Duke
Seniors lift Duke over Virginia Tech, 85-57
Published: 2013-03-05 16:38:00
Updated: 2013-03-05 21:00:21
Mar 5, 2013
Durham, N.C. — FINAL: Duke 85, Virginia Tech 57
2:50 second half: Duke 78, Virginia Tech 55: Duke seems to have the game in hand with three minutes to go. Seth Curry leads with 20 points, Ryan Kelly right behind him with 18.
6:38 second half: Duke 64, Virginia Tech 53: Despite Erick Green's best efforts the Hokies are not finding their way back into this game. Duke continues to stay ahead of Virginia Tech in the second.
10:41 second half: Duke 57, Virginia Tech 47: The Hokies are having a hard time finding the basket in the second half and have not scored in the past two minutes. Duke is working hard for their 10-point lead and Virginia Tech is paying for it with three players in foul trouble.
15:47 second half: Duke 51, Virginia Tech 39: Duke grabs their largest lead of the game with 15:51 to go in the second, 51-39 over Virginia Tech. Seth Curry came out of the half firing and now leads the Blue Devils with 16 points.
Halftime: Duke 38, Virginia Tech 35: Duke battled to an eight point lead with a little less than three minutes to go in the first half before Virginia Tech went on a run bringing the halftime difference to three.
3:00 first half: Duke 34, Virginia Tech 28: Duke has gained momentum behind Ryan Kelly and have taken over the lead, 34-28, in the last minutes of the first half. Kelly leads the team with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
9:29 first half: Virginia Tech 21, Duke 18: Ryan Kelly broke the Blue Devils' scoring drought with a three-pointer but it hasn't stopped Virginia Tech from producing on their end. Erik Green now leads the Hokies with nine points.
11:36 first half: Virginia Tech 17, Duke 10: It's been two minutes since Duke has scored and the Hokies have taken advantage of it. Jarell Eddie leads Virginia Tech with 8 points and four rebounds. No Duke player has scored more than one basket from the field.
14:56 first half: Virginia Tech 10, Duke 8: Virginia Tech got out to a fast start and took an 8-1 lead over Duke in the first two minutes of play before Mason Plumlee scored the first field goal for the Blue Devils. After buckets from Tyler Thornton and Ryan Kelly, Duke is within one basket of the Hokies at the first media timeout.
20:00: The three Duke seniors were specifically introduced prior to the start of the game, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee as Tuesday marks the Blue Devils last home game of the 2013 season.
The third-ranked Duke Blue Devils close out the home portion of their schedule on Tuesday night, as they entertain the Virginia Tech Hokies at Cameron Indoor Stadium in an Atlantic Coast Conference bout.
Virginia Tech is winding down a disappointing season, as it sits at 13-16 overall and just 4-12 in ACC play. The Hokies have been playing better of late however, winning two of their last three games, including a 69-61 triumph over Clemson on Saturday night.
Duke suffered a 73-68 loss at Virginia on Feb. 28, but it bounced back in a huge way with a 79-76 win over nationally-ranked Miami-Florida on Saturday. The Blue Devils are 25-4 overall and remain in the driver's seat for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but at 12-4 in the ACC, they are unlikely to catch Miami (14-2) for the regular-season conference crown.
These two teams met less than two weeks ago, with Duke coming out on top, 88-56. The Blue Devils have now defeated the Hokies in five straight and nine of the last 10 meetings overall, extending their lead in the all-time series to a commanding 41-8.
Virginia Tech built up an 11-point advantage at the half against Clemson the last time out, and it was able to hold on to the lead down the stretch thanks mostly to a 54.8 percent shooting effort. Putting forth another outstanding performance was Erick Green, who shot 8-of-12 from the floor (5-of-7 from 3- point range) on his way to 29 points. C.J. Barksdale added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Robert Brown netted 13 points in the triumph.
The Hokies have an impressive offensive attack, pouring in more than 70 ppg, and that is mostly thanks to the nation's leading scorer in Green. The 6- foot-4 senior is netting 25.0 ppg on 48 percent field goal shooting, and he also adds 4.0 apg and 4.0 rpg for good measure. Although neither can touch Green's production, Jarell Eddie (11.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Brown (8.9 ppg) are both in the midst of solid seasons. VaTech's downfall comes at the defensive end as it yields an average of 73.7 ppg, which ranks last in the ACC.
Duke trailed Miami by one point midway through the second half during its most recent game, but it took control of the game with a 20-9 run over the next eight minutes to secure the impressive victory. After missing two months with a foot injury, Ryan Kelly returned to the lineup in spectacular fashion, pouring in a career-high 36 points on 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Quinn Cook added 15 points and five rebounds, while Mason Plumlee netted 12 points and blocked a pair of shots.
The Blue Devils have the most potent offensive attack in the ACC, scoring 78.5 ppg while ranking in the top-two in field goal percentage (.475), 3-point percentage (.414) and free-throw percentage (.723), and their scoring defense (65.5 ppg) is strong enough to give them the best scoring margin (+13.0) in the league. Plumlee is a force to be reckoned with in the paint with 17.1 ppg (on 59.1 percent shooting) and 10.3 rpg, while Seth Curry has made 74-of-171 from 3-point range (.433) en route to 16.9 ppg. Kelly's return to the lineup will only help, as he averages 14.8 ppg, while Cook (12.5 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Rasheed Sulaimon (12.0 ppg) round out one of the deepest teams in the nation.
Even with the presence of an elite scorer in Green, Virginia Tech hasn't been able to compete with the contenders in the ACC this season, especially on the road. The Cameron Crazies will have the house rocking in this 2013 home finale, propelling the Blue Devils to another comfortable victory.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Duke 88, Virginia Tech 67
Copyright 2013 by The Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
RE: Seniors lift Duke over Virginia Tech, 85-57
Good to see the seniors enjoy their night, especially Kelly, who could have still been sidelined. VT was just out-manned. I'm actually glad VT didn't pull off the upset with my boys coming up this weekend. That's all we need........extra motivation.
I know 3 of the seniors tonight were regular starters, but I don't understand why K doesn't start his seniors that don't play much. I mean, they bust their humps in practice every day too. Throw 'em a bone K!!! Just so they can say 20 years from now that they "started" a game at Duke.
- Posted by mxteam44
VT showed tonight why Coach K can't afford those cute little "start the senior" tributes. That was a tough ballgame most of the night. All it takes is Curry to twist an ankle early in the 2nd half and Duke may not have gotten separation.
Wanna place a bet that Roy starts his seniors (if we have any) Saturday night against Duke? Dean always started his seniors, even if it was just for the first minute or two. K doesn't seem to have that same appreciation for the hard work those scrubs put in day in and day out.
K doesn't seem to have that same appreciation for the hard work those scrubs put in day in and day out.Coaches all have different ways to show their appreciation for their seniors. As many have already stated, not all coaches start their seniors and then pull them out at the first dead ball. So your statement should be changed to reflect that, instead of just using it as another time where "Coach K does it this way so it's just another reason why he's a j*rk".
During the game, they did talk about how Coach K and Mrs. K host a dinner the night before senior night for just the senior players and the senior managers where they talk about their 4 year experience. And they specifically said it wasn't just to talk about how so and so scored 30 that one time to beat UNC, it's so they can talk about their 4 year experience as being part of the team. The reason why they do this is to make sure they have a chance to celebrate the part of being a senior the night before so senior night is celebrated and then it settles them down so the excitement of senior night doesn't negatively impact the game.
Would it be fair for me to say "any coach that doesn't host a senior dinner the night before senior day just shows he doesn't value what the seniors did for their coach"?
Haters unite
K will go down in history as the greatest coach ever, in any sport, male or female.
Hate him for his language, hate him for his facial features, but most of all
hate him for winning, running a clean program, and graduating his players.
1 coach, 4 National Championships
RE: Seniors lift Duke over Virginia Tech, 85-57
Does anyone know why K does not talk to the media at halftime.... like every other coach in America does? I am sure this question opens the door for Duke haters, but I am seriously curious about the answer.
- Posted by timdouthit
One more to the list of reasons why we hate the RAT.
It's one thing to talk trash but it takes no class to call someone a RAT!
Would you expect anything but 3rd class from a poor old State fan whose team is still behind Duke again...as usual?
RE: Seniors lift Duke over Virginia Tech, 85-57
Haters always find a reason to hate, trying to understand them would be like trying to understand Dennis Rodman's praise of Kim Jung Un.
RE: Seniors lift Duke over Virginia Tech, 85-57
Good to see the seniors enjoy their night, especially Kelly, who could have still been sidelined. VT was just out-manned. I'm actually glad VT didn't pull off the upset with my boys coming up this weekend. That's all we need........extra motivation.
I know 3 of the seniors tonight were regular starters, but I don't understand why K doesn't start his seniors that don't play much. I mean, they bust their humps in practice every day too. Throw 'em a bone K!!! Just so they can say 20 years from now that they "started" a game at Duke.
- Posted by mxteam44
VT showed tonight why Coach K can't afford those cute little "start the senior" tributes. That was a tough ballgame most of the night. All it takes is Curry to twist an ankle early in the 2nd half and Duke may not have gotten separation.
Wanna place a bet that Roy starts his seniors (if we have any) Saturday night against Duke? Dean always started his seniors, even if it was just for the first minute or two. K doesn't seem to have that same appreciation for the hard work those scrubs put in day in and day out.
Just because Coach Smith did it and Ole Roy does it doesn't make it a rule for everyone else to do it. Who gives cares!?!
Duke haters can find more insufficient things to complain about. Why don't you just cheer for your team and save all the negative energy.
And for all you NC State fans that want to disrespect Coach K just remember that Jimmy V didn't have a better friend that Coach K.
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