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Beyond the arc: Duke basketball vs. Georgia State

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Facing off against Georgia State’s unusual strategies, Duke basketball worked its way to a 74-55 victory in its season opener at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Here is your postgame breakdown…

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

  • Is ‘Sheed ready for the starting role?—Sulaimon was the first to put Duke on the scoreboard, but did not tally many points after that. Regardless, he saw a similar amount of court time as in the preseason games, and shows promise for the rest of the season.
  • Can Mason dominate the boards?—Yes he can. Plumlee recorded three offensive and 11 defensive rebounds—the most on the team by a long shot. In his 35 minutes of playing time, Plumlee also managed to rack up the most points on the team, with 19 tallies.
  • What will the rotation be like?—Playing against an unconventional foe also means using an unconventional rotation. Thornton and Cook saw some mutual court time, and Krzyzewski also utilized a Thornton in a three-guard set alongside Seth Curry and Sulaimon. The taller than 6-foot-8 crowd had a strong presence as well, with freshman Amile Jefferson playing the small forward position.

Three key plays of the game

  • 18:50, first half: After R.J. Hunter stole the ball from Duke early in the game and earned Georgia State’s first points, Blue Devil freshman Rasheed Sulaimon got the scoreboard rolling with a three pointer. Although the field goal comprised half of Sulaimon’s six points earned during 30 minutes of play, he brought the first defensive floor slap of the season, and certainly knew how to rile up the Cameron Crazies.
  • 10:19, first half: Despite Mason Plumlee’s historical problems on the free-throw line, he made both shots after being fouled by GSU’s T.J. Shipes. Plumlee returned to his old habits, going just 3-of-7 the entire game.
  • 2:46, second half: Thornton put up a three-point field goal, and the offense set up Plumlee for an easy dunk that brought the game to its final score of 74-55. The Blue Devils recorded 33 of their points from beyond the arc.

Three key stats of the game:

  • Duke 11-of-24 from 3-point range. Although the Blue Devils weren’t stellar in beyond the arc, this is drastically better than Nov. 2′s matchup against Winston-Salem State in which Duke went 1-of-17. Seth Curry and Tyler Thornton tallied the most shots on the squad, but there is still room for improvement.
  • Freshmen Sulaimon and Jefferson combining for 11 points and six rebounds. The pair of freshmen are adapting quickly, and were enthusiastic on the court against Georgia State. Krzyzewski may rely on their exuberance—especially after getting the ball—Tuesday against Kentucky.
  • Seven Blue Devils scored at least five points. Plumlee, Kelly, Thornton, Sulaimon, Curry and Cook all played more than 20 minutes, scoring more than six points apiece. Although Duke may not dominate other teams to the same extent, the Blue Devils showed promising performances.

And the Duke game ball goes to… Tyler Thornton. During his 30 minutes on the court, Thornton led the Blue Devils defensively, scored 13 points and tallied three assists. His ability to play in a number of different lineups will allow Krzyzewski to utilize several new strategies throughout the season.

And the Georgia State game ball goes to … R.J. Hunter. Hunter was the second highest scorer for the Panthers, with 14 points throughout his 35 minutes of playing time. Not only did he power the team offensively, but he also secured 10 defensive rebounds—the most by far on the team. This multifaceted player could earn respect in Coack K’s book.

Duke basketball vs. Winston-Salem State updates

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Duke 69, Winston-Salem State 43 (0:45, in the second half): If Duke had been able to hit from outside, the score might have been very different. As it was, the Blue Devils missed a lot of open shots and made a blowout feel a lot closer than it needed to. The second half did not feature any of the killer runs that the first half did. The bright spots from the game were the performances of Amile Jefferson and Mason Plumlee. The lowlights: poor rebounding and poor outside shooting. Check tomorrow’s Chronicle for more coverage.

Duke 62, Winston-Salem State 39 (3:27, in the second half): Whatever semblance of rhythm this game once had has been disrupted by nearly constant fouls. Both teams are in the double-bonus with 6:41 left. Sulaimon left the game with four fouls with 6:35 left. Like many other Blue Devils, he has had a somewhat frustrating game, shooting 5-for-11 and going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Seth Curry made his first shot of the game on a nifty driving layup with just a little more than 6:00 left. Duke’s defense, while not poor, has been nowhere near as strong as it was in the first half, as the Rams have already doubled their first half output.

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Countdown gives fans first look at Duke basketball

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Duke’s Countdown to Craziness performance showcased the squad’s mix of old and new talent.

Seniors Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly got things going with hot starts to kick off the 2012-2013 season in the annual Blue-White scrimmage, and new Blue Devils Rodney Hood and Rasheed Sulaimon settled in to put on solid performances of their own for the Cameron crowd.

As part of Countdown to Craziness, the Blue Devils played two intrasquad scrimmages in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The first 10-minute matchup pitted a Blue team composed of Tyler Thornton, Josh Hairston, Amile Jefferson, Rodney Hood and Todd Zafirovski against a White team with Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon, Alex Murphy, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee.

Right off the bat, Plumlee and Kelly made the most of their size advantage to give the White team the lead.

Plumlee started the contest by scoring two baskets, dishing two assists and intercepting a pass to spur a fast-break. Kelly added two jumpers and a three-point play to put the White team up 15-6.

In the early minutes, Hairston, a junior, kept the White team from pulling too far ahead by knocking down three consecutive jumpers for six points. Shooting just 1-5 for the rest of the period, Hairston could not keep the Blue team in the game, and the White team ended the half with a 26-15 lead.

For the second period, the score was reset to 0-0. Additionally, Hairston and Thornton moved to the White team while Cook and Kelly switched to the Blue team.

In the second period, two Duke newcomers seized the spotlight to start things off, going back-and-forth in the early minutes.

Guarding the six-foot-eight-inch Hood—who must sit out the 2012-2013 season due to NCAA transfer rules—the six-foot-four Sulaimon matched Hood basket for basket in the first four minutes of the period.

“[Rodney’s] a handful—two hands full,” Sulaimon said. “He’s a great player. He can shoot. He can drive. He’s very athletic. He’s fast. But I love going up against him. I like the challenge because I think at the end of the day, it’s just going to help me to become a better defensive player and help me down the stretch.”

Sulaimon finished with 10 points for the White team in the half, and Hood ended with eight. The Blue team pulled away, though, and ended with a 29-18 lead as Kelly added eight points, and Cook, a sophomore point guard, scored nine points in the period.

For the twenty minutes, Kelly ended with a game-high 15 points. Murphy, a redshirt freshman, posted eight rebounds and three blocks—both game highs as well.

Senior Seth Curry and redshirt freshman Marshall Plumlee sat out the scrimmage with injuries.

“We’re really happy with where we are right now as a team,” Jefferson, who scored four points and grabbed five rebounds, said. “[We] can’t wait to get the season started when we can actually play against someone else.”

Duke’s home struggles sends it plummeting in rankings

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Three questions regarding the latest AP Men’s Basketball Rankings:

Is Florida’s four spot jump warranted?

The Gators made a big jump in this week’s rankings, leapfrogging Duke, Murray State, Michigan State, and UNLV to earn the No. 8 ranking this week.  But what did Florida do to deserve such a giant bump in the eyes of the AP?  The Gators’ first game of the week came against a South Carolina team who is sporting a mediocre 1-6 SEC record.  On their home floor, Florida bested the Gamecocks by a mere eight points and shot a putrid 37.3% from the floor.  The Gators are shooting 47.2% on the year.  The next game was tougher, facing then No. 25 Vanderbilt at home.  Once again, Florida won by just eight points and shot an equally miserable 38.3%.  So the question becomes, did Florida earn the right to pass Duke, who was five spots in front of them last week, Michigan State, who was three spots in front of them, or even Murray State, who was two spots in front of Florida and didn’t lose last week? With a game in Kentucky this week, Florida is staring at what could very well be loss number five, which would put them right back to where they were last week.

Which of the 12 ranked teams who lost are in the best shape to rebound?

Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, UNLV, Creighton, Marquette, Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Gonzaga, and Vanderbilt all dropped games last week after being ranked by the AP.  Of those 12 teams, Duke and Wisconsin were the only two to drop games at home, though Wisconsin’s loss came against Ohio State.  Duke, Michigan State, Creighton, UNLV, Marquette, and Gonzaga all lost to unranked teams, but Michigan State did knock off ranked Michigan last week as well.  Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, Virginia, UNLV, Gonzaga, and Vanderbilt all have more ranked teams on tap next week.  So, that leaves Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan as the teams who lost to a ranked opponent last week and don’t have to contend with another this week.  Considering Indiana’s recent slide, that leaves Michigan and Wisconsin as the two teams most likely to bounce back and shoot right back up the rankings again next week.

Can Duke regroup before they fall too far?

As mentioned above, Duke’s road doesn’t get any easier this week, as they will be in the heart of enemy territory when they take on No. 5 North Carolina in Chapel Hill Wednesday.  But it has been their recent struggles at home that have hurt the Blue Devils, not their play on the road.  When looking ahead, Duke hosts rival Maryland Saturday, formidable North Carolina State next week, and the Tar Heels in the season finale.  Toss in the tough road game against Florida State, and Duke could be looking at five losses in their last eight games.  The once impenetrable Cameron Indoor Stadium has been the site of Florida State and Miami upsets and a near collapse against St. John’s.  If Duke wants to rally before the end of the regular season and keep their long owned spot in the Top 10, they must take care of business against lesser competition on their own home floor.

Three one-loss teams garner first place votes in AP Poll

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Three questions regarding the latest AP Men’s Basketball Rankings

How far can the Seminoles go?

Florida State has shown the past two weeks that they are right there with the best basketball teams in the ACC.  After trouncing North Carolina at home by 33 points, the Seminoles came into Cameron Indoor Stadium and shocked the Blue Devils by snapping Duke’s 45 game win streak at home.  Thanks to their convincing win in Durham, Florida State went from receiving just one point in the voting Week 11, to receiving 244 votes this week, good for the No. 23 ranking in the nation.  With Wake Forest and Georgia Tech on tap, there is no reason to believe that FSU can’t continue their surge up the rankings.  The real test will come when No. 19 Virginia comes into town February 4th.  A win over Virginia should secure the Seminoles a spot in the rankings for the foreseeable future.

How far can Connecticut fall?

The preseason rankings had reigning champs UConn ranked No. 4 in the nation.  Now, after losses to Cincinnati and Tennessee, the Huskies have dropped to 14-5 on the season and are all the way at No. 24 in the polls.  When Connecticut hosts Notre Dame on Sunday, with the Irish fresh off a win over then No. 1 Syracuse, UConn will be losers four of the last six games.  Should the Huskies remain ranked, they will have to go into Georgetown and take out the No. 10 team in the nation next Wednesday.  With road games at Louisville and Syracuse on the 6th and 11th of February, UConn may well fall the way of Vanderbilt, Louisville, and Pittsburgh by falling out of the Top 25 completely after starting the season in the Top 10.

Which one-loss team will emerge as No. 1?

Now that Syracuse has fallen, Kentucky and Missouri have an opportunity to vie for that top spot in the rankings.  As it stands, Kentucky garnered 61-of-65 first place votes, putting them on top of the College Basketball world, followed by the Tigers (2-of-65) and then the Orange (2-of-65). Syracuse has a quite formidable schedule this week, going into Cincinnati (32nd in AP poll) then hosting West Virginia (26th in AP Poll).  Kentucky has to deal with both Georgia and LSU on the road.  Missouri has the easiest slate this week, taking on a pair of sub-.500 teams in Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.  If no team breaks from the pack this week, the long-term schedules for all three schools are challenging.  Looking long term, Syracuse has dates with five ranked teams before the end of the season compared to just four for Missouri, and only three for the current No. 1 Wildcats.  By the time conference tournaments come around, Kentucky could still be comfortably atop the AP’s rankings.

Seats in Cameron Indoor Stadium are the nation’s most expensive

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Do you want to buy Duke basketball tickets? Better start saving up.

SeatGeek, an online ticket marketplace, recently reported on the most expensive tickets in college basketball. A ticket to see the Blue Devils play topped the site’s list, costing an average of $228.28 in the secondary ticket marketplace. Not surprisingly, the top of the list is littered with the NCAA’s marquee teams. Kentucky, the NCAA’s winningest program, is a close second to Duke—the average cost for a seat in Rupp Arena is only $10 less than for one in Cameron. Those two teams shouldn’t be a surprise. Both teams have enormous, loyal fan bases.

After Kentucky, there’s a big drop to Tennessee, the third most expensive seats, but the big surprise comes with the rest of the top ten. While many national media outlets bemoan the fact that the ACC has become a two-team conference, it has five of the top nine most demanded tickets. Even more surprising: North Carolina, which currently sits at No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, has the fourth-most demanded tickets in the ACC. Georgia Tech, which hired Brian Gregory after a miserable 13-18 season is fourth, ahead of most of college basketball’s blue bloods. Maryland, which hasn’t made it past the NCAA tournament’s first weekend since 2003 and faces a rebuilding challenge after losing longtime coach Gary Williams, sits in sixth. Despite their projected success, the Tarheels’ tickets only cost eighth-most.