Duke continued the nations longest home court winning streak by shutting down Florida State 70-38.  The Blue Devils (13-3 overall, 2-0 ACC) started slow and rode the first half play of Chante Black and a spark off the bench by Brigette Mitchell to take a 36-18 lead into the half.

Black was clearly the player of the game going 9 of 11 from the field for 19 points.  She added 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists to her totals and all of that was in just 25 minutes of play.  Black set the tone with her ability to alter Florida State shots.  The Seminoles shot just 23.4 percent for the game and scored their lowest point total since a 36 point effort versus N.C. State in 1997.

Chante Black helps lead the Blue Devils to a 2-0 ACC record

When Seminole coach Sue Semrau took to the podium she said, "Chante Black was incredible.  She was a dominant scorer and rebounder.  She is a force ... one of the best in the ACC."  She followed that up saying that her team was embarrassed and that missing players to suspension was no excuse for their play.

If one were to take a quick look at the score sheet, you would have wondered how Duke dominated the Noles at first glance.  Wanisha Smith and Abby Waner went just 2 of 21 from the field.  Add to that Duke was 1 of 12 from the three point stripe and one would have had to seen the defensive effort to understand the dominance.

Coach McCallie sang the praise of Black and alluded to her consistency, stating that the whole team would strive to be that efficient.  She also made mention of Duke scoring 53 points in the paint.  "We set the tone early with or defensive intensity," said McCallie.

Duke will need for Waner and Smith to find their shots in the next game, for they travel to Maryland to face a deep Terrapin team.  "We are getting better each time out," said McCallie.  She went on saying that Duke would carry over the lesson they had learned and that they were excited for the upcoming road challenge.

The Blue Devils won with defense on this night and they will need another good effort on that side of the ball if they are to pull off a win the tough environment  that awaits them. When questioned of the paltry three point shooting, McCallie stated that the Basketball Gods were sometimes funny and that they would eventually make them.  Here is to hoping that the constantly improving Blue Devils find that stroke be it help from the  Basketball Gods or just plain luck.

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Duke hosts Virginia on Sunday evening as ACC play kicks off for both teams. Team health is a topic of concern and Bryan Strickland has an article posted at the Herald-Sun that discusses Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek's roles and current status. Coach K is quoted as saying he wishes the team was healthier.  The article contains some nice remarks from Jon Scheyer and DeMarcus Nelson.

Lucy Chavez, at the News & Observer ACC Blog, says we should get used to seeing Paulus and Smith on the court together as long as Thomas and Zoubek are unavailable.

In this analysis of Virginia's readiness for ACC competition, the Wahoos defense is graded as deficient. Virginia has struggled defending the 3-point shot and with the transition game. Unfortunately for Virginia, or fortunately from our perspective, those areas are Duke's offensive strengths.

Virginia was thrashed by Xavier in their last game and Coach Dave Leitao was not happy. He responded by locking the locker room and taking away practice jerseys.

Finally, Virginia has struggled with team health themselves. Reserve point guard Sammy Zeglinski is out for the season and 6'8" 255 pound forward Lars Mikalauskas is out for the Duke game with a shoulder injury. Mikalauskas averaged 5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game prior to being injured. He has not played in Virginia's last four games.