Duke 81 Virginia Tech 64

The Blue Devil defense shut down the Hokies in the second half

BDN's Player of the Game - Kyle Singler

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Kyle Singler scored 10 of his 16 points during an 18-9 run that gave Duke (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today, No. 4 AP) some breathing room early in the second half and the Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech 81-64 on Thursday night.

The Blue Devils (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth straight game and for the third time in the past five drama-filled meetings with the Hokies.

Virginia Tech (11-8, 2-3), which has beaten No. 7 Duke in Blacksburg and No. 5 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium since joining the ACC, also lost on the Blue Devils' famous court on a 40-foot heave by Sean Dockery to beat the buzzer in 2005.

This time, Singler and the Blue Devils didn't let it get that close, taking charge with an impressive burst to open the second half and keeping the raucous crowd at Cassell Coliseum waiting to see if the overmatched Hokies could get back in it.

Playing without second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Jeff Allen, who is serving a two-game suspension for making contact with a referee at Georgia Tech on Saturday, the Hokies couldn't, even after getting within 42-41 early in the second half.

Singler answered A.D. Vassallo's 3-pointer to begin the half with one of his own, then had three of the Blue Devils' next four baskets as they built a 53-45 lead.

When a dunk by J.T. Thompson pulled the Hokies to 53-47, the Blue Devils answered by scoring the next seven points, one on a free throw by Singler after Deron Washington was called for an intentional foul for pushing Singler after a defensive rebound by Duke.

The Hokies never challenged again.

Gerald Henderson added 12 points and DeMarcus Nelson and Greg Paulus both had 10 for Duke.

Vassallo led Virginia Tech with 16 points, while Thompson had 13 and Washington 12.

The game was rough throughout, and Nelson, Washington and Malcolm Delaney of the Hokies all fouled out.

The Blue Devils built a 27-16 lead by outscoring the Hokies 21-10 over a 9-minute stretch when the Hokies committed five turnovers. Virginia Tech closed within 39-38 with 55 seconds to go in the half. Duke's Taylor King made it 42-38 at the half with a 27-footer, his third 3-pointer to that point, with 37 seconds left.

Official Box Score Here          Season Stats

The Blue Devil women won big on the road tonight!

ATLANTA (AP) -- Chante Black had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 10 Duke cruised to a 73-47 win over No. 23 Georgia Tech on Thursday night.

Duke (15-4 overall, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) jumped to a seven-point lead before the four-minute mark. Jasmine Thomas hit a layup as time expired, giving Duke a 35-23 lead at halftime.

Duke, which beat Georgia Tech (16-4, 3-3) for the 28th straight time, opened the second half with a 15-7 run and led by 25 at the midway point of the half.

Tech, ranked in the top 25 this week for the first time since 1993, had won 18 straight at home.

Chioma Nnamaka led Georgia Tech with 13 points. Abby Waner scored 15 for Duke.

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was named co-recipient of the 2007 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year Award along with USA Women’s Senior National Team head coach Anne Donovan, USA Basketball announced on Thursday. Krzyzewski piloted the USA national team to the FIBA Americas Championship gold medal and qualified them for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech convinced former Duke commitment Lee Butler to change his mind.  Butler had originally picked Duke, but felt more comfortable in Atlanta.  Duke continues to talk to several key prospects and can certainly get over this loss

Mark's take - Let's face it, the Hokies have been a thorn in the side of the Blue Devils.  Last season they defeated Duke on its home court and Washington dunked over Paulus for good measure.  Surely that game sticks in the mind of the Dukies.

Greenberg has done a good job with his team which owns a 2-2 record in the conference and a win at Maryland.  Yes, they're missing Jeff Allen, but teams almost always rise to the occasion during the first game or two when a player is out.  That said, Duke must be ready for that player who always seems to step up in their system for this game.  Remember Jeff King?

Duke comes into the game on a roll and must get past a hostile ACC crowd for the second time this season.   I think that Duke is up to the challenge and that they are well prepared to show their strengths in this game.  The Blue Devils are pegged an eight point favorite, but I see it more like Duke 79 Virginia Tech 66

Bob's take - Duke heads to Blacksburg averaging 85 points per game. Virginia Tech's Freshman forward Jeff Allen is suspended for elbowing Referee Zelton Steed after fouling out of the Georgia Tech game leaving the Hokies slim inside. It would be easy to connect the dots and conclude that Duke scores over 90 points and wins easily. However, Deron Washington, A. D. Vassallo and the rest of the Hokies will be motivated to ensure the outcome is different.
 
Virginia Tech leads the ACC in scoring defense, but they are not a strong rebounding team, rank 11 of 12 in field goal percentage and average more turnovers than assists. With Jeff Allen on the bench, Duke will try to exploit VT's weakness by pressuring the perimeter and working the glass. On offense, Duke will play Duke basketball and shoot 3-pointers when the opportunity presents itself, but they will also test the Hokies interior defense by spreading the court and driving the lane. Duke is deeper and more talented than Virginia Tech and will leave Blacksburg with another notch in the victory column, but VT will put up a fight and make the Blue Devils earn the win.
 
My prediction: Duke 75 - VT 64

Duke Off vs. Virginia Tech Def	Virginia Tech Off vs. Duke Def
85.0 Pts F 60.7 Pts A 48.7 FG% 39.2 FG% 34.6 Reb. 29.2 Reb.	67.6 Pts F 64.1 Pts A 43.7 FG% 40.9 FG% 29.2 Reb. 31.4 Reb.

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