Monday, February 22, 2010
Blue Devils Cruising Towards ACC Title
College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, February 21, 2010
At the start of the season, not much was made about Duke's chances other than they'd likely be a high seed when March came around. Now, it appears that the Blue Devils may be able to nab a #1 seed in the NCCA tourney, as they've plowed through their ACC opponents with relative ease.
Sunday's ho-hum, 67-55 win over Virginia Tech offered a glimpse of what to expect when Duke comes calling. Their "big three" of Kyle Singler, Nick Smith and Jon Scheyer combined for all but four of Duke's points, with Singler leading the charge with 25 points on 7-for-15 shooting, which included 4 of 9 3-pointers and a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. Singler also added 10 boards for his 5th double-double of the season.
Scheyer scored 15 and Smith tallied 24. The other players to score were center Brian Zoubek, who had 3 points but held sway in the lane with 16 rebounds. Miles Plumlee had a single point from the foul line.
Duke, leading the ACC at 11-2, is being chased by 9-3 Maryland. The Terrapins may have their opportunity for at least a share of the conference title March 3rd, when Duke visits.Duke has already bombed Maryland once, 77-56, and their Sunday win sent the Hokies back to 8-4 in the ACC standings. In the meantime, the Blue Devils continue to make strides towards a top NCAA seeding and possibly a very deep run in the winner-take-all tournament.
Notable: The Pitt Panthers suffered through one of their worst shooting performances of the season, but bailed themselves out by hitting 26 of 34 free throws (76%) as they upset #3 Villanova, 70-65. Ranked #19 before their game, the Panthers will move up considerably in the national rankings due out Monday.
At the start of the season, not much was made about Duke's chances other than they'd likely be a high seed when March came around. Now, it appears that the Blue Devils may be able to nab a #1 seed in the NCCA tourney, as they've plowed through their ACC opponents with relative ease.Sunday's ho-hum, 67-55 win over Virginia Tech offered a glimpse of what to expect when Duke comes calling. Their "big three" of Kyle Singler, Nick Smith and Jon Scheyer combined for all but four of Duke's points, with Singler leading the charge with 25 points on 7-for-15 shooting, which included 4 of 9 3-pointers and a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. Singler also added 10 boards for his 5th double-double of the season.
Scheyer scored 15 and Smith tallied 24. The other players to score were center Brian Zoubek, who had 3 points but held sway in the lane with 16 rebounds. Miles Plumlee had a single point from the foul line.
Duke, leading the ACC at 11-2, is being chased by 9-3 Maryland. The Terrapins may have their opportunity for at least a share of the conference title March 3rd, when Duke visits.Duke has already bombed Maryland once, 77-56, and their Sunday win sent the Hokies back to 8-4 in the ACC standings. In the meantime, the Blue Devils continue to make strides towards a top NCAA seeding and possibly a very deep run in the winner-take-all tournament.
Notable: The Pitt Panthers suffered through one of their worst shooting performances of the season, but bailed themselves out by hitting 26 of 34 free throws (76%) as they upset #3 Villanova, 70-65. Ranked #19 before their game, the Panthers will move up considerably in the national rankings due out Monday.
Labels: Duke Blue Devils, Kyle Singler
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Duke's Scheyer, Singler Stomp Tar Heels
College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2010
They weren't exactly sharpshooters from inside the 3-point line, but Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler shot well enough from outside the arc to bury North Carolina right in the Tar Heels' back yard at Chapel Hill, 64-54.
The guard-forward combo combined for 2/3rds of the Blue Devil scoring, 43 in all, sending North Carolina to their 4th straight conference loss, 4th straight home loss, and dropped them to a 2-7 record in the ACC, just 1/2 game ahead of last place NC State (2-8). 8-2 Duke expanded their ACC lead to a full game over idle Maryland (6-2) and Wake Forest (7-3). Maryland's scheduled home game with Virginia was cancelled due to the fierce storm which dumped nearly 4 feet of snow on College Park over the past 4 days.
Singler was the man in the first half for Duke, while Scheyer scored most of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Singler was 7-for-18 overall, but 4 of 5 from 3-point range as the Tar Heels allowed him open looks in the early going. He finished with 19 points and 9 boards. Scheyer was 7-for-20, but 5 of 9 from outside the arc, adding 4 assists and 5 rebounds. As a team, the Blue Devils had one of their worst shooting nights of the season, hitting just 31% from the field, though they managed 50% (9-18) from 3-point land. The dynamic duo had all of the treys.
North Carolina didn't fare much better, hitting 35% from the floor and a woeful 5 of 18 (28%) on threes. Carolina's overall record now stands at a mediocre 13-11, nearly assuring that they will not be invited to the Big Dance in March. It's a sorry state of affairs in Chapel Hill, less than a year removed from cutting down the nets as national champions. Of course, losing players like Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Danny Green did put a very large dent in Carolina's overall game.
They weren't exactly sharpshooters from inside the 3-point line, but Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler shot well enough from outside the arc to bury North Carolina right in the Tar Heels' back yard at Chapel Hill, 64-54.The guard-forward combo combined for 2/3rds of the Blue Devil scoring, 43 in all, sending North Carolina to their 4th straight conference loss, 4th straight home loss, and dropped them to a 2-7 record in the ACC, just 1/2 game ahead of last place NC State (2-8). 8-2 Duke expanded their ACC lead to a full game over idle Maryland (6-2) and Wake Forest (7-3). Maryland's scheduled home game with Virginia was cancelled due to the fierce storm which dumped nearly 4 feet of snow on College Park over the past 4 days.
Singler was the man in the first half for Duke, while Scheyer scored most of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Singler was 7-for-18 overall, but 4 of 5 from 3-point range as the Tar Heels allowed him open looks in the early going. He finished with 19 points and 9 boards. Scheyer was 7-for-20, but 5 of 9 from outside the arc, adding 4 assists and 5 rebounds. As a team, the Blue Devils had one of their worst shooting nights of the season, hitting just 31% from the field, though they managed 50% (9-18) from 3-point land. The dynamic duo had all of the treys.
North Carolina didn't fare much better, hitting 35% from the floor and a woeful 5 of 18 (28%) on threes. Carolina's overall record now stands at a mediocre 13-11, nearly assuring that they will not be invited to the Big Dance in March. It's a sorry state of affairs in Chapel Hill, less than a year removed from cutting down the nets as national champions. Of course, losing players like Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Danny Green did put a very large dent in Carolina's overall game.
Labels: Duke Blue Devils, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler
Friday, February 05, 2010
Singler Guides Duke Past Georgia Tech; Devils Top ACC
College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2010
With Georgia Tech's big men - Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors - both in foul trouble from just about the very start of the game (Lawal picked up 2 personals in the first 33 seconds and Favors had three before the game was even 7 minutes old), one would have thought the Blue Devils would take the ball in deep for scoring opportunities. Instead, just the opposite occurred as Kyle Singler roamed free on the perimeter, hitting 8 of 10 3-pointers for a career-high 30 points. As Singler was pouring them in from long range, and the Yellow jacket insiders on the bench, #10 Duke (18-4, 6-2) easily sped past #21 Georgia Tech (16-6, 4-4), 86-67, to remain 1/2 game ahead of 5-2 maryland and Virginia in the ACC.
Singler hit only one of seven shots that wasn't from three-point range, but he added 4-of-5 from the foul line and pulled down 5 rebounds. The game was decided within the first ten minutes of play, as Duke took a lead and went ahead to stay. Singler canned one of his threes just before intermission, giving the Blue Devils a 45-33 lead. After that they were never threatened.
NOTABLE: Keep an eye on the Butler Bulldogs, who are about to wrap up the Horizon league regular season title. They are 12-0 in the conference, on Thursday knocking off Detroit, 63-58, following four consecutive wins on the road. Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds, continuing to lead Butler in both departments. The Bulldogs are a perennial upset-maker in the NCAA tourney and appear poised for a deep run this year. 19-4 Butler is ranked #23 in the most-recent AP poll.
With Georgia Tech's big men - Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors - both in foul trouble from just about the very start of the game (Lawal picked up 2 personals in the first 33 seconds and Favors had three before the game was even 7 minutes old), one would have thought the Blue Devils would take the ball in deep for scoring opportunities. Instead, just the opposite occurred as Kyle Singler roamed free on the perimeter, hitting 8 of 10 3-pointers for a career-high 30 points. As Singler was pouring them in from long range, and the Yellow jacket insiders on the bench, #10 Duke (18-4, 6-2) easily sped past #21 Georgia Tech (16-6, 4-4), 86-67, to remain 1/2 game ahead of 5-2 maryland and Virginia in the ACC.Singler hit only one of seven shots that wasn't from three-point range, but he added 4-of-5 from the foul line and pulled down 5 rebounds. The game was decided within the first ten minutes of play, as Duke took a lead and went ahead to stay. Singler canned one of his threes just before intermission, giving the Blue Devils a 45-33 lead. After that they were never threatened.
NOTABLE: Keep an eye on the Butler Bulldogs, who are about to wrap up the Horizon league regular season title. They are 12-0 in the conference, on Thursday knocking off Detroit, 63-58, following four consecutive wins on the road. Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds, continuing to lead Butler in both departments. The Bulldogs are a perennial upset-maker in the NCAA tourney and appear poised for a deep run this year. 19-4 Butler is ranked #23 in the most-recent AP poll.
Labels: Duke Blue Devils, Kyle Singler
