Posted On: March 19, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (0)

Duke did not have any trouble what so ever in their opening round match up against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday night as they cruised to a 73-44 victory. The Golden Lions had no chance down low as the Blue Devils controlled the boards and got the ball in Kyle Singler’s hands as he took the game over and scored a team high 22 points and grabbed ten rebounds.

Jon Scheyer hit three three pointers and knocked down a free throw as he chipped in with 13 points. Lance Thomas add 12 for the Blue Devils while Nolan Smith had ten of his own points on 3 of 10 shooting. Scheyer and Smith didn’t need to score as much as usual as Singler took the game over but expect Scheyer and Smith to really step up on Sunday as the team will need them to knock down more shots to move into the Sweet 16.

It should be an interesting game against Louisville and CAL tonight. I’m pulling for CAL as I think Duke matches up better against them but I actually think Louisville will come away with the victory. What do you think?

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

Posted On: March 14, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (2)

In a pretty surprising seeding, Duke has been placed in the South Region and earned the #3 overall seed in the tournament. Almost everyone had thought that Syracuse would be sent to the South region but instead they were sent out West and Duke to received the spot in the South. So what does this mean for Duke after they won the ACC Tournament on Sunday?

Duke will take on the play-in game winner of Winthrop and Arkansas State Pine Bluff. The second round match up could be a very tough game for Duke as they could possibly take on Louisville who knocked off Syracuse a couple of times this season. I’ll be rooting for CAL to knock off Louisville in the first round game that is for sure.

Overall a lot of people and fans think that Duke has a pretty easy draw. I think if they can get by the second round game against Louisville or CAL, they would match up good against Texas A&M or Purdue in a Sweet 16 contest.

One thing is for certain, it’s tournament time and there will be upsets. Hopefully things work out for the Blue Devils this year and they can make it all the way to the Final Four and come away with a Championship!

Follow us all the way through the tournament on Twitter @justdukecom

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Category: Duke Basketball

Posted On: March 9, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (2)

What’s going on Duke fans? Sorry for not having a blog article up after the Duke crushing of North Carolina on Saturday night. No matter what I would have said, it probably wouldn’t have made any since as I had a few too many adult beverages during the game. (I blame @TheVermonster for that!). Anyways, what a butt kicking it was on Senior night for the Blue Devils. John Scheyer and company finally got their first win over the Tar Heels at Cameron and they set themselves up for a nice run in the upcoming ACC Tournament.

The Duke/Carolina battle didn’t live up to past games as Carolina was beaten like a little kid after they got caught drawing on the home walls.  Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith knocked down early three’s as Duke jumped out to a huge lead and never looked back. At one point we were all tweeting on twitter like Duke was going to win by 50+ points. They didn’t win by that many but the 82-50 victory was good enough and on Senior night you couldn’t ask for much more.

Duke is set to face the winner of the Boston College vs Virginia game in their first game of the 2010 ACC Tournament. The game will be played at noon eastern on Friday. I don’t think Duke will have a problem with the game on Friday but will run into battles on Saturday and Sunday. I hope to catch some of the games but  I will be out of town for pretty much the entire tournament as I watch some state basketball here in Nebraska. Yeah I know, what am I thinking lol.

Expect to see Scheyer, Smith and Singler to continue knocking down shots while Zoubek and company grab the boards. I like Duke’s chances of the ACC Tournament Champs and also being a number one seed in the big tournament that will kick off next Thursday. What’s everyone’s  thoughts on March Madness?

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

Posted On: March 3, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (2)

Well Duke fans, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about after watching the game Wednesday night. You know anytime that the Terps and Blue Devils collide that it will be a tough game for both teams and that was exactly the way it was. Maryland jumped out to a huge lead during the first 12 minutes of the game, Duke then rallied to only be down two at half time which seemed like a huge accomplishment the way they were shooting the ball in the first half. However, in the end it was Maryland coming away with the 79-72 victory on their Senior night.

You have to give a lot of credit to the players for battling back late in the first half. That goes to show you what Coack K expects from his team and can get when everyone is on the same page.  The difference in the game was basically Maryland converting their baskets late in the game and Duke not making theirs.  Sometimes you get the breaks and sometimes you don’t.

Even with the loss, Duke still sits at the top of the ACC standings along with Maryland. With a tough game on Saturday night against North Carolina up next, the Blue Devils will need to come out and pick up a huge win to make sure they at least get a share of the ACC Conference regular season crown. I think they get it done, and we will be right back here on Saturday or Sunday talking about the game. I will also be tweeting live during the game so make sure to follow us on twitter @justdukecom

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

Posted On: February 28, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (1)

Duke had no problems going on the road and dominating the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday night. Virginia was embarrassed on their home court as Duke jumped out to a quick 20-4 lead and never looked back in their 67-49 victory. Some had thought that Duke might be looking ahead to the Maryland game on Wednesday but that was not the case as they got the Virginia crowd out of the game right away and settled into their own game plan and had no problems moving the ball around and knocking down wide open shots.

Kyle Singler led all scorers with 21 points. He was closely followed by guard Jon Scheyer who chipped in 20 of his own points. Singler and Scheyer both could have scored over 25 points each had they not say on the bench for several minutes in the second half due to the blowout score. After the game Scheyer had this to say about where the team stands.

“I think we’re in a good place now,” he said. “We’ve improved a lot overall. … Our defense is really good and it’s been a strength all year. We need to keep getting better.”

So now the Blue Devils will prepare for a big game at College Park Wednesday night. Duke is 12-2 in ACC play while the Terrapins are 11-3. Big week for Duke basketball with the Maryland and North Carolina games. Let’s get these last two wins and look forward to the ACC Tournament next weekend!

Just another reminder that we are on twitter @justdukecom

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

Posted On: February 21, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (1)

Duke and Virginia Tech squared off at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday night and it was another tough battle in the ACC conference. Duke pulled away late in the game to come away with a 67-55 victory but it sure did not come easy. Va Tech came ready to play and brought some physical play trying to slow down the Duke offense. It was the Blue Devils however that closed out the game like the better team should always do.

I know I talk about Brian Zoubek’s play a lot and usually it is on the negative side but Sunday night he was a man down low. Zoubek grabbed 16 rebounds (8 on the offensive side) and showed the Crazies why he should be on the court more. Zoubek is finding his niche with this team and even if it has taken four years to do so, he is starting to peak at the right time and will be an asset to this team the rest of the way as long as he can stay out of foul trouble.

As usual the Blue Devil offense was led by the big three of Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith. Singler led the group with 25 points on 7-15 shooting. Smith wasn’t too far behind in the point column as he poured in 23 points including a big three pointer late in the second half. Scheyer was just 4-19 from the floor but managed to score 15 total points.

Duke has now won six in a row and is 23-4 on the season. the Blue Devils will next be in action on Thursday night when Tulsa visits Cameron for a non-acc game. Fans need to get out on Thursday night as it is the second to last home game of the season. That is unless you are a lucky one with a ticket to the showdown with North Carolina to close out the regular season.

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

Posted On: February 17, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (0)

It was a very sluggish start for the Duke Blue Devils on Wednesday night as they played down in Miami. The good thing was that the team came out of the half time break and really showed what kind of basketball they are capable of playing and should be playing every game. In the second half, Duke outscored Miami 56-37 to come away with a 81-74 victory. As I always say, no win on the road in the ACC conference is an easy one and that was exactly the case against Miami.

The first half was down right terrible for Duke. They were not defending the outside shot at all, they were making careless turnovers and also had foolish fouls. Jon Scheyer sat on the bench for ten  minutes of the first half due to picking up two quick fouls. It was so bad in the first half that Scheyer missed his first nine shots and Nolan Smith missed his first six shots. The ball just wasn’t going in the bucket for the Blue Devils.

Things got turned around in the second half however. Kyle Singler, Scheyer and Smith combined to score 49 points in the second half as they stepped things up on offense. It was the defense that I thought that really got duke going. They made Miami commit 22 turnovers. Some of those turnovers led to fast break points which Duke was not getting in the first half.

Singler was the top scorer with 22 points but was closely followed by Smith who scored 21. Scheyer chipped in with 15 of his own points.

Up next for the Blue Devils will be a contest with Virginia Tech on Sunday night. Remember to follow us on twitter @justdukecom where we tweet during the game!

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes

Posted On: February 10, 2010 By: Cliff Comments: (2)

Wednesday night was the first Duke / North Carolina battle of 2010 and round one went to the Blue Devils who used a late run in the second half to pull away for a 10 point victory. The Blue Devils did not shoot the ball well but used rebounding and defense to key the 64-54 victory in Chapel Hill. When you shoot just 32% in the game you have to find other ways to to win and that is exactly what Duke did against the Tar Heels.

Jon Scheyer was the leading point scorer as he scored 24 points. Kyle Singler chipped in 19 of his own while Nolan Smith added 10. Smith scored all of his points in the second half. Once against it was the Scheyer, Singler and Smith combination that scored the majority of the points.

One downside to the game was Lance Thomas. Thomas left the game in the second half with a knee injury. It could be a pretty serious one and I do expect Lance to at least miss a couple of games to make sure everything is ok. Once we hear more on the injury we will have a blog post update.

All in all Duke got the win no matter how ugly it was. Give the team credit for battling through out the whole game and get the win in the end. A road win in the ACC is never an easy task!

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Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes