Duke Blue Planet BLOG » Ballgames

(10) Duke 85, (5) UNC 84

Dave Bradley — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:23:28 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays

Turning Point

Blue Devil Ballers

Austin Rivers scored a career-high 29 points (9-16 FG, 6-10 3pt) including a game-winning, buzzer-beating 3pt field goal to cap one of the most memorable Duke/UNC games of all-time. Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly added 15 points in the victory.

Duke Data

22 — Wins by Duke in the past 32 games against UNC, including five of six

0 — Seconds in the second half in which Duke led… Austin’s buzzer-beater dropped through as time expired to give Duke its only lead of the first half.

1 — Duke/UNC games that have ended on a buzzer-beater (this game was the first)

14 — 3pt FG’s by Duke in the game (14-36 3pt), compared to 1 for UNC (1-6 3pt)

Coach K’s Comments

“It’s a great basketball game. North Carolina, I still think, is the best team in our league. They’re so big on the boards. Zeller in the first half was magnificent, and then Barnes, they have guys who can try to take the game over that they go to. Zeller’s first half and Barnes’s second half were tough to overcome. We hung in there, we kept fighting. We could not hit a shot at the start of the second half, or even the first 10 minutes of the second half. I thought we were getting decent shots. We tried to tell our guys not to get down about missing. I thought initially at the start of the second half, when we missed like that, a couple layups, they scored right away because we were still thinking about the missed layups.”

Locker Room Reaction

“I saw it on target, and your heart drops for just a second. Because you don’t know. It was the slowest shot I’ve ever seen. When it went through the hoop and I saw the buzzer ring … it was the best feeling of my life. It was amazing… This is a huge win for us, because this is a momentum thing. Winning a game like this could provide us with something to go on. It’s amazing how things can turn. That’s why you never give up.”
Austin Rivers

“From the beginning, we believed we could win this basketball game. Down to the last few seconds, we believed.”
Ryan Kelly

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Rivers Hit Buzzer-Beater

Notes — Team and player updates

Rivers may have changed course of season

Why Rivers Picked Duke

Rivers etched name in rivalry

Rivers lives up to moment

Notes

*Next up: Duke plays Maryland in Cameron at 4 PM on Saturday (ESPN).

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Miami 78, Duke 74 (OT)

Dave Bradley — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:52:39 +0000

The Blue Devils fell to 19-4 (6-2 ACC) on the year with an overtime loss to Miami. Seth Curry (22 points) helped spark a second-half comeback for Duke but missed free throws proved costly in OT. For a summary and stats: Recap | Box Score

(7) Duke 75, VA Tech 50

Dave Bradley — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:32:01 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays

Turning Point

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.

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Duke Tops VA Tech

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke meets Miami in Cameron on Sunday (3 PM, ESPNU).

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(8) Duke 83, St. John’s 76

Dave Bradley — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:03:15 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

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

Crazies

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Duke Holds on to beat St. John’s

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke visits VA Tech on Thursday (7 PM, ESPN).

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(8) Duke 74, Maryland 61

Dave Bradley — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:46:47 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

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

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Plumlee Lifts Duke

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke meets St. John’s Saturday at noon on ESPN.

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FSU 76, (4) Duke 73

Dave Bradley — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:46:18 +0000

Recap | Box Score

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).

(4) Duke 91, Wake 73

Dave Bradley — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:11:22 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

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

Crazies

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Dawkins, Rivers, Kelly Lead Duke

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke faces FSU in Cameron on Saturday (4 PM, ESPN).

Welcome G & Corey

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(8) Duke 73, Clemson 66

Dave Bradley — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:29:20 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

Duke opened the second half on a 14-7 run to push the Blue Devil lead to 46-33. Clemson rallied to within four but Duke held on for the win.

Blue Devil Ballers

Andre Dawkins scored 24 points (7-12 FG) while Mason Plumlee contributed 12 points and 7 boards. Quinn Cook had a solid outing as well with 10 points and 2 assists. Miles Plumlee scored 6 points and collected 14 boards.

Duke Data

26-2 — Duke record in the past 28 games against Clemson

83.3% — Duke’s FT% in the game (15-18 FT) compared to 50% for Clemson (10-20)

7 — Charges taken on the season by Ryan Kelly, tops on the team

Coach K’s Comments

“I’m really proud of our guys. We played a really good team tonight. Brad [Brownell] is such a good coach and those guys are veterans. They did an outstanding job tonight and the crowd was great. Our guys came off a great win against Virginia and to come on the road and tough it out was a good win for us. Obviously, Andre played an outstanding game. His three-point shot when we had a four-point lead was huge shot. Miles Plumlee was a force for us with 14 rebounds. Down the stretch, our guys hit free throws and I thought we finished the game very well.”

Locker Room Reaction

“It feels good. The last few games, my shot hasn’t really been there but I’ve been getting in a lot of extra (practice) shots. Hopefully I can build on this. A lot of times I’ve had good games then fallen back a little… Part of it is human nature. You get some success and you get complacent. That’s what separates the great ones. They get some success and they want more.”
Andre Dawkins

“It’s pick your poison. They have so many good players, it’s hard to keep them all down.”
Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell, on Duke

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Dawkins Pushes Duke

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke faces Wake Forest back home in Cameron on Thursday (7 PM, ESPN).

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(8) Duke 61, (16) UVA 58

Dave Bradley — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:29:10 +0000

In Pictures | Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

GoDuke.com Highlights

Turning Point

A 23-10 Duke run at the start of the second half turned a four-point Duke deficit into a 53-42 lead with 9:37 left. Virginia had a chance to tie with a triple on the game’s last possession but missed a pair of attempts from downtown.

Blue Devil Ballers

Mason Plumlee had a strong second half and finished the game with 12 points and seven boards. Austin Rivers and Seth Curry each scored 11, Andre Dawkins chipped in 10 points, and Ryan Kelly contributed nine points and seven boards.

Duke Data

19 — Consecutive wins by Duke in ACC home openers

17-1 — Duke’s record in the past 18 games against UVA (Duke hasn’t lost at home to the Cavs since 1995)

29.4% — UVA’s FG% in the second half, compared to 60.9% for Duke

1 — Teams this season that have shot better than 50% from the floor against UVA (Duke shot 52.2% in the game)

Coach K’s Comments

“That was an unbelievable game. It was a war. I thought both teams competed at the highest level. It was really a terrific win for our kids because they had to fight for 40 minutes against an outstanding team, a veteran team obviously and an extremely well-coached team with a player who’s playing probably as well as anybody in the country. Thirty-two points in the first half, [Mike Scott] had 16, but he probably was a part of six or eight more with his passes. Basically, he was responsible for 60 percent of their offense in the first half. When a man does that in this type of game, he’s a helluva player. I’m proud of our guys. I thought they never quit. They played strong. The Plumlees, I thought, were the key to the game, their physicality and our defense. I thought we played much better defense on Scott in the second half, and that was both Mason and Miles. I also thought it was by far the best defensive game that Andre Dawkins has ever played. Everyone talks about his shooting, but he really played well defensively. And we did a good job against [Sammy] Zeglinski and [Joe] Harris. Those three kids – Scott, Harris and Zeglinski – are their guys. And we were able to at least limit Harris and we were fortunate we shut down Zeglinski. And then we thought Scott couldn’t beat us by himself but he was doing a good job of it for a while. Great win for us. I’m proud of my guys. We’re young, and I think our schedule has helped us. We’ve played such a tough schedule, so it helped us in today’s game.”

Locker Room Reaction

“That was a huge win for us. We’ve won games in crunch time, and I think we showed it again. I was really proud of our team because we won a different type of game. This was a low-scoring game, possession-by-possession. We had to execute and then we had to defend, and I thought we did a really good job of that.”
Mason Plumlee

“They’re a great team. I think people know who they are, but they’re still kind of underrated. Virginia is a great team. Every team they play, whether it’s us, North Carolina, it’s going to be a great game – if they play Kentucky, Kansas. They’re older, they’re smart, and the way they play kind of frustrates a lot of teams, especially teams like us or Kentucky or Carolina that have a lot of athletic players that like to get up and down. That’s how we like to play, and when you have someone like Virginia, really smart guys who slow it down, it changes a lot of things. And we were able to stay strong mentally and get through it.”
Austin Rivers

Crazies

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — No. 8 Duke Outlasts No. 16 Virginia

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke visits Clemson for a Sunday matchup at 6 PM (ESPNU).

*Former players Reggie Love and Matt Christiansen attended the game.

*Gen. Dempsey — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — attended the game and spoke to the team in the locker room afterward.

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Mason caught this lob (left-handed) and converted the alley-oop

(5) Duke 81, GA Tech 74

Dave Bradley — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:28:09 +0000

In Pictures Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

Georgia Tech rallied from 18 down to close within two in the second half. With a chance to tie or take the lead, Austin Rivers stole a Yellow Jacket pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup with 1:56 left. Ryan Kelly made all 14 of his free throw attempts in the game, including eight in the game’s final 36 seconds.

Blue Devil Ballers

Ryan Kelly scored a career-high 21 points on just four field-goal attempts (3-4 FG, 14-14 FT). Seth Curry scored 15 points and Quinn Cook contributed 10 points and five assists in his first start.

Duke Data

13 — Duke halves, out of the past 14, in which the Blue Devils have scored at least 40 points

9 — Turnovers by Duke in the game (a season-low)

80.6% — Duke’s FT% in the game (29-36 FT) compared to 63.2% for GA Tech (12-19 FT)

14-14 — Ryan Kelly from the charity stripe, matching Gene Banks (1980) and JJ Redick (2005) for second-most free throws made without a miss in a Duke game (Dick Groat was 17-for-17 in 1950)

Coach K’s Comments

“We won a terrific game. I thought both team played really well. Welcome to the ACC. Brian’s (Gregory) team was well prepared. Crowd was good. I thought we started out great. We had a chance to go 20,15 up. We had some open looks and when we didn’t knock those open looks down I think we showed a lack of experience. I think we came down on the defensive end still thinking about the open shot we missed and then there’s Glen Rice (Jr.) and he’s open and he’s hit a three. Once Rice got going, I thought Tech got going. He’s a high level player, a high level athlete. He made some shots where I thought we had good defense. Once he got going he was really good. Udofia, I thought he played one of his best games this year. I watched about 6 of their games before this and I like him a lot. He’s a great kid and he’s got a rhythm also. I thought they played well. We had to play really well to win and there was a lot of game pressure on at the end to see our guys respond that way is terrific. This was our first ACC game and we started two freshmen. I know people think of Duke and we’ve got these chiseled guys who are All-Americans right away and that doesn’t happen. You have to gain your experience and I thought Quinn Cook played a great game on the road against a very athletic perimeter. The way he started was why we started so well I think. I thought he gave us a great verve. Our foul trouble and lack of defensive rebounding gave us trouble in the first half. Tech’s a really good rebounding team and they’ve outrebounded most of their opponents I think. They beat us by twelve today but they had ten offensive rebounds in the first half. Ryan (Kelly) was terrific to go 14 for 14 and at the end 10 for 10. Our best play was to say, ‘Mason if they score get it into Ryan.’ That was the best play I called all day. Good thing they saved a seat for me on the plane. I got one thing right today. We’re proud of our effort and we beat a really good team who I think had a great effort against us.”

Locker Room Reaction

“It’s a new lease on life, really. We were all 0-0 in coming into today and we’re 1-0 now. That’s all that matters. Everything else is done, and we’ve got to focus on the ACC.”
Ryan Kelly

“Guys made some big plays to help us win. It showed a lot of toughness on the road in the ACC, and that’s what we need.”
Seth Curry

“I just got good advice from Tyler. He told me to stay ready, stay sharp, and once I got that first shot on the first play, I knew it was going to be a good day.”
Quinn Cook

“Everyone thinks we’re Duke, and we have guys with beards and hair on their chests, sailing the seas with pirates. But we started two freshmen today.”
Coach K, on his young and developing team

Crazies

Duke fan Andre drove in from Memphis to attend the game

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — No. 5 Duke Holds Off GA Tech

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke plays No. 23 Virginia in Cameron on Thursday (9 PM, ESPN).

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