Duke
Remains Unbeaten
For
the second time in the last three seasons, the Blue Devils are off to a 9-0
start following a dominant 90-67 win over Temple at the Izod Center in East
Rutherford, N.J. In a theme that's been consistent all season, Duke had four
double-figure scorers led by Seth Curry with 23 points, Mason Plumlee with 16,
and Ryan Kelly and Quinn Cook with 14 apiece. An early 22-8 Duke run set the
tone, as the Blue Devils turned a 13-10 lead to a 35-18 advantage with just
over five minutes remaining in the first half.
A balanced offense has been Duke's calling card all season, as the Blue Devils have had four double-figure scorers in eight consecutive games. Plumlee and Kelly have scored in double figures in every one of those eight games, while Curry, Cook and freshman Rasheed Sulaimon have also averaged double figures.
Blue
Devils Get Game Break to Focus on Finals
Duke
will have 11 days between games now as the Blue Devils step away from the court
to focus on final exams. Duke returns to action Dec. 19th and 20th with home
games against Cornell and Elon before heading off for Christmas break.
Boeheim
Trying to Join 900 Club
Syracuse
head coach Jim Boeheim, a longtime friend of Coach K, is two wins shy of join
Krzyzewski and Bob Knight as the only coaches in NCAA Division I history to
collect 900 career wins. Boeheim has been an assistant coach on Krzyzewski's
USA Basketball staff since 2005.
Keys
to Duke's 9-0 Start
A
few statistical keys to Duke's flawless start this season:
- Balanced scoring: The Blue Devils have a balanced offense with five players averaging in double figures At least four Blue Devils have scored 10 or more points in eight consecutive games.
- Free throws: Duke has made more free throws (170) than any other team in the ACC and is shooting at a .756 clip from the charity stripe. Four of Duke's five starters are shooting 73.1 percent or better from the line with the lone standout being senior Ryan Kelly (.684), who ranked ninth in the ACC with a .807 clip last season.
- Taking care of the basketball: Duke leads the ACC with a 1.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio and has turned the ball over on just 14.5 percent of its offensive possessions. The Blue Devils average 16.0 assists and just 11.4 turnovers per game.
- Forcing turnovers: Duke has forced its opponent into 10 or more turnovers in all but one game (against No. 2 Ohio State) this season. Duke averages 17.6 points off turnovers per game this season.
- Cutting off passing lanes: Duke is allowing the 10th fewest assists per game in the NCAA, surrendering an average of 8.7 helpers. That works out to an assist on just 36.8 percent of opponent field goals, which is tied for the third-lowest percentage in the country.
Curry
Returns to Lineup against Temple
Duke
welcomed Seth Curry back to the lineup after the senior guard missed the Delaware
game with an ankle injury he suffered against Ohio State. It was the first game
Curry had missed during his entire Duke career, but he wasted no time in
showing he was over the injury by hitting his first jump shot of the game on
the way to a team-leading 23 points. Curry went 5-of-9 from the three-point
line, 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Shooting 40.0
percent from the three-point line this season, Curry ranks fourth in the ACC in
scoring (16.1 points per game), second in free throw percentage (.897), eighth
in three-point percentage (.400) and tied for fourth in made three-point field
goals per game (2.3).
Duke
Owns the Meadowlands
The
Meadowlands has been Duke's home away from home under Coach K. The Blue Devils
are 20-1 all-time in the area and won their 12th straight Meadowlands game on
Saturday. Duke is 10-0 in NCAA Tournament games and 10-1 in regular season
games at the Meadowlands. The Blue Devils advanced to five Final Fours at the Meadowlands (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1999).
Duke Basketball Radio Show on Tuesday
The Duke Basketball Radio Show with Chris Collins and
Steve Wojciechowski returns for its third edition of the season this Tuesday
from 7-8 p.m. at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club on the campus of Duke
University. The show airs live from the Bull Durham Bar on WDNC 620 The Buzz,
and fans are invited to join the coaches on location at the Washington Duke
Inn. Fans may submit questions for the show here: http://www.goduke.com//quest/Questionaire.dbml?\QID=73996&DB_OEM_ID=4200.
Listing
the Most Underrated Blue Devils
Dantzler
Smith, a contributing writer for BleacherReport.com,
posted a list of his 15 most underrated players in Duke basketball history. The
list is entirely subjective, but as always, makes for a good discussion.
Smith's top five are below, as well as a link to the entire list.
5.
Trajan Langdon
4.
Tate Armstrong
3.
Jack Marin
2.
Chris Carrawell
1.
Mike Lewis
What do you think about the list? Send your thoughts to @Duke_MBB on Twitter.
Plumlee,
Sulaimon Earn ACC Weekly Honors
Mason Plumlee and Rasheed Sulaimon were honored by the ACC as Co-Player of the Week
and Rookie of the Week, respectively, on Monday after helping Duke top No. 2
Ohio State and Delaware. Plumlee turned in back-to-back double-doubles with 21
points and 17 rebounds against the Buckeyes and 18 points and 11 boards against
Delaware. Sulaimon, meanwhile, scored 17 points against Ohio State - all in the
second half - and another 14 points against Delaware. It was the first ACC
Player of the Week citation this season for Plumlee and the second Rookie of
the Week award for Sulaimon.
Stat
of the Week
For
as much success Duke has had shooting from the three-point line this season -
and for as much of a reputation as a three-point shooting team that Duke
garners - the Blue Devils have scored just 28.3 percent of their points from
threes this season. That ranks as the 155th highest percentage in the country
and Duke's lowest mark since the 2008-09 season. Last year, Duke scored 31.3
percent of its points on three-pointers.
Tweets
of the Week
Duke
Radio @DukeRadio
Curry
said he felt much fresher today after not playing a game since Ohio St. Great
@Duke_MBB stat: 19 assists vs only 6 turnovers.
Blue
Devil Network @BlueDevil_NTWRK
@Duke_MBB
now 9-0 with a great win against Temple! We'll have highlights in the next
#GoDukeWeekly!
Brian
Zoubek @Zoubeard
Had
a sick time at the Duke Temple Game. Hope @steve_wojo @coach_collins
@masonplumlee @RyanKelly34 @sdotcurry + the boys enjoyed dpuffz!!
Indiana
Pacers @Pacers
More
from the set of Parks & Rec with @Hoya2aPacer & @MilesPlumlee13 - http://twitpic.com/bisyd8- courtesy
@MattKryger & @indystar.
grant
hill @realgranthill33
Did
Coach K join the Roc? pic.twitter.com/P1Tpo0Qz
Bobby
Hurley @BobbyHurley11
Duke
made a very good team look ordinary today. They haven't ducked anybody.
Scheduling tough prepares u 4 conference play & March.
Steve
Wojciechowski @steve_wojo
Duke's
98 straight weeks in the Top 10 is 50 weeks longer than any other team.
#dukefacts
Linked
In
Temple
loses to Duke team with legitimate title goals (Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/20121208_Temple_loses_to_a_Duke_team_with_legitimate_title_goals.html
McRoberts
fitting in with Orlando (ESPN.com)
http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/34823/josh-mcroberts-fitting-in-with-orlando
Emergence
of Mason Plumlee makes Duke legitimate championship threat (BleacherReport.com)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1432668-duke-basketball-emergence-of-mason-plumlee-makes-duke-legit-championship-threat
Duke's
Zafirovski, former walk-on, relishes his first bucket (Raleigh News &
Observer)
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/07/2529503/dukes-zafirovski-former-walk-on.html
The
funny man of Duke basketball (Duke Chronicle)
http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/funny-man-duke-mens-basketball
Quote
of the Week
"They're
good guys-like, they hang together. They laugh at each other's jokes. I don't
laugh at most of them. I don't get most of them. The bottom line is they're
good guys and they like one another."
-Head
coach Mike Krzyzewski on his team's chemistry
-d-u-k-e-
