Duke Blue Planet BLOG

Team effort pushes Duke past Colorado State

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Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

Duke held Colorado State scoreless over the final 5:04 of the first half and outscored the Rams 10-0 during that span.

Blue Devil Ballers

Mason Plumlee filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 10 boards, five blocks and four steals.  Austin Rivers scored a team-high 17 points while Andre Dawkins added 15 points (all in the first half due to a back injury).

Duke Data

40 — Consecutive home wins by Duke (NCAA best)

.846 — Combined shooting percentage of Mason and Marshall Plumlee (11-for-13)

90 — Consecutive wins by Duke against non-conference opponents

Coach K’s Comments

“I thought we beat a really good team tonight – well-coached, not conventional for our league in that you had times that five guys who could play guard out in the game.  They came into the game, I think, leading the country or second in the country in three-point field goal percentage.  In the last four games, we shot 52 percent from the three, so our goal was to try to take away the three as much as possible.  Initially, we gave up a lot of layups but we were taking away the three and trying to get it to their wings a little bit.  I thought the last seven minutes of the half we played great defense when we got that lead.  And we didn’t play very good defense for six minutes, and then the rest of the game we played well defensively.  A lot of guys played.  We shared the ball better than we’ve shared it at any game this year with 21 assists on 31 buckets with only nine turnovers, so that was the best we’ve done that.  It’s a tough game for our big guys to play because they’ve got to play out on the court so much.  I thought the four big guys did a nice job.  This is a tough week for our kids.  A number of them have finals – final projects and final presentations today, a lot of them have them tomorrow.  The week before exams, you can go a little brain-dead with all this stuff and I thought our guys were pretty good.  We’ve got to carry that through to Saturday because we’ll play against the most athletic team we’ve played against in Washington.  But a good job by our team against a very good basketball team.”

Locker Room Reaction

“There’s nothing better than playing in the games, so we practiced hard, we prepared well, and we were ready to play in a game.  There were still some lapses defensively but overall I thought we played well.”
Mason Plumlee

“I don’t think people realize how big practice can be for a team.  We were playing so many games, and I was having a great time – games are games and it’s a lot more fun than practice.  But sometimes when you go a long period of time without practice, you start to forget the fundamentals of what makes your team great. I’m not saying we did that, but I think practice just reiterates some things with our team.  When we went back to practice, everybody started getting back to their roles and playing the way we know we can play, especially on the defensive end, and then we got that victory [tonight].”
Austin Rivers

Crazies

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Rivers Leads Duke

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Notes — Team and player updates

Notes

*Next up: Duke heads to NYC for another round at Madison Square Garden.  The Blue Devils will meet Washington Saturday at noon (CBS).

Fave Photo

Duke wins classic Maui title game over Kansas

In Pictures   Game Gallery | Champs Celebrate

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction
Coming soon

Turning Point

With Duke down 61-60, Tyler Thornton buried a 3 from the corner with 1:12 to go in response to a Kansas triple.  The Blue Devils held on from there, thanks in part to another dramatic 3-pointer by Tyler.

Blue Devil Ballers

Ryan Kelly scored 17 points to earn Maui MVP honors, Mason Plumlee was strong in the paint with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Tyler Thornton hit a pair of huge 3′s to lead Duke past Kansas.

Duke Data

16 — Lead changes in the game featuring two of the most storied programs in college hoops

907 — Career wins by Coach K

5 — Maui Invitational championships won by Duke in five visits to Maui

15-0 — Duke record in Maui all-time

Coach K’s Comments

“I’m happy for Ryan.  I really think Ryan’s going to be one of the best players when he finishes up.  He’s going to be a pro … Ryan, I think was deserving for three straight days in what he did, but he wouldn’t be MVP if Mason didn’t play well tonight.”

“I thought the key guy to the game was Mason.  You know, Mason really played like such a man with physicality and size.   When you’re playing with a guy that’s playing that hard and that demonstrative, it gives you confidence.  It’s tough to single out anybody else, but I’m telling you just effort-wise, I’ve done this a long time, that was the key to the game.  I know he didn’t make the all-tournament team or whatever, but he made my team.  We don’t win this championship without him.”

“It’s a dream shot.  People say it was a lucky shot, but I will tell you I’m lucky to have Tyler on my team to shoot that shot.  Sometimes you’re just on a bus with a guy who deserves to win, and for that moment we were on his bus.  Thank goodness he knew how to drive it.”

“I love the way we competed in the second half.  We really bonded.”

Locker Room Reaction

“I saw the rim.  But it was a tough shot.  When Seth kicked me the ball, I looked at the shot clock, it was three seconds, and I just tried to get up a good shot.  Once it left my hands, I kind of thought it was going to be in and luckily it was.”
Tyler Thornton, on his late 3-pointer

Crazies

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Duke Wins Maui Title

Quotes — Player/coach reaction

Duke’s unlikely heroes — Tyler, Ryan, Mason

Duke outlasts Kansas — Classic Maui final

A closer look — Why Duke was able to pull out the win

Notes

*Austin Rivers was named to Maui’s all-tournament team and Ryan Kelly was named MVP.

*Next up: Duke visits Ohio State for a Tuesday night showdown (9:30 PM EST, ESPN).

Fave Photo

Duke outlasts Michigan to advance to Maui finals for 5th time

In Pictures   Game Gallery

Top Plays/Post-Game Reaction

Turning Point

Duke set the tone early with a 9-0 run to start the game and then a 17-4 first-half spurt pushed the lead to 34-22 at halftime.  Michigan closed to within five five in the second half but the Blue Devils held on for the win.

Blue Devil Ballers

Austin Rivers scored 20 points while Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly each netted 17.

Duke Data

11-21 — Duke 3-point shooting in the game (Michigan was 7-21 from 3-point range)

906 — Career wins by Coach K

5 — Duke appearances in the Maui Invitational title game, in five trips to the island

14-0 — Duke record in Maui all-time

Coach K’s Comments

“It was a great game.  They’re an outstanding basketball team.  They’re very difficult to defend.  I thought defensively in the first half we did a great job.  The second half — you know — they just come at you.  And we were able to weather the storm in the second half.  I thought there was a lot of game pressure when they came back.  And I like the fact that they came back against us and then we responded…  I’m proud of our guys.  Six games in 11 days.  And I thought we were pretty fresh today.”

Locker Room Reaction

“We wanted to be aggressive.  Our teammates did a great job of finding us.  And we tried to stay aggressive, kept pushing it.  Kept trying to get rebounds.”
Austin Rivers, on his work in the backcourt with Seth Curry (the pair combined for 37 points)

Crazies

Around the Web

Box score — Stat recap

AP recap — Duke Outlasts Michigan

Quotes — Coach and player comments

Aloha means Duke wins — Duke defeats Wolverines

Notes

*Next up: Duke meets Kansas in the Maui Championship Game (10 PM EST) on Wednesday (ESPN).

Fave Photo

Mason made all three of his field-goal attempts in the game, including this dunk