Game blog: Duke beats up Coastal Carolina 74-49

By Tim Hall
Nov 16, 2009

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8:53 p.m., Easy win for Duke: The Blue Devils didn't cover the spread for you degenerate gamblers out there. But I always take a 20-plus point win and go home pretty happy from it. As long as you're in no danger of losing there are no problems. Just ask Kentucky about that. They could lose to Miami of Ohio tonight.

Coastal thinks its wise to extend the game by fouling.

Game is over at 74-49. Stick around for Elon and UNC-Charlotte coming up next. Sorry....no live blog for that. Find another way. Goodnight.

8:47 p.m., Duke leads 65-40 with 3:25 to go: I'm pulling a Billy Packer and saying this game is over. This one is over. Kyle Singler has his double-double.

There is a Coastal player named Sam McLaurin and he is wearing these tights on his leg. They are those high socks so you can't see any of his legs. The Crazies really got after him about it and he actually looked mad about. He even turned around and looked like he wanted to go Ron Artest on the crowd.

Duke played fine tonight.

8:31 p.m., Upset alert: Not in this game silly. Duke is leading here 59-34. They look like the may cover the spread. The Blue Devils look fine. Nothing to be worried about. Coach K even had one of those coaching moments where he stood up and clapped and had this "Yes I am pleased" looks.

Kyle Singler has 21 points and 8 boards. But I'm really impressed with Andre Dawkins tonight. He has given a really good game off the bench.

Speaking of Coastal Carolina. It's located just near Myrtle Beach in SC. Sorry to say but I'm taking UNC-W every time. Why would I go to Myrtle when I can to Wilmington and be near Wrightsville Beach? No contest. Sorry Chanticleers.

That upset watch. Miami of Ohio is beating Kentucky by 6 with 12 minutes to play. John Wall was leading the team with 12 points last I checked. Almost all of it came from the free throw line.

8:22 p.m., Duke leads 47-28 midway through second half: Kyle Singler is at mid-season form. He is knocking down those shots that you just can't guard. It's not easy defending a 6-8 guy that moves and has a shot like him. When he elevates even the tall guys have no chance to block it.

The Coastal mascot again tried to stir up some stuff with the Crazies in the break. You remember Ace Ventura: Pet Detective? I love the scene at the Dolphins-Eagles Super Bowl. Ace fights the Eagle. I think someone wants to do that to the Chanticleer.

8:10 p.m., Duke yet to burst this one open: The Chants are still hanging around here. It's 38-23 with 15:58 left in the second half. Jon Scheyer got going with a couple of baskets including a 3-pointer. Duke was a 28 point favorite in this game just so you know.

Hey the Blue Devils mascot right now took the cape off and he is donning a Josh McRoberts No.2 jersey. I wonder what the deal with that is.

I also ran into former N.C. State guard Justin Gainey in the halls. He was an assistant at State up until this year. Now he is one Elon's staff. The Phoenix play here at 9:30.

7:47 p.m., Halftime: Here is my one allotted halftime blog post. Duke leads this one 33-19 at halftime. Kyle Singler took over in the scoring department here late in the half. He finished the half with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Duke is playing a team that didn't just come here to lose. Again Cliff Ellis is a very good head coach. He has four starters returning from an 11 win team last year. They already beat College of Charleston this year. They have a goofy nickname and a goofy mascot. And they are hanging in there. The Chanticleers will not go away. It's probably the most literary mascot in the nation. Read the earlier post it comes from The Cantebury Tales.

7:37 p.m., Not much went on in the last few minutes: The NIT owns me and my computer right now so this will be the last post before halftime. Duke scored four more points to take a 26-12 lead with 3:57 to go in the half. Singler has 8 points and 6 rebounds.

The Coastal mascot had some fun with the Cameron Crazies in the last break. You know how the Crazies point and waive their fingers at opposing players who take the ball out of bounds? Yeah the turquoise rooster was doing that to the Duke fans. Everyone in the gym then did the chicken dance to mock him.

7:27 p.m., Duke leads 20-12 with 7:45 left in first half: Andre Dawkins really sparked this team offensively. I should have put it in the last post but he was partly responsible for helping Duke take the lead. He hit a 3-pointer and also got an offensive board and put back. He can actually sneak in on the offensive glass and surprise you.

There is a nice local game coming up after this one. Elon will take on UNC-Charlotte. Duke gets the winner of that game tomorrow night. That is if Duke wins........

Kyle Singler is having his usual solid first half. He has close to 10 points.

7:17 p.m., Coastal already rattled: Coach Cliff Ellis, who has almost 600 career Division I wins by the way (15th all-time among active coaches), got pretty mad with his team and called a timeout. The Chants have really gotten visibly rattled here and haven't responded to Dukes spurt.

Coastal took the timeout right before the media timeout and it worked. They got a nice backdoor lay-up for Joseph Harris. He is on the Big South preseason first team. They need him to get going to have a chance. With 11:09 left in the first half it;s 14-10 Duke. Blue Devils went on a 14-2 run here recently since Coastal led 6-0 early.

7:10 p.m., Hot start for the Chants: Coastal opened up a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. Duke had 3 or 4 turnovers in that span. Two of the Chants' baskets were big dunks too. They also brought one of the biggest road followings I've ever seen here. They are a loud group too, all sitting right behind the Coastal bench.

My early impression is that Coastal is not winning 11 games this year.

Duke eventually ties this game up at 6 with some free throws and a Kyle Singler 3-point play. But the intensity is very high, and you can tell that there is something different going on tonight. Duke isn't really a true home team here because this is the NIT Season Tip-Off thing. It's really weird to see Coastal bring its pep band, cheerleaders and mascot. The Coastal mascot is kind of a hybrid Gamecock. It's a turquoise rooster with a mean scowl.

6:37 p.m., What I need to see from Duke: I would like to see the big men be a little more careful with the basketball. Miles Plumlee, Zoubek and Thomas combined for 10 turnovers. Duke played well though in its debut with a 36 point win over UNC-Greensboro. I need to see a solid 20-point victory in the second game without Nolan Smith. Offense should turn up when he returns. But this is the second opponent in a row that really struggled last season. Coastal Carolina only won 11 games. They do return four starters and a Big South POY candidate in Joseph Harris.

The Chanticleers already beat Bobby Cremmins' College of Charleston team this year by 11 points so progress is already starting to be made too. Cliff Ellis is in his 3rd year of trying to turn around the program. You talk about a good coach. He won at South Alabama. He won at Clemson, and he won at Auburn. None of those places knew a whole lot about winning before he got there. He was a two-time ACC coach of the year and he brought Clemson an ACC title in 1990.

You might be thinking what the heck is a "Chanticleer?" They refer to it simply as a mascot and from talking to someone close to the program I found out it is a bird depicted in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Cantebury Tales. Weird I know. Basically it's a proud rooster. It's most similar to a Gamecock. And the name came about because a long time ago Coastal was part of the South Carolina system. I guess they wanted to break away with a different but similar mascot.

Go Chants!!

Most Recent Comments

RE: Game blog: Duke beats up Coastal Carolina 74-49

^ Like I said, that is an argument you would have to take up with the NCAA and the Media. Every mention of UNC is Defending National Champions. It has been used for years. It will never change. You are looking way too deep into something that is so simple. I use it just like everyone else (except you and a couple of other Duke Fans)uses it. I am sure if Duke won sometime in the near future, you would not have a problem with it.
- Posted by Tarheelsvictory-57-82-93-05-09

I think the NCAA and the media should take it up with the dictionary.
- Posted by wormwood33

Nah. I think it is fine just the way it is. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS MENS BASKETBALL TEAM-DEFENDING NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
- Posted by Tarheelsvictory-57-82-93-05-09

I weep for you.

RE: Game blog: Duke beats up Coastal Carolina 74-49

^ Like I said, that is an argument you would have to take up with the NCAA and the Media. Every mention of UNC is Defending National Champions. It has been used for years. It will never change. You are looking way too deep into something that is so simple. I use it just like everyone else (except you and a couple of other Duke Fans)uses it. I am sure if Duke won sometime in the near future, you would not have a problem with it.
- Posted by Tarheelsvictory-57-82-93-05-09

I think the NCAA and the media should take it up with the dictionary.
- Posted by wormwood33

Nah. I think it is fine just the way it is. THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS MENS BASKETBALL TEAM-DEFENDING NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

RE: Game blog: Duke beats up Coastal Carolina 74-49

^ Like I said, that is an argument you would have to take up with the NCAA and the Media. Every mention of UNC is Defending National Champions. It has been used for years. It will never change. You are looking way too deep into something that is so simple. I use it just like everyone else (except you and a couple of other Duke Fans)uses it. I am sure if Duke won sometime in the near future, you would not have a problem with it.
- Posted by Tarheelsvictory-57-82-93-05-09

I think the NCAA and the media should take it up with the dictionary.

RE: Game blog: Duke beats up Coastal Carolina 74-49

^ Like I said, that is an argument you would have to take up with the NCAA and the Media. Every mention of UNC is Defending National Champions. It has been used for years. It will never change. You are looking way too deep into something that is so simple. I use it just like everyone else (except you and a couple of other Duke Fans)uses it. I am sure if Duke won sometime in the near future, you would not have a problem with it.

RE: Game blog: Duke beats up Coastal Carolina 74-49

UNC gave up 77 points to Valpo and only won by 11. LOL!
- Posted by tlc891

UNC has won 4 straight in CIS and are the Defending National Champions. LOL!
- Posted by Tarheelsvictory-57-82-93-05-09

They are not the defending national champions. They are the champions of the 08-09 season. This is the 09-10 season, yet to have a champion. This is not boxing or mma, the next time Carolina loses a basketbal game, the winner of that game will not be the national champion. To be the defending champion, you have to have the danger of losing the championship, or your not really defending it.
- Posted by wormwood33

You should take your petty little argument up with the NCAA. Defending National Champs, 2009 National Champions, you know exactly what I mean. It is obvious that they are not defending a Trophy as this is not the NHL or a Belt as in the MMA. They are just defending the right to be called National Champions. No one has that right now except UNC as they were the last ones. IF a new Champion is crowned this year, then they will wear that Title next year. No sense of humor from the Dukies.
- Posted by Tarheelsvictory-57-82-93-05-09

You just don't know how to use the word "defending". It is not an ongoing struggle to be called the national champions from last year. If they lost every game this year they would still be the champions from last year.

And I have a great sense of humor, for example, "did you know John Henson is the most poisonous spider on the earth? His fangs just are not strong enough to penetrate human skin." -see, funny. I just like it when words are used properly. Otherwise they lose their meaning.

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