DUKE 2011/2012 Party of NSanity

Duke to Face Ohio State in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

2011-05-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

Duke will travel to Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, Nov. 29 to face Ohio State in the premier matchup of the 13th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge presented by Dick's Sporting Goods. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge will be played Nov. 29 & 30 with all 12 games being shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com.

This year's event - featuring top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioner's Cup - will include 11 teams that played in the 2011 NCAA Tournament: Clemson, Duke, Florida State and North Carolina from the ACC and Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.

Duke (No. 5) and Ohio State (No. 3) both rank in the top 5 of ESPN.com's 2011-12 Preseason Top 25, while North Carolina (No. 1), Wisconsin (No. 11), Florida State (No. 21) and Michigan (No. 23) are also ranked in the poll. Miami, Virginia and Michigan State are listed among a group of teams fighting for a spot in the preseason poll.

The ACC won the first 10 Challenges before falling by 6-to-5 margins in each of the last two seasons. Overall, the ACC has won 72 of the 119 games played in Challenge history with Duke leading the way with an 11-1 record. Boston College (6-0) is the only team with a higher winning percentage than the Blue Devils.

Duke, playing its third true road game in the last four years in the Challenge, is 3-1 all-time in Big Ten/ACC Challenge road games. The Blue Devils are 1-0 against Ohio State with a 91-76 win over the Buckeyes on Dec. 3, 2002 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Since 2000, the ACC (10) and the Big Ten (nine) have combined for 19 Final Four appearances and six national titles: Duke (2001 & 2010), North Carolina (2009 & 2005), Maryland (2002) and Michigan State (2000). The ACC leads in NCAA Tournament victories (355), NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.665), and Final Four appearances (44) while the Big Ten is first in Tournament appearances (203).

2011 Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule - Times and Networks are to be determined
(Rankings refer to preseason top 25 by ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz)

Tuesday, November 29
Miami at Purdue
Northwestern at Georgia Tech
Illinois at Maryland
No. 23 Michigan at Virginia
Clemson at Iowa
No. 5 Duke at No. 3 Ohio State

Wednesday, November 30
Indiana at N.C. State
Penn State at Boston College
No. 21 Florida State at Michigan State
Virginia Tech at Minnesota
Wake Forest at Nebraska
No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 1 North Carolina

Duke advances to field of 16 with win over Michigan

2011-03-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

-Duke hangs on, resorts to Coach K's old school play of holding the damn ball for the last 5+ minutes and we all get to watch as a 12 pt lead diminishes to 2... A shot clock violation, really??
-Irving plays in his second game scoring 11 with 9 coming from the line.
-Smith straps the team on his back and carries them to the field of 16 with a 24 point game.
-Singler finishes with 13 points and 8 boards.
-Kelly had a strong game with 11 pts on 5/6 shooting.
-Coach K earns win number 900, 2 more to go to catch Knight!

Congratulations Duke on making it past the first weekend, looking forward to watching you guys take on 'Zona in Anaheim!

Duke Earns NCAA #1 Seed with Dominate ACC Championship WIN Over the UNC Turnover-Heels

2011-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

-Duke puts together their third solid game in as many days and lead from start to finish, dominating UNC by 17 points to win their third straight ACC Tournament Title.

-Duke wins their ACC leading 19th Championship Tournament, taking the trophy home 10 of the last 13 years.

-Nolan Smith earns ACC Player of the Year as well as the MVP of the ACC Tournament.

A great finish to an equally great regular season. now its time to put together 6 in a row and take the NCAA crown back to Durham!

Congratulations team, enjoy the ACC Title for another year and good fortune to you all as you head to the big dance!

Go Duke Baby!!

Duke's 2 Players get Beat Down by UNC's 4 Players

2011-03-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

-Duke again shoots a whopping 22% from 3-ball land and dies miserably.
-Curry hits 6 of his 3's, and no one else from Duke has a 3-ball, going a combined 0-16. Wait, I think they're still shooting!
-Smith drops 30 pts and Curry has 20, the rest of Duke is anemic.
-Duke collectively has 9 assists, while Marshall of Tarhole land has 11.

-Duke drops 2 of the last 3, losing to Virginia Tech on the road behind another miserable 20% 3pt shooting game.
-Again, only 2, maybe 3 players manned up, Smith and Singler, with Mason Plumlee putting up a decent game while Singler finally broke out of slump-ville dropping a double-double.
-Curry choked and spent the night in the fetal position, fouling out with zero points.

I hope Duke goes far in the upcoming tourneys, but I have my doubts..

You guys need to crawl in the toolbox and find an inside presence and get another wheel on the bus that can SHOOT!

Overall its been great watching the Smith/Singler show this senior season, can't wait to see you guys at the next level!

Duke Regains Top Spot in Nation with Smitty Leading the Attack...

2011-02-21T18:19:00.000-08:00

-Duke puts together 6 wins after faltering against St Johns to regain ESPN/AP #1 ranking.

-The Devils totaled 451 points over the last six, averaging 75 per contest.

-Duke held their opponents to 356 points across that same stretch, with the opposition averaging 59 points per game.

-Nolan Smith has been the main offensive threat for Duke, scoring 175 points over the last six, averaging 29.1 per game.

-Seth Curry has emerged as Duke's 3rd scoring option averaging 12.5 ppg over the last 6, totaling 75.

Great run peeps, keep the pressure on!!

Only two home games remain.. Tickets? Hello, is this thing on?!?!?!

Duke's Huge 2nd Half Roll Over UNC, 79-73

2011-02-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

-Nolan lit up and Curry stepped up as Duke poured on the offense and smothered some D at the other end to come from 14 down at the half to beat UNC .

-Smith ended the night with a career high 34 pts, with 22 of those coming in the 2nd half to lead all scorers.

-Seth Curry stepped up with a season high 22 points on 8 for 12 shooting.

-Duke hasn't won from such a large deficit (14 at the half) in over 50 years when they erased a 14 pt hole against Navy in 1959.

-Duke extended its NCAA-best winning streak at home to 33, and Smith called this one—and not last April’s victory over Butler for the program’s fourth national championship—the biggest of his career.

“This comeback win, how tough we were, how together we were and how great it feels now, I don’t think anything can be better than this,” Smith said.

Duke Punched in the Face Again as St Johns Dominates the Devils, 93-78

2011-01-31T16:43:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful outing of the 'shoot a three' and run the other way gang.. 1 of their first 21 actually fell through the net, less than 5%. And what does Duke do? They continue to shoot 3's of course! Ending with a whopping 19% (5-26) from 3pt range.

STJ was allowed to put up 50 points in the paint while Duke could only muster 30.

How many 6'10" and 6'11" guys do you need for someone to step up and take some bruises??

Hello, can you BUY, or at least RENT an effing inside presence!??!

Great game St Johns, and Duke, stay home so you can win games, your program completely sucks on the road...

ACC heating up, Duke off to 18-1 start

2011-01-23T21:26:00.000-08:00

#4 of why I love the ACC:

-UNC loses to GT by 20 and is held to an all time low (under Williams) of 58 points, with 24 of those points coming from the freebie line..

-Duke rebounds after trailing Virginia by 6 at the half. Basically the Devils had three bad halfs(going back to the FSU game), they recovered nicely and were able to put away UVA by 16.

-Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds each and Mason Plumlee smacks down 6 blocks and pulls 10 reebs and puts up 7 pts in a 92-78 win over NCState.

-Ryan Kelly goes perfect from the field and the freebie line and has a career night of 20 points 6 boards 2 steals and a block as Duke downs Wake Forest by 24.

Man, are these the same guys that played so anemically against FSU?

Glad we got our bigs back!! Go Duke!!

Still needing those tickets, yo.. Hit me up @ gbradley63@yahoo.com

Florida St. Punches Duke in the Mouth, 66-61

2011-01-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

#3 of why I love the ACC:

Coach K couldn't beat Leonard Hamilton if he were allowed 7 guys on the court...

For the third time in 9 seasons, FSU smacks down #1 Duke, yes, all three times Duke was ranked in the top spot...

Duke dies by the 3 ball, taking more than half of their shots from beyond the arc and only connecting on 31%.

They sank only 31% of total field goals as well as leaving their post presence at home. Great effort putting up 6 points in the post, make sure everyone is on the bus before leaving Durham for your next road trip.

At least the undefeated monkey is off your back...

Now pick your asses off the floor, hold your head up and learn from this!!

Kick ass on Saturday..

Duke Survives Maryland, Begins year 15-0

2011-01-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Why I love the ACC, 1: Gary Williams can take three blind guys and two crippled Nuns and keep the game within 2 possessions for the entire 40 minutes. Not to say his team is representative of the blind/crippled comment, it's simply a testament of his coaching ability versus Duke. Good effort GW (the REAL Mr Williams in the ACC), hope to see you at the dance this year.

Why I love the ACC, 2: The #3 Duke Chick's also played the Maryland Girls this past Thursday and won by the same score, 71-64. Ironic and yet poetic, I'm sure i could get tix to the girls game, but need a hookup to get into Cameron to watch the Singler/Smith show.. Hit me up peeps, I need tix! gbradley63@yahoo.com

Anywho, its been fun watching the team build around the loss of Kyrie, and remain undefeated. Great to see the explosiveness of Nolan and watching both Kyle and Nolan throw the team on their backs when needed. You guys have your work cut out for you, Ill be doing my part cheering your Blue Devil asses on!!

Go Duke baby!!

On to ACC Play! Enough of this Pre-Season Fluff!!

2010-12-30T18:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, yea, so enough of the BS cupcake season (Sure, K-State, Michigan State and Butler weren't exactly powder puff games) .. BUT, 12 WINS in and its time (finally) to gear up for conference play!

Good luck Team!

And ACC opponents, get ready for some Blue Devil Ass-Kicking, yea, suck it up Roy, your powder blue ass will be spanked soon enough.

First up, Miami.. See you guys on Sunday.. Someone please bring the hot sauce, I'm feelin some Wasabi up in this piece:))

Get better Kyrie, we need your ass (and TOE) on the court!

GO DUKE!!

'Humble Champion' Coach K Surpasses Smith for 2nd All Time Wins behind Knight with his 880th Victory!

2010-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Congrats Coach K! Your victories on and off the court set you head and shoulders above the crowd. I solemnly wish for you many more years of success as the head of Duke Basketball, USA Basketball, and the Men's Olympic Team. The USA is honored by your leadership and mentoring. You are the Humblest of Champions.

Mike Krzyzewski one-upped his longtime rival. Now there's only one man with more victories than Duke's Hall of Fame coach -- his former mentor.

Krzyzewski moved past rival Dean Smith into second place on the men's all-time wins list Wednesday night, claiming his 880th career victory with the top-ranked Blue Devils' 108-62 rout of North Carolina-Greensboro.

He trails Bob Knight, who mentored and coached him at Army on the way to 902 wins. One fan in the stands held a sign that said: "You're next, Bobby."

Chasing History

Coach K Mike Krzyzewski is 22 wins behind Bob Knight for first place on the Division I men's basketball all-time wins list.
800-win club, Division I men
Bob Knight 902
Mike Krzyzewski* 880
Dean Smith 879
Adolph Rupp 876
Jim Boeheim* 843
Jim Calhoun* 833
Jim Phelan 830
Eddie Sutton 804
*Active coaches

"I don't want to take any of that too seriously, but rather say, 'I'm one of the guys who's won a lot of games," Krzyzewski said. "To share a spotlight with Dean and [Knight], that's a great honor."

When the buzzer sounded, Krzyzewski hugged UNC Greensboro coach -- and former assistant -- Mike Dement before making his way across the court for a television interview. The Hall of Fame coach waved to the Duke fans who helped pack the 23,000-seat Greensboro Coliseum.

"When I walked out and saw it was a full house, and so many Duke fans, I did take a moment to reflect back to when I first got to North Carolina and there weren't very many Duke shirts," Krzyzewski said.

Kyle Singler scored 27 points and Nolan Smith had 22 of his season-high 26 points in the first half for the Blue Devils (12-0), who shrugged off an eight-day break and shot a season-best 60.9 percent, scored 42 points off 23 turnovers and hit the 100-point mark for the second time.

"We knew it was a big deal, but to be honest, we didn't really know how big the deal really is," Singler said. "It's just kind of crazy that you're going through the time where you're getting coached by Coach K and I guess you don't really realize it until it's all over. Just a really special thing to experience with him."

The reigning national champions won their 22nd straight, pushing Krzyzewski past the man who coached the Tar Heels for 36 seasons before retiring in 1997 as the winningest coach in Division I history. Knight then passed Smith and retired nearly three years ago.

"I congratulate Mike on this milestone victory," Smith said in a statement issued by North Carolina following the game. "I am sure he would want to share the credit for the wins with all his players and staff. I enjoyed competing against Mike's teams throughout the years I was at UNC. I wish him continued health and personal success."

If the Blue Devils run through the rest of their schedule undefeated, Krzyzewski -- who is 880-279 in his 36th season as a head coach -- will catch Knight in this same arena in March in the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and pass him in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

"I don't want to make it sound less than what it is, but number of wins, you have to be healthy, you have to have really good players, you have to have commitment from your school," Krzyzewski said. "So, I don't know if that's as much an achievement as much as the result of having all those things. And so I'm not going to look at this as an achievement. When you win a championship ... those are achievements. The number of wins, you have to win a certain number of games -- especially the last one -- to get an achievement."

The Greensboro Coliseum, located roughly an hour's drive from Duke's campus in Durham, has become a second home for Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils, who haven't been beaten here since a loss to Maryland in the 2004 ACC title game. They won the league tournament here for the fifth time under Krzyzewski last March before rolling through the NCAA tournament on the way claiming to their fourth national title, and haven't lost since.

"Outside of doing it in Cameron" Indoor Stadium, Krzyzewski said, "this is the place you would want to do it."

Seth Curry scored 15 points, Miles Plumlee and Andre Dawkins added 11 apiece and Ryan Kelly scored 10 for the Blue Devils, who hadn't played since Dec. 20. This was their fourth straight game without freshman point guard Kyrie Irving, who averages a team-best 17.4 points but remains out indefinitely with an injured big toe on his right foot.

They certainly didn't need him against the winless Spartans, who offered little resistance in falling to 0-3 against No. 1 teams in the program's history.

"I wished we could have given them a little bit better fight, a little bit better game," Dement said.

Duke opened the game on a 15-2 run, went up by double figures to stay roughly 6½ minutes in, and outscored UNC Greensboro 22-7 midway through the half to open up a permanent 20-point lead. Singler's jumper in traffic with about 7:15 left made it 39-15 and Smith's fast-break dunk roughly 5 minutes later gave the Blue Devils their largest lead of the half, 49-24.

Duke's 53 first-half points were a season high, and by the break, Smith was two points shy of his season high. He finished three away from the career-best 29 points he scored against Baylor in the South Regional final last March. Smith made it a 30-point game when his layup with 14 minutes left pushed it to 71-40.

"I think knowing what was at stake, I wanted to be a little more aggressive, Kyle wanted to be a little more aggressive," Smith said. "Coach gives us so much, and he always has our back. I think both of us, in the backs of our minds, we wanted to have Coach's back tonight."

Aaron Brackett had 14 points to lead UNC Greensboro (0-12). The Spartans previously fell to top-ranked Duke teams in 1997 and 2005, dropped to 0-9 all-time against the Blue Devils and have just one win against an ACC school.

"A lot of irony from my standpoint, to get involved with this game," said Dement, a member of Krzyzewski's staff from 1982-83. "All of us who grew up in North Carolina, as younger guys and as coaches, we all studied Dean Smith. We read his books and copied him. ... It was a lot of irony that came into this, but a lot of reflection, too."

Duke knocks the living piss out of K-State, and other stories..

2010-11-25T21:06:00.001-08:00

Kansas State's Frank Martin On Duke: 'They Knocked The Living Piss Out Of Us.'

The Kansas State Wildcats met the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday night at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The Wildcats were ranked #4 and the Blue Devils were #1 so it was a highly anticipated matchup that .... was basically a blowout.

Star-divide

The Blue Devils dominated from start to finish. Kansas State held an 11-9 lead at one point but after it wasn't pretty for K-State. They were never quite blown out of the game but they were consistently 8-10 points behind throughout the second half.

Kansas State's Frank Martin says simply: "They knocked the living piss out of us." He says if there' a better team in the country than Duke then he doesn't want to play them. Duke's performance was that complete.

Duke's defense just wouldn't let Kansas State do what it wanted -- that was the bottomline. Kansas State wanted to run on offense and Duke made them slow down. They were exposed in the half court offense. Add in there that Jacob Pullen couldn't do anything offensively -- he was 1-of-12 -- and you see why this game wasn't close.

...

And then against #6 Michigan State

It didn't take Duke's Nolan Smith long during practice to notice something special about Kyrie Irving.

"He'll be like, 'Get out of the way, I've got it,'" Smith said. "You don't really hear that too often, when a freshman will tell two seniors on the wings to get out of the way. We have no problem letting him do it."

Easy to see why.

Irving scored a season-high 31 points and led #1 Duke past #6 Michigan State 84-79 in the marquee matchup of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Smith added 17 points and Kyle Singler scored 15 for the Blue Devils (7-0), who shot 47 percent and turned 20 Michigan State turnovers into 28 points. Duke used a 12-2 spurt midway through the second half to take a double-figure lead, then held off the Spartans down the stretch by hitting 9 of 12 free throws in the final 1:15 to seal its second victory over a top-10 team in eight days.

"I think every win we have is a statement," Irving said. "We want to show the world, every time we step on the court, we're the best."

...

And then an unranked but gritty Butler

Nolan Smith scored 24 points to lead #1 Duke to an 82-70 victory over Butler on Saturday, moving Mike Krzyzewski into a tie with Adolph Rupp for third place on the coaching career wins list.

Freshman Kyrie Irving added all but four of his 21 in the second half for Duke, in a rematch of schools that played an epic national championship game in April. The Blue Devils won that game 61-59, giving Krzyzewski his fourth NCAA title. He has 876 wins overall, 803 at Duke.

This game, played at the Izod Center, wasn't expected to be as close as that championship game in Indianapolis since Butler lost two starters, including lottery pick Gordon Hayward. But the Bulldogs stayed within striking distance until the final minutes.

The Blue Devils (8-0) were tested for the first time this season as they ran their winning streak to 18 games. Until Saturday, Duke had not trailed in the final 30 minutes of a game this season, including wins over top-10 teams Kansas State and Michigan State.

Shawn Vanzant had 14 points for the Bulldogs (4-3), and his 12-point second half was what kept them close until Duke pulled away in the final minutes.

This was the third straight big game for the backcourt of Smith and Irving. In the last two Duke wins, they combined to average of 33.8 points while shooting 53 percent from the field.

...

In the first 8 games Duke has been fun to watch as they mature into their new roles and watching the confidence of Kyrie Irving build to match his level of basketball skill and maturity, the Freshman plays more like a Junior from the point, although he is making mental mistakes that lead to more turn-overs than we would like to see.

I'm positive the consensus of his teammates, coaches and fans alike is that he has surpassed all expectations and has far exceeded the hype that was placed upon his shoulders.

It's hard to believe a quarter of the season is already in the books. We're looking forward to more exciting Duke basketball and anticipate a solid run in ACC play.

GO DUKE!!!

Duke holds off Butler, brings home NCAA 2010 Crown!!!

2010-04-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Kyle Singler scored 19 points and Brian Zoubek rebounded Gordon Hayward's miss with 3.6 seconds left Monday night to help Duke beat Butler 61-59, ending the tiny underdog's try for a "Hoosiers" sequel one win short of the Hollywood ending.

The Bulldogs had a chance to win it at the end in an amazing sequence that defined this tournament. Gordon Hayward's half-court shot at the buzzer went flying, thudded off the backboard and rim, and out and most of the crowd of 70,930 gasped, "Ohhhh." So close

The Blue Devils (35-5) snapped Butler's 25-game winning streak and brought the long-awaited fourth national title back home to Carolina and the Cameron Crazies.

The "Big Three" — Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith — won the Big One for coach Mike Krzyzewski, his first championship since 2001 and the fourth overall, tying Coach K with Adolph Rupp for second place on the all-time list.

"First of all, it was a great basketball game. I want to congratulate an amazing Butler team and their fans," Krzyzewski said. "Fabulous year. We played a great game, they played a great game. It's hard for me to say it, to imagine that we're the national champions."

Nobody figured this would be easy, and it wasn't — no way that was going to happen against Butler, the 4,200-student private school that turned the tournament upside down and drove 5.6 miles from its historic home, Hinkle Fieldhouse, to the Final Four.

Butler (33-5) shaved a five-point deficit to one and had a chance to win it, when its best player, Hayward, took the ball at the top of the key, spun and worked his way to the baseline, but was forced to put up an off-balance fadeaway from 15 feet.

He missed, Zoubek got the rebound and made the first of two free throws. He missed the second one intentionally, and Duke's title wasn't secure until Hayward's desperation heave bounded out.

What a game to end one of the most memorable tournaments in history, the kind that could be history if the NCAA goes ahead with what an expansion to 96 teams — something very much on the table for next year.

"Both teams and all the kids on both teams played their hearts out," Krzyzewski said. "There was never more than a couple, a few points separating, so a lot of kids made big plays for both teams."

Nobody led by more than six.

Playing against the Bulldogs and working against a crowd of 70,390 with very few pockets of Duke fans, the Blue Devils persevered — never leading by more than six but never falling behind after Singler hit a 3-pointer with 13:03 left for a 47-43 lead.

The Blue Devils won with defense. Holding the Bulldogs to 34 percent shooting and contesting every possession as tenaciously as Butler, which allowed 60 points for the first time since February. Zoubek, the 7-foot-1 center, finished with two blocks, 10 rebounds and too many altered shots to count, but also came out to trap the Butler guards and disrupt an offense that was already struggling.

They won with some clutch shooting, including Singler's 3-for-6 effort from 3-point range and 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the second half until Zoubek's intentional miss.

They won with a mean streak, most pointed when Lance Thomas took down Hayward hard to prevent an easy layup with 5:07 left. The refs reviewed the play and decided not to call it flagrant — one of a hundred little moments that could have swung such a tight, taut game.

In the true team fashion that has defined "The Butler Way," the scoring was distributed almost perfectly even. Hayward and Shelvin Mack had 12 each. Matt Howard, coming off a concussion in the semifinal win over Michigan State, finished with 11, and 2-point-a-game scorer Avery Jukes kept Butler in it with all 10 of his points in the first half.

But Butler's 33-year-old coach Brad Stevens was correct when he said his team couldn't endure another 15-for-49 shooting night — what Butler shot Saturday in the semifinals. The Bulldogs went 20 for 58 this time — 34.5 percent — almost every bit as bad. All the heart in the world can't overcome that.

"I said yesterday that when you coach these guys, you can be at peace with whatever result you achieve from a won-loss standpoint because of what they gave — they gave everything we had," Stevens said. "We just came up a bounce short. There's certainly nothing to hang your head about. I told them in there, what they've done, what they did together, will last longer than one night, regardless of the outcome."

A disappointing ending to those who wanted to see the "Hoosiers" sequel play out in real life. In that movie, based on the high school championship won by tiny Milan High in 1954, Jimmy Chitwood hits the game-winner at the buzzer to win one for the little guys.

Despite losing, Butler may have proven its point nonetheless.

Mega-money and power conferences aren't the only ones with a chance in big-time college sports. Nothing proves that better than the NCAA tournament — March Madness, a great event that stayed good into April this year.

Go Duke!!! Awesome year guys!

Kyle, give Duke one more year!!!

Duke blows out WV, advance to Championship Game

2010-04-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Jon Scheyer scored 23 points Saturday night to lift Duke, the team so many folks love to hate, to a 78-57 victory over West Virginia and set up a meeting against tiny Butler -- a classic matchup of big vs. little, with the national title on the line.

"I think they're one of the best teams in the country," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his upcoming opponent, which has won 25 straight. "I think a Cinderella would be more if somebody had eight or nine losses and pulled some upsets."

Still, Butler is a No. 5 seed. And in a tournament turned upside down, the Blue Devils (34-5) were the only No. 1 seed to make it to the Final Four.

Their trip, however, wasn't totally predictable or expected. Duke had gone six long years since its last appearance and hasn't been to the final since winning it all nine years ago -- a veritable century by Tobacco Road standards. Now, this group of Blue Devils has a chance to give Coach K his fourth national championship.

"It's everything," senior center Brian Zoubek said. "This is the culmination of four years for me. To have a shot at the championship my senior year, after everything we've been through, is a dream come true."

Those who stayed after watching Butler win might not have liked what's coming next in Monday night's final. And those who think Duke has been humbled by its championship drought will certainly look at the replays of Miles Plumlee hanging on the rim way too long after a dunk that drew a technical foul, but also put his team up by 14.

A bit of showmanship for a program that routinely has been dissed across America as being too arrogant, too this, too that.

The theme came up again, predictably, this week, on several fronts - including the retraction of an illustration of Krzyzewski on the front of the Indianapolis Star sports section with horns and a target scribbled onto his head.

Coach K's response to all that: If you want to hate us because we have kids who go to school, graduate, play solid, team ball and win a lot, go ahead.

They do all that, but they're winning in a different way this year.

They're without a single superstar, but with an emotional center in Smith, who finds himself back in the city where his father, Derek, led Louisville to a championship back in 1980.

Derek Smith died of a heart attack at age 34, when Nolan was 8, and the guard is just coming around to talking about it.

''It crossed my mind a little bit,'' Smith said. ''But I'm playing for myself and my Duke team and I'll let my mom do all the thinking about my father's footsteps.''

His mother might argue that, given Smith's history, a title in Indianapolis would only be fitting.

There's another team, the hometown Butler Bulldogs, who will argue the very same thing.

May the best team win.

Duke defense overpowers Baylor, win South Regional Finals, advance to Final 4

2010-03-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Duke restored some order to a topsy-turvy NCAA tournament on Sunday, getting 29 points from Nolan Smith in a 78-71 victory over Baylor that put Coach K and the Blue Devils in college basketball's biggest event for the first time in six years.

Jon Scheyer added 20 points for Duke, ending Baylor's charming run to redemption in the South Regional final. The Blue Devils became the only No. 1 seed to advance to Indianapolis and earned their 11th Final Four berth under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

''I can't put it into words,'' said Lance Thomas , one of three Duke seniors. ''It took us four years to get here and we're not done yet.''

The Blue Devils will play East Regional champion West Virginia in the national semifinals Saturday night. They have won 11 of their last 12 regional finals under Krzyzewski, but haven't won a national title since 2001.

Coach K made his first Final Four with Duke in 1986 and hadn't had a gap this long between trips.

To end the drought, Duke had to win at Reliant Stadium - only 3 1/2 hours from Baylor's campus. Most of the crowd of 47,492 was dressed in the green and gold of the Bears.

''We played against a great team,'' Krzyzewski said. ''It was such a well-played game, and we were fortunate to win.''

Smith and Scheyer helped the Blue Devils (33-5) offset a poor game from junior forward Kyle Singler , who was 0 for 10 from the field and made only five free throws. It was the first time in his college career he failed to hit a field goal.

LaceDarius Dunn had 22 points and Ekpe Udoh scored 18 for the third-seeded Bears (28-8), whose program was in shambles when coach Scott Drew took over in the wake of murder and scandal less than seven years ago.

Drew took the Bears from tatters to the cusp of their first Final Four appearance in 60 years. After three consecutive 20-win seasons and an inspiring postseason run, maybe Baylor can be recognized more for its success now than the tragic summer of 2003 that is finally starting to feel like a long time ago.

''I really hope so and I really feel it has,'' Drew said, his voice quivering. ''I do really want to thank all the fans in the state of Texas.''

After tying the game for the 12th time on a free throw with 3:36 left, Smith missed his second attempt. But Thomas grabbed one of his nine rebounds and quickly passed the ball right back to Smith, who hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to put Duke up 64-61.

''I just wanted to make the plays,'' Thomas said. ''My teammates know I can make them. I made it and I just got the ball to our shooters.''

Duke defense stifles Purdue, Blue Devils advance to final 8

2010-03-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

The top-seeded Blue Devils returned to the round of eight for the first time since 2004, with Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer helping them pull away in the second half Friday night for a 70-57 win over Purdue in the South Regional semifinals.

Singler scored 24 points and Scheyer added 18, snapping out of a shooting slump just in time.

Duke (32-5) will play third-seeded Baylor in Sunday's regional final after clearing a nagging hurdle that had some wondering if the mighty program was losing its edge.

The Blue Devils had lost in the round of 16 in three of the past five seasons, but now stand one victory from their 11th Final Four appearance under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Duke kept marching through the NCAA tournament while other favorites are falling by the wayside.

Scheyer, Duke's leading scorer, was 5-for-18 from the field in Duke's first two NCAA tournament games. He went 5-for-9 in the second half after missing his first six shots and also went 7-for-8 from the foul line.

It was 31-all with 15 1/2 minutes left before the Blue Devils broke away.

Brian Zoubek grabbed 14 rebounds and Duke dominated the undersized Boilermakers inside, as expected. The absence of injured do-everything forward Robbie Hummel finally caught up with fourth-seeded Purdue (29-6), which lost in the regional semifinals for the second straight season.

Hummel tore his right ACL in late February and watched Friday's loss in street clothes from the bench.

Duke rolls over Cal to advance to 3rd round in NCAA Tourney

2010-03-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Defense has always been the foundation of Mike Krzyzewski's team, and the top-seeded Blue Devils sent their coach of three decades into a regional semifinal for the 19th time with a stellar performance in a 68-53 victory over California on Sunday.

After winning both the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles, they are playing the type of suffocating defense that could put Krzyzewski back in the Final Four for an 11th time.

The Blue Devils last reached the national semifinals in 2004, not that their coach feels as though they've let him down lately.

"You know, I hate when somebody compares those teams of the last couple years with our national championship teams, and they say they underachieved," Krzyzewski said. "Are you kidding me? They won 30, 29 games. But they were limited teams, and they couldn't play the defense that this team can play because we have big guys."

Exploiting a huge advantage in size and depth in the frontcourt, the Blue Devils opened a double-digit lead in the first half and Cal never seriously threatened to get back into the game.

Brian Zoubek, Duke's 7-foot-1 center, had 14 points and 13 rebounds while teaming with Lance Thomas and reserves Miles and Mason Plumlee to dominate a short-handed Cal frontline featuring 6-foot-8 Duke transfer Jamal Boykin — and little else.

Nolan Smith led the Blue Devils (31-5) with 20 points and spearheaded Duke's trademark man-to-man defense that made it difficult for Cal's high-scoring trio of Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson to get uncontested shots.

Hounded by relentless "D," Randle — the Pac-10 player of the year — was limited to 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting.

"From the get-go, I really wanted to make it clear that I was going to be in his jersey the whole game. That was the game plan," Smith said. "I just stuck with him with the help of my big guys. They really helped me out, and I owe it all to them. They made my job easy fighting over screens and giving them no open looks."

Kyle Singler scored 17 for Duke, which advanced to the South Regional semifinals in Houston, where the Blue Devils will face fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday. Zoubek's 6-for-6 shooting more than made up for leading scorer Jon Scheyer going 1 of 11 and finishing with seven points.

Duke cruises past 1st round NCAA

2010-03-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

The top-seeded Atlantic Coast Conference champions opened play in the South Regional with a dominating 73-44 victory Friday night over No. 16 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Kyle Singler had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Duke, which never trailed. Scheyer scored 13 and Lance Thomas 12. Nolan Smith added 10 points on a subpar shooting night (3 for 10) for the junior guard.

The Blue Devils advanced to play Sunday at 5:20pm against No. 8 seed California, which beat ninth-seeded Louisville 77-62.

"This was a springboard for us. We were limiting them to one shot and rebounding well," Thomas said. "If we continue doing that we'll beat anybody in the tournament."

The victory gave coach Mike Krzyzewski his 11th 30-win season in three decades at Duke, which has made 10 trips to the Final Four under him, though none since 2006.

The Blue Devils (30-5) played like a team intent on changing that, pressing their overmatched opponents to start the game, building a 39-20 halftime lead and never giving Arkansas-Pine Bluff (18-16) a sense that the SWAC champions might have a chance to win.

Duke Wins ACC Championship!! Earns #1 Seed in NCAA Tourney

2010-03-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Duke Blue Devils (29-5, 13-3), led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski, were awarded a No. 1 seed in the South Region by the NCAA selection committee Sunday night. It is Duke's 11th NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, all under Coach K, and the ninth No. 1 seed in the last 13 tournaments.

The Blue Devils learned their fate for the NCAA Tournament shortly after capturing the ACC Championship in Greensboro with a 65-61 over Georgia Tech. With the win Duke earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As an automatic bid the Blue Devils are 56-16.

"For our senior class I am so happy," Krzyzewski said. "Not many teams in my 30 years in the ACC have won both the regular season and the [ACC] Tournament, and I think because they did it, and we played such a tough schedule these kids were rewarded with a No. 1 seed."

Duke will face Arkansas-Pine Bluff, winners of teh play-in game with Winthrop.

If Duke is able to advance to the second round they will take on the winner of eighth-seed California and ninth-seed Louisville on Sunday.

"We have a pretty tough bracket, but I think we are capable of beating anybody," senior captain Lance Thomas said. "As long as we play our game as far as defense, rebounding and just finishing, I think we will be fine against anybody."

The Blue Devils are winners of 12 of their last 13 games and will open up tournament play on Friday from Jacksonville, Fla. Duke is 4-2 in NCAA Tournament games in the state of Florida.

It is the 26th appearance for Duke in the NCAA Tournament under Coach K and the 34th appearance in school history. Duke is 13-5 all-time playing in the South Region of the bracket.

The Blue Devils captured National Championships as No. 1 seeds in both 1992 and 2001 having a 37-8 record as the top seed in a region.

It is Duke's 15th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

"It is very rewarding [to be a top seed], but at the same time you just move on, no matter who you are playing, where you are playing, you know you need to be prepared," senior captain Jon Scheyer said.

Duke DESTROYS UNC by 32

2010-03-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Jon Scheyer stood near midcourt after his home finale at Duke. As he soaked it all in, he couldn't help but crack a wry smile.

"I was just trying to remember that moment, that picture in my head," Scheyer said.

Nobody else affiliated with the fourth-ranked Blue Devils will forget this night, either.

Not after an 82-50 rout of North Carolina on Saturday that marked their most one-sided home win in college basketball's fiercest rivalry and gave them a share of their 12th Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

Kyle Singler scored 19 of his 25 points in the decisive first half, and Scheyer finished with 20 points in his final game before the Cameron Crazies.

Duke (26-5, 13-3) shot nearly 46 percent - 51 percent in a dominant first half - and made eight 3-pointers in beating the Tar Heels at home for the first time since 2005 and wrapping up the No. 1 seed in next week's league tournament.

Great Game Duke! And great season guys!

The signs are awesome too, GTHC! GTH!!

Go to Hell Carolina, Go to Hell!! My thoughts exactly...

Maryland smacks Duke

2010-03-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

Greivis Vasquez scored 20 points, including a clutch basket with 37 seconds left, and 22nd-ranked Maryland beat No. 4 Duke 79-72 Wednesday for its sixth straight win.

It was the final home game for Vasquez, who was honored with seniors Landon Milbourne and Eric Hayes before the game.

Afterward, fans stormed the court to celebrate Maryland's first win over Duke in seven tries.

"You couldn't really ask for a better script than that," said Hayes, who scored 13 points. "The ACC regular-season title was on the line; it was just a real special night."

Jordan Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins (22-7, 12-3), who haven't lost since falling to the Blue Devils by 21 on Feb. 13.

"This is a dream come true," Vasquez said.

Nolan Smith scored 20 for Duke (25-5, 12-3) and Jon Scheyer had 19. The defeat ended the Blue Devils' eight-game winning streak.

"Playing a big-time game like this was good for both teams," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our guys were in a position to win the game. I'm proud of that.

"It was tough because it was a game where we played well. It wasn't a game when we played bad or played stupid. It wasn't like that. This wasn't a game where bad stuff happened."

Virginia gets the Duke smackdown

2010-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Singler scored 21 points and Scheyer had 20 and both watched the last several minutes from the bench as the Blue Devils cruised to a 67-49 victory against shorthanded Virginia.

More than getting to rest in a lopsided game, Singler said "it was more important that we all played pretty well and (we'll) have good momentum going into the Maryland game."

The Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won eight straight and will arrive in College Park, Md., with a one-game lead over the Terrapins.

Duke took command right away, opening the game on a 20-4 run. Singler had 11 points before Virginia had two field goals, and the Cavaliers never got closer than 10. They trailed 35-21 at halftime and went the first 5 minutes without a field goal after the break.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski called the victory "a workmanlike performance" and Scheyer said he's pleased with where the Blue Devils are heading into their biggest game of the season.

Duke proves too much for Tulsa

2010-03-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

Mike Krzyzewski wanted a pre-tournament test for his Duke players. For perhaps longer than expected, they got one.

But ultimately, the fifth-ranked Blue Devils - and their "Big Three," plus one - was too much for Tulsa, pulling away for a 70-52 victory Thursday night.

Nolan Smith scored 18 points, Kyle Singler added 17 and Jon Scheyer finished with 15 points for the Blue Devils (24-4).

They used a big run early in the second half to break open a surprisingly tight game and extend their decade-long nonconference winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 77 by winning an out-of-the-ACC matchup designed to prepare the Blue Devils for the unfamiliar but high-quality foes that figure to lurk in the NCAA tournament bracket.

"We've got to keep getting better, and you don't get better by taking time off," Krzyzewski said. "Right now, you've got to keep working, and we knew that this game would put us in that position."

Duke rolls over Virginia Tech

2010-02-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Kyle Singler had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Nolan Smith added 23 points and No. 6 Duke pulled away late to beat Virginia Tech 67-55 on Sunday night.

Jon Scheyer had 15 points for the Blue Devils (23-4, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). They used a late 14-4 run to overcome their only deficit of the second half and earn their sixth straight victory.

Malcolm Delaney, the ACC's leading scorer, finished with 19 points for Virginia Tech (21-5, 8-4), which fell to 1-17 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. His 3-pointer capped a 13-5 run and put the Hokies up 45-44 with 9:55 left.

Smith followed with a three-point play roughly 30 seconds later and scored seven points during the decisive burst that followed. Scheyer finished the spurt with a 3 that made it 60-49 with 4:15 to play. Tech didn't get closer than six after that.

Duke's three Ss - Singler, Scheyer and Smith - combined for all but four of the team's points. The only other Blue Devils players to score: Miles Plumlee, who hit a free throw with 13:29 before the break, and 7-foot-1 Brian Zoubek, who converted a three-point play with 7:12 remaining.

Zoubek finished with 16 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who ran their winning streak at Cameron to 17. They're 15-0 here this season, with 14 wins coming by double figures and 11 by at least 20 points.