Stumble It!Duke 88 Miami 73
Nelson was once again the leading scorer. That and his defense on McClinton earns him BDN's Player of the Game.
Mark Watson
The Blue Devils tripped up Miami 88-73 going to 7-0 in the ACC in the process. Duke came out cold from the field and didn't score a two point field goal until under four minutes in the game. Miami stayed packed in a zone and the Devils shots continued to rim in and out. Despite the misses, Duke stayed in the game early with their three point shooting.
The Hurricanes had their backs against the wall in the ACC standings and came out ready to fight. While the Duke fans may have been looking ahead to Wednesdays showdown with UNC, the team was not. Even if they were Miami slugged them in the mouth, but Duke never hit the ropes and eventually out slugged their opponent in a very physical game.
"There were a lot of fouls in the first half and we're 10 for 21 from the free throw line. We missed half a dozen shots at the rim, so we are coming in (at the half) with 38 points, but it should be a 50 to 55 point half," said Krzyzewski. He told his team, "We have never been that worries about missing shots. Worry about our defense. If we do that our defense will cause some offense and it did."
Duke came out on top in the rebounding department today. That along with going from 12 of 30 from the three point stripe enabled the Dukies to remain atop the conference. One player who again showed up in a big way, was senior captain DeMarcus Nelson. Nelson played outstanding defense on Miami's leading scorer Jack McClinton, not allowing him a three all day and just 10 total points. When you consider McClintons accuracy from beyond the arc, this was a major key in the victory.
Nelson led the Blue Devils in scoring tallying 21 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He had help from point guard, Greg Paulus who put together another outstanding game. Greg scored 16 points with four key three point shots. He tied Nelson for Dukes top rebounder with 6 and added 2 assists.
"DeMarcus did a heck of a job on McClinton and just leading our team and Kyle hit a few threes," said Coach K. Singler was the only other Devil in double figures with 14 points.
Coach K continued, "I thought the bench play of Dave McClure and Taylor King was crucial with all the foul trouble. Two out of the last three games Kyle has had his fourth foul with about ten minutes to go." Lance Thomas ended up fouling out of the game while Paulus and Singler played with four fouls.
Duke will now turn their focus to the marquee matchup with rival North Carolina on Wednesday night. Tell anyone in these parts that the Super Bowl is tomorrow and you might find an argument. Coach K doesn't see it that way stating, "We are getting ready for the next game and a lot of people make it out to be the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is tomorrow. The next league game is on Wednesday. You don't prepare for it any different that we have anyone else, because otherwise we would be like 3-4 (in the conference)." He then stated that the Super Bowl was in the Final Four and it was mentioned that Duke may well play UNC three or more times this season.
If you are thinking Coach bristled a bit, you are probably right. As early as last week some in the media were asking about the UNC game instead of the two games at hand. Instead of how will you defend NC State or Miami inside, they got questions like, "Are you ready for the reception after last seasons incident with Hansbrough."
It is quite clear that this has been a tough seven games for Duke and they have come out undefeated. It is natural that they want to sit back and soak in what they have accomplished for awhile before looking ahead. Still, the nature of the rivalry has many antsy and the anticipation is being felt in the most grounded fan.
All in all, any Duke fan has to be ecstatic going into the UNC game with just one loss on the season and likely ranked number two in the country. And it's obvious that the staff is enjoying this team as much as our fans are. "These kids are great kids! They want to do their best all the time, but then again it doesn't always happen that way and that's why the win was such a good win," stated Coach K.
What Coach K "might" have been implying is that win or lose this Wednesday, Duke is in it for the long haul. Not even a loss to their rival can tarnish the fact that this is a fun team to watch and be around, nor will it be the end of the world. I mean, coming into the season not too many people gave Duke a shot.
Many UNC fans now find themselves concerned and they should be. Duke will come in prepared and win or lose they'll be back until they complete their true goal and that is winning a championship. But for now, lets not get ahead of ourselves too much and take in the fact that the Dukies won two tough games this week, growing every step of the way.