Krzyzewski Passes Driesell in Total Wins as Duke Tops Temple

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Krzyzewski Passes Driesell in Total Wins as Duke Tops Temple

By Andy Jasner

Jan 10, 2008

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For the second time in four days, ninth-ranked Duke played sporadic basketball. But in both cases, the Blue Devils wound up with a victory.

Unlike Sunday's 14-point win against overmatched Ivy League foe Cornell, Duke was prepared for a stiffer test against Atlantic 10 opponent Temple.

Consider the test passed.

Taylor King scored 15 points while DeMarcus Nelson and Greg Paulus added 13 each and the Blue Devils (12-1) won 74-64 before a crowd of 18,030 at the Wachovia Center. It was Duke's second straight win since a 65-64 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Duke defeated the Owls (6-7) for the eighth straight time and hasn't lost to them since Jan. 25, 1996, a 59-58 defeat in Philadelphia.

"We won the game though it wasn't pretty all the time," Paulus said. "We played much better defensively in the second half, and that was key when we struggled to score. Then our offense picked up and we were able to get the win."

The win was the 787th all-time for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is third among active coaches. Krzyzewski now boasts a career mark of 787-262 and snapped a tie with Lefty Driesell. San Francisco coach Eddie Sutton is fifth on the list with 798 victories.

"It's not a race I'm running," Krzyzewski quipped about his milestone win.

A majority of the crowd donned dark blue Duke shirts and jerseys, including quite a large contingent who showed up to see sophomore Gerald Henderson. Henderson starred in high school at nearby Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa. He finished with five points and five rebounds in 25 minutes.

"Gerald will have better basketball games than (Wednesday)," Krzyzewski said. "I thought he wasn't in sync. He's been a terrific player for us this year. However, in the second half, I thought he made some terrific defensive plays. Five points is not going to be the norm."

Temple received 23 points from Dionte Christmas and 20 from Mark Tyndale but was stung by 20 turnovers and poor shooting - 35 percent.

Duke led by 16 points at halftime but watched the Owls get within eight points in the second half. The Blue Devils went more than eight minutes without a field goal, allowing Temple to cut the lead to 53-45 with 8:01 remaining. But Duke responded with eight consecutive points for a 61-45 advantage.

"I thought we locked down defensively in the second half," said Nelson, who became the 19th player in Duke history to reach 100 career 3-pointers. "We dug in and hung together as a team. We made the big plays when we needed them."

And despite playing short-handed without injured 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek, who is out indefinitely with a fractured left foot, the Blue Devils made those big plays with a small lineup for much of the game.

"We had to communicate defensively," Nelson said. "We knew we didn't have that presence in the middle. We had to do it together."

They'll have to do it together beginning Sunday when they open ACC play against Virginia.

"Every game is important to us and it was important to win this one against Temple," Paulus said. "The ACC is always tough no matter who you play."

Temple is not nearly as tough as it used to be under legendary coach John Chaney, who guided the Owls to five Elite Eight appearances. Former Penn coach Fran Dunphy replaced Chaney before last season.

Temple's last NCAA Tournament berth came in 2001, Chaney's last trip to the Elite Eight.

Dunphy's biggest problem is depth and it showed in the second half.

"I think we're OK," Dunphy said. "I think we have a chance to be a pretty good team. I don't think we can be an elite team."

After a slow start, Duke broke free from the stubborn Owls late in the first half.

Leading 18-16 with 8:11 remaining, the Blue Devils went on a 14-1 run, increasing their advantage to 32-17. Nelson had seven points during the spurt and Duke went on to take a 39-23 lead at the break.

Duke shot only 43 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes but limited Temple to 26 percent shooting (7-of-27) and 12 turnovers.

Most Recent Comments

onyourheels, get a grip. Rupp's teams didn't play as many games per season as Dean's did. His winning percentage is .822 to Dean's .776.

Throw in those extra cupcakes into schedule at the beginning of the season with the extended conference and NCAA touneys and Rupp would have won a LOT more wins than Dean.

rupp 41 yrs - DEAN 36 yrs. wow 39

yeah nobody will ever do what Wooden did, especially with all the parody now.

"Dean will always be the man until someone passes his wins with fewer losses. Roy is the only one who has a shot at that. Dean only had 254 l's."
-onyourheels

Dean has 3 more wins but 64 more LOSSES than Kentucky's Rupp. That's some twisted logic if you think those 3 wins makes him a better coach than Rupp. UNLV's Tarkanian also has a better winning percentage than Dean.

Personally, I think UCLA's Wooten's 10 championships speak the loudest.

lefty could entertain without a potty mouth..duke fans cant defend against this because it's so true...what about it..oh yeah tar hole fans so did dr. dean"shoulda had 6 championships" smith...

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