Duke 82, Butler 70- FINAL: No need for final second drama here, the Blue Devils decisive 12-0 run in the second half was enough to bury Butler for the second time in 2010. Kyrie Irving will likely get the headlines, but Andre Dawkins put in what may have been his best performance in a Blue Devil uniform. His ten points and nine rebounds, not to mention his suffocating defense, helped Duke break away from a spirited Bulldog team, and helped preserve Duke's undefeated record. That's all from East Rutherford, be sure to check the Chronicle on Monday for more analysis.
Duke 82, Butler 68, 46.0 seconds Second Half: It's all over in the Meadowlands. Krzyzewski's emptied the bench, and only a few free throws separate Duke from an 8-0 record.
Duke 76, Butler 64, 2:17 Second Half: The Bulldogs will be without Matt Howard, who fouled out after sending Seth Curry to the line. Around half of the Izod Center bid Howard farewell as he took his seat. Shawn Vanzant hits another shot (he's been the only consistent source of offense on the day for the Bulldogs), but Butler now has to begin the process of shoot-and-foul, and Nolan Smith drained two from the line.
Duke 73, Butler 62, 2:46 Second Half: Kyrie Irving is back on the court for the Blue Devils after a struggle to get his shoe on. He seems to be moving fine though. Nolan Smith split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 11, and Butler is going to have to bury a few three's if they hope to get back in this one.
Duke 72, Butler 62, 3:03 Second Half: Andre Dawkins drained a three from the far corner to give Duke a ten point advantage, but the Blue Devils will have to play the rest of the contest without Kyle Singler, who picked up his fifth foul of the day. His statline: 13 points and four rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting.
Duke 69, Butler 62, 3:23 Second Half: Khyle Marshall forces Singler off the court with his fourth foul, though Singler appeared to have established his position in the lane. The Izod Center crowd certainly didn't agree with the official.
Kyrie Irving had to come off the court in a great deal of pain, and I believe he told the trainers that a Bulldog stepped on his toe. With their playmaker off the court, Kyle Singler took the reins, and drained a midrange jumper as the shot-clock expired.
Duke 66, Butler 57, 7:00 Second Half: A Matt Howard tip allowed Butler to keep the ball after a missed shot, and Shawn Vanzant drilled another three from deep. Kyrie Irving responded however, knocking down two three's in succession over his helpless defenders.
Duke 60, Butler 54, 7:49 Second Half: Duke is hawking the ball defensively, but a misstep by Nolan Smith took away what would have been a Butler turnover. Dawkins forced a Bulldog timeout by catching his man in a corner, and on the throw in from the sideline, the ball to Nored went sailing over his head and towards the Duke bench. Smith beat Nored to the ball in a footrace, but tipped the ball back inbounds, allowing Nored to recover and Butler to keep possession. Can't criticize the hustle however. The Blue Devils are locking in defensively.
Duke 60, Butler 54, 8:19 Second Half: The Bulldogs aren't going away without a fight. A Chase Stigall three, followed by eight quick points from Shawn Vanzant, including two three-pointers, has Butler right back in the game. Duke is converting offensively though, as the perimeter defenders for the Bulldogs just can't keep the Blue Devils out of the lane.
Duke 54, Butler 44, 10:45 Second Half: The Blue Devils begin to bring the full court pressure, and Singler gets a steal, but loses the ball on the offensive end. Mason Plumlee then punished the Bulldogs on both ends. Defensively, an inadvertent eye-gouge from Plumlee sent Andrew Smith to the bench. On the ensuing Duke possession a high pick-and-roll involving Plumlee in Dawkins ended in a beatiful lob from the gaurd to a soaring Plumlee, who easily finished to extend the Duke lead to 10 and cap a 12-0 run.
Duke 51, Butler 44, 11:47 Second Half: There's a great tension on the Duke bench as the No. 1 team in the country struggles to find its offense, but Kyle Singler is doing his best. A great move into the lane and finish through contact enabled a chance for the three-point-play, but he missed the free-throw. On the next possession, Singler knifed into the lane for a layup. With Butler on their heels offensively, Andre Dawkins sprung into the passing lane and raced to the basket uncontested, exploding to the hoop for a massive dunk that sent the Duke bench--and the rest of the Izod Center-- springing to their feet.
Duke 45, Butler 44, 12:46 Second Half: Ronald Nored's strip of Kyrie Irving went unpunished, as Andrew Smith was unable to finish under the basket despite his great positioning. Nolan Smith was fouled by Nored during a three point shot attempt, and the guard was apparently unhappy with the foul, giving Nored a cold stare as he jogged down the court. Nolan converted all three to retake the lead.
Just an update, Duke is now 5-of-22 for three. That's 22.7%.
Duke 42, Butler 44, 14:37 Second Half: Chase Stigall caps a 4-0 Butler run, and the Blue Devils miss two more three pointers on the other end, one each by Singler and Dawkins.
Duke 40, Butler 38, 15:57 Second Half: Two more Irving free-throws give Duke a slight lead, but the offense looks a bit out of sync currently. Away from the action, two fans decided to tie the knot during a media timeout, complete with a scoreboard proposal. The Chronicle Sports Blog finds this to be tacky.
Duke 38. Butler 38, 16:16 Second Half: Irving takes a hard spill after a Ronald Nored foul while driving to the cup, but the point guard quickly bounced up and drained the two free-throws to even the score at 38. The Blue Devils have to be careful just trading baskets with Butler, as the Bulldog shooters are more than capable.
Duke 36, Butler 35, 19:13 Second Half: Butler's set play to open the half ends with an easy Matt Howard dunk, but Kyrie Irving finally connects on a three to retake the lead.
Halftime Notes: There are a number of NBA scouts here, including multiple eyes from the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers, and I doubt they're here to see Zach Hahn or Garrett Butcher. This is just speculation, but I believe the Cavaliers are in desperate need of a small forward after a recent departure...
Duke 33, Butler 33, End of First Half: The Bulldogs were very obviously worried about conceding a buzzer beater three, and Nolan Smith made Butler pay for its conservative defense. The senior drove from coast to coast through a spread out defense, and finished with a thunderous dunk to tie the game and ignite a sleepy Izod Center crowd.
Coach K will likely be incensed that Butler is getting as many good shots as they are, Duke is relatively unlucky to not have a ten point lead going into the half. The Blue Devils have created a wealth of open jumpers, but the rims in New Jersey must be a little different than they are in Durham, as Duke is just 4-16 from behind the arc. Nolan Smith's dunk should give the Blue Devils a bit of momentum to start the second half, but make no mistake, Brad Stevens has his Butler Bulldogs believing they can win today, and this game will likely be decided in the closing minutes. It will be interesting to see if Krzyzewski starts Singler in the second half with three fouls, as his presence changes the game offensively for Duke. We'll be back with more in the second half.
Duke 31, Butler 33, 6.3 seconds First Half: When Duke swung the ball from the left corner to Ryan Kelly at the top of the arc, he had Andre Dawkins in the far right corner, and the defender chose to close out on the sharpshooter Dawkins. Kelly drained the three, but Zach Hahn's three just seconds from the end of the half gives Butler back the lead.
Duke 28, Butler 30, 46.7 seconds First Half: When Kyrie Irving wants to get to the basket, he gets to the basket. The freshman phenom finished another beautiful play to draw Duke to within two, crossing his defender and switching hands in the air to finish a lefty finger roll.
Duke 26, Butler 28, 2:00 First Half: Kyrie Irving went coast-to-coast and glided to the basket for a pretty left-handed layup, but Andrew Smith and Mack answered to give Butler a one point advantage. After the Blue Devils missed another three, Smith drew the third foul of the half from Kyle Singler, which means the senior will have to be careful to start the second half.
Duke 24, Butler 23, 3:38 First Half: Nolan Smith's acrobatic scoop around Andrew Smith to finish and draw the foul gave the Blue Devils a conventional three-point-play, and a three point lead. The layup has got to be one of the plays of the year thus far from Smith, who's made a marked improvement with his finishing from last season. Shelvin Mack's jumper brings the Duke lead down to one point. Coming out of another media timeout, Coach K will be hoping his Blue Devils can finish the half on a run, and is stressing communication on the floor during the timeout.
Duke 19, Butler 21, 6:55 First Half: Garrett Butcher is staying hot, draining an open three off a pick and pop to extend the lead. Nolan Smith tried to answer with a three of his own, which drew iron, but a Kyle Singler offensive board and putback closed the gap.
Duke 15, Butler 16, 7:39 First Half: Duke's playing the type of defense necessary to break away from the Bulldogs right now, but the shooters just cant find the touch from deep, and the Blue Devils are just 3-for-10 from behind the arc, despite creating great shots. Shawn Vanzant and Garrett Butcher's jumpers put Butler in the lead, 16-15.
Duke 15, Butler 12, 9:59 First Half: Andrew Smith's nifty up-and-under on Mason Plumlee cut Duke's lead to one, and on the ensuing Blue Devil possession, Kyrie Irving picked up another offensive foul trying to carve space for a midrange jumper. Krzyzewski sent Irving to the bench, and he'll likely sit there until late in the first half. Without his presence on the floor the bulk to the playmaking will fall on the shoulders of Nolan Smith.
Duke 13, Butler 10, 11:42 First Half: Coach K's message to his team at the last media timeout sunk in, as Duke has turned momentum in its favor, but his latest tirade is over the excessive amount of Blue Devil turnovers (seven in just over eight minutes of play). Two Mason Plumlee travels right under the bucket have cost Duke, but if the guards, led by Irving and Dawkins, continue to play terrific on the ball defense, Butler isn't going to score many points.
Duke 13, Butler 10, 12:52 First Half: Irving missed a three, but Singler's huge leap for an offensive board extended the possession, while eventually ended with an easy shot for Nolan Smith. The possession was a definite turn-around for Duke on the floor, as they've looked the more active team since then. Neither team is shooting the ball well, but each is getting good looks. Three pointers by Kyle Singler and Andre Dawkins force Brad Stevens to take a quick timeout before Duke extends the run.
Duke 5, Butler 10, 15:05 First Half: Krzyzewski placed Andre Dawkins in the game in place of Ryan Kelly to try and boost the energy, but the Blue Devils are shooting themselves in the foot with silly turnovers. A travel and an offensive foul mean Butler was allowed to extend the lead to five with a free throw.
Duke 5, Butler 9, 16:00 First Half: Ryan Kelly's pressure on Matt Howard enabled a Kyrie Irving steal and a Duke fast break, but Mason Plumlee wasn't able to finish, traveling under the basket after receiving the quick outlet. Butler is torching Duke from mid-range, and outhustling the Blue Devils to loose balls and rebounds. Matt Howard's dive into the stands for a loose ball shows Butler is here expecting an upset. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is not happy with his team's effort thus far, and chewed out his starting five during the first media timeout. (I'm currently sitting right behind the Duke bench, and his exact words wouldn't fit the Chronicle's standards for publication, so you'll have to take my word for it.)
Duke 3, Butler 5, 17:38 First Half: Matt Howard's unexpected corner three opened the scoring for the Bulldogs, as Ryan Kelly couldn't recover in time to pressure Howard. Nolan Smith answered with a three of his own, to the delight of the pro-Duke crowd. Not much defense in the early going.
Starting lineups:
For Butler: Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard, Zach Hahn, Ronald Nored, Andrew Smith
For Duke: Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee, Kyrie Irving
Good aftern0on and welcome to the Chronicle Sports Blog's live coverage of the 2010 national championship rematch at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ, between undefeated Duke (7-0) and Butler (4-2). The players are on the floor and we'll be back at the tip with more on this hotly anticipated matchup.
The New York City metro area is home to a number of Duke alums, and Blue Devil supporters have come out in droves today. Butler has a small section of fans, but the roar when Duke took the floor was deafening. Also in attendance, the actual Butler Bulldog, who just strolled down press row.
Butler has had a disappointing opening to their 2010-11 season, recently losing at home to unheralded Evansville. While they'll certainly miss the departed Gordon Hayward against the defending national champs this time around, the core that made up Butler's 2010 Final Four squad remains, led by center Matt Howard and perimeter star Shelvin Mack. Guard Ronald Nored, Butler's best on-the-ball defender, is recovering from a concussion suffered against Siena, but should play a role today.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.