to victory
Devils do enough — Rebounding, defense key in win
Notes
*Next up: Duke takes a break from ACC play with a home matchup Thursday against C-USA foe Tulsa (7:00, ESPN2).
Fave Photo
