Duke 95 Michigan 67

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Taylor King scored 18 points, fellow freshman Nolan Smith added a career-high 17 as Duke (No. 7 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP) routed Michigan, 95-67, on Saturday.

Gerald Henderson had 12 points and DeMarcus Nelson and Jon Scheyer added 10 apiece for the Blue Devils (9-0), who shot 49 percent and built an insurmountable lead by reeling off 14 straight first-half points.

Duke opened with nine straight victories for the third time in four years, won its NCAA-best 56th straight nonconference home game and improved to 3-0 against the Big Ten by sending the shorthanded Wolverines (3-6) to their sixth loss in seven games.

DeShawn Sims had 12 points in his seventh straight double-figure scoring game for Michigan, which started two freshmen and two sophomores while playing without starting point guard Jerret Smith for academic reasons.

Zack Gibson added 11 points but leading scorer Manny Harris was held to eight -- nearly nine fewer than his average of 16.6 -- for the Wolverines, who were denied their first victory over Duke in almost exactly a decade, dropping their sixth straight in the series.

This interconference matchup of big-name programs likely wouldn't have taken place in recent seasons -- when the Wolverines were coached by former Duke star Tommy Amaker -- because Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski is reluctant to face his former players.

That no longer was an issue after Michigan fired Amaker last spring and replaced him with John Beilein. After Duke took a 22-point second-half lead in this one, the Cameron Crazies serenaded Beilein with chants of "Tommy's better!"

It was the second lopsided loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium for Beilein, who was a first-year Division I coach at Canisius in 1992 when his team was routed, 110-62, by the Grant Hill-led Blue Devils.

His Wolverines met a similar fate this time, once the Blue Devils found their offensive rhythm.

Duke took command midway through the half with its decisive 14-0 run, starting the burst when Scheyer's three-pointer from the left corner made it 21-14 and capping it with Smith's three-pointer from the key that made it 32-14 with about 4½ minutes left.

Duke led by 18 at halftime when Nelson hit a three-pointer from the corner two seconds before the buzzer, and Michigan didn't get much closer than that in the final 20 minutes.

Dan Wiederer has written a great article on Taylor King and the NCAA's plans to move the 3-point line back to 20 feet, 9 inches.

"It doesn’t matter to me," the Blue Devils freshman said. "Not even a little. Put the line down. I’ll shoot wherever that is and way out beyond. It does not matter."

Wiederer discusses King's struggles away from home. "King is far from Duke’s top offensive weapon, the team’s fifth-leading scorer overall. In games away from Durham, he has made just four of 15 shots and is averaging 2.5 points per game. But inside Cameron, his range has made him an immediate cult hero where chants of "T-K-Oh!" frequently reverberate from the Crazies."

Duke's coaches have given King a three question checklist: "Is it a quick shot? Is it off the first pass? Is it contested?" said assistant coach Chris Collins. "Anytime Taylor’s open and he’s got his feet set, we’ve let him know that he can shoot the ball from well past the NBA 3-point line. But he has to make sure it’s within our offense."

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Duke-Michigan rivalry filled with history