Roundball Notebook - February 4, 2013
DUKE WINS TWICE ON
THE ROAD
While the 2011-12 Blue Devils were only the 13th team in ACC history to go undefeated on the road in league play, entering last week, this year's edition of the Blue Devils had yet to
earn their first ACC road win. Duke had two opportunities to correct that anomaly
and did so handily, defeating Wake Forest 75-70 and Florida State 79-60 on the
road to improve to 6-2 in league play and 19-2 overall.
The Wake Forest game was a nail-biter with the score tied at 66-66 with under four minutes remaining, but Seth Curry locked up the narrow victory with some clutch shooting down the stretch. Despite missing his first five three-point attempts of the game, Curry came through when it counted by hitting a three-pointer with 3:01 remaining to put Duke ahead 69-66. The Blue Devils would never relinquish the lead. Mason Plumlee was nothing short of dominant in the win, scoring a career-high 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting while also chipping in nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals against a hungry Wake Forest team that had defeated No. 14 N.C. State at home just eight days prior to hosting Duke.
The Blue Devils carried that momentum into the Florida State game and jumped out to an early 18-2 lead thanks to the hot hands of Curry, Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon who combined for 30 first-half points and 12-of-21 (.571) shooting from the floor. Curry poured in 13 in the first half by himself, sinking three three-pointers on the way to 21 points and five three-pointers for the game. Duke would go on to shoot 11-of-18 (.611) from three-point range with Curry (5-of-7), Cook (4-of-6) and Sulaimon (2-of-4) all shooting 50.0 percent or better.
DUKE WINS CLOSE
GAMES
While the win over Wake Forest, winning close games is
becoming a habit for Duke this season. In games that are within one possession
(three points) in the final three minutes of play, the Blue Devils are 4-0 on
the year. In addition to Wake Forest, Duke has taken No. 2 Louisville, No. 3
Kentucky and No. 4 Ohio State to the wire this season and pulled out victories.
Three of those four victories came on the road.
CURRY &
PLUMLEE HAVE BIG WEEK
Few teams in the country would have had an answer for
Duke's inside-outside duo of Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee last week, as the
senior tandem combined to average 41.0 points per game and led Duke to
back-to-back road wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. Curry scored 21
points in both contests while Plumlee exploded for a career-high 32 points against
Wake Forest. Plumlee absolutely controlled the paint against the Demon Deacons,
finishing 12-of-15 from the field with nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. Curry
responded with his own sharp-shooting against Florida State, finishing 5-of-7
from three-point range and 7-of-11 from the field. On the season, Curry and
Plumlee combine to average 33.9 points per game which is the second highest
scoring average by two ACC players this season. Only Virginia Tech's Erick
Green and Jarrell Eddie, who combine to average 39.4 points per game, are more
productive on the offensive end of the floor.
PLUMLEE UP FOR
OSCAR ROBERTSON TROPHY
Mason Plumlee's case for national player of the year
honors got a bit stronger when the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association (USBWA)
selected him as one of 12 players on the Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player
of the Year Midseason Watch List last Thursday. The announcement came one day
after Plumlee exploded for 32 points at Wake Forest although his season resume
stacks up with anyone in the country. Seven Duke players have won the Oscar Robertson
Trophy, the most recent of which was J.J. Redick who shared the award with former
Gonzaga standout Adam Morrison in 2006.
PLUMLEE NAMED
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT III FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR
For the second straight year, senior Mason Plumlee was
named to the Capital One Academic All-District III Team. Plumlee, who received
Academic All-America first team honors last season, owns a 3.36 grade point
average as a psychology major while also receiving national player of the year
consideration from several major outlets, including the Wooden Award and Oscar
Robertson Trophy. Plumlee is only the fourth Duke player to receive Academic
All-America first team honors and is now eligible to become the first Blue
Devil since Shane Battier in 2000 and 2001 to earn that distinction twice.
REMATCH WITH N.C.
STATE ON THE HORIZON
A rematch between the ACC's two preseason favorites is
slated for this Thursday as Duke hosts N.C. State in Cameron Indoor Stadium at
9 p.m. The Blue Devils will get a shot to avenge the 84-76 loss the Wolfpack
handed them on Jan. 12 at PNC Arena when Duke - playing without Ryan Kelly for
the first time all season - allowed N.C. State five double-figure scorers. Duke
will still be without Kelly, though freshman Amile Jefferson has emerged in his
absence with three double-figure scoring games in Duke's last four outings. The
ACC Network will air the game on select stations across the country. Check your
local listings for providers.
LANGDON AN ACC
LEGEND
ne of the greatest shooters in the history of the
Atlantic Coast Conference, Trajan Langdon, will be honored by the ACC at this
year's conference tournament as one of 13 members of the 2013 ACC Men's Basketball
Legends Class. Langdon, one of six Duke players to earn first team All-ACC
honors three times, closed his career with 1,974 points, 342 three-point field
goals and a .862 free throw percentage. He garnered All-America honors in 1998
and 1999 while guiding Duke to a 69-6 record (31-1 in ACC regular season) in
those two seasons. The Legends will be honored at this year's ACC's Men's
Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., March
14-17. They will be feted at the annual ACC Legends Brunch, which will be held
Saturday, March 16, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Guilford Ballroom of the
Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel, and, later that day, will be introduced to the
Greensboro Coliseum crowd at halftime of the first semifinal game. Ticket information
for the ACC Legends Brunch is available on the ACC website at theACC.com.
LINKED IN
Blue Devils show
support for Eagles (Durham Herald-Sun)
http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/duke/x3714836/Blue-Devils-show-support-for-Eagles
Future NBA
commissioner reflects on time at Duke (GoDuke.com)
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=206176160&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke misses Ryan
Kelly's defense most (ESPN.com)
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/74441/duke-misses-ryan-kellys-defense-most
Plumlee remains
'first option' for Duke (Durham Herald-Sun)
http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/duke/x1733188537/Plumlee-remains-first-option-for-Duke
Lance Thomas
penning success story in NBA (ProjectSpurs.com)
http://www.projectspurs.com/2013-articles/january/former-toro-lance-thomas-penning-success-story-in-nba.html
When Grant Hill and FILA ruled the world (KicksOnFire.com
http://www.kicksonfire.com/2013/01/29/when-grant-hill-and-fila-ruled-the-world/
STAT OF THE WEEK
The NBA's top four scorers in the fourth quarter this season are Kevin
Durant (8.8 points in 9.7 minutes), Kobe Bryant (8.0 points in 8.7 minutes),
Carmelo Anthony (7.3 points in 9.3 minutes) and Kyrie Irving (6.8 points in 7.3 minutes).
-Credit Zach Harper, CBSSports.com
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
Duke Basketball
@dukeblueplanet
Duke's win was largest by an ACC team on road this season
#dukefacts
Chris Collins
@coach_collins
Big win for @CoachPDuke and @Duke_WBB today!! Loved
seeing the 3s raining down! Congrats!!
Steve
Wojciechowski @steve_wojo
"The problem is not the problem; the problem is your
attitude about the problem." Captain Jack Sparrow
Matthew Crisp @derae14lynn
no better way to spend a snow day in KY than to build a
Duke snowman pic.twitter.com/gA5qcU47
grant hill @realgranthill33
Watch Wheel of Fortune this week if you want to see me
having fun on set with Pat and Vanna! #WheelNBA. pic.twitter.com/dLFvDSCE
Shane Battier
@ShaneBattier
Great day at the White House to honor the Champs. What do
you think, Battier 2032? http://yfrog.com/ockcykij
