Duke 84-68, END OF GAME: The Blue Devils handled the press well at the end of the game with three guards (Curry, Smith and Thornton) sharing the ball and win their 31st consecutive game in Cameron. Thanks for tuning in and check back at dukechroniclesports.com for postgame coverage.
Duke 78-63, SECOND HALF 3:50 remaining: Duke's success on offense made the team a little complacent on the other side of the floor, as Boston College cut a 22-point lead down to 13. But the player to come through for the Blue Devils was Mason Plumlee, who hit two consecutive free throws to stop the bleeding. Looks like all the big man needed was a little coaching on his form from Nolan Smith.
Duke 73-55, SECOND HALF 6:47 remaining: About the only low point from this game other than Kelly's shot streak ending is Mason Plumlee's continued inability to hit free throws. He's taken four foul shots this game and has yet to convert a single one.
Other than Plumlee and Kelly, though, none of the Blue Devils are having difficulty scoring the in second half. Curry has 20 points for the first time since he was the nation's leading freshman scorer at Liberty and Smith leads everyone with 24 points and eight assists. The senior guard could be on his way to the first double-double of his career.
Duke 69-47, SECOND HALF 10:00 remaining: Duke has broken open the game with its shooting from beyond the arc. Three straight 3-pointers from Singler, Smith and Curry have the Blue Devils cruising.
Duke 60-45, SECOND HALF 11:56 remaining: The Blue Devils really have an embarrassment of riches in terms of scoring options, and Curry is just the latest player to get hot. He has eight points on the second half for17 overall, a total matched by Smith, who is dissecting this defense at will.
Duke 54-41, SECOND HALF 14:05 remaining: Kelly finally missed, (twice, actually) but the Blue Devils have to be pleased with the way they've started this half. Raji is still doing everything he can to keep his team in the game, but he's going to need some help. Smith has finally figured out how to break the Eagles' defense off the dribble, and just had a beautiful behind-the-back dribble to blow by his defender and feed Mason Plumlee inside.
Curry has been feeling it from long range and just hit a pull-up three in transition to really get Cameron rolling. The teammate most excited for Curry seems to be Andre Dawkins, who hasn't even attempted a shot in seven minutes of action today.
Duke 41-32, END OF FIRST HALF: Kelly continues his perfect streak and hits a jumper with four seconds left on a possession that looked pretty bleak for Duke.
Overall, a solid first half offensively for the Blue Devils. Kelly led the way with 11 on 5-of-5 shooting and Smith was right behind him with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Singler missed his first five shots but came back to score nine points in the period. Boston College's Reggie Jackson, who leads the team in scoring, had a horrible opening session, finishing with just two points after not getting the start.
Duke 39-32, FIRST HALF 28.2 seconds remaining: The Blue Devils can't find an answer for Raji on the defensive end. The Eagles keep running high pick-and-rolls, and Duke just looks lost. Krzyzewski has thrown everyone from Smith to Kelly to Singler at Raji, but to no avail. He currently has a game-high 12 points on eight shots from the field.
Nevertheless, due to some hot shooting from Curry, the Blue Devils have the opportunity to take a nine or ten-point lead into halftime.
Duke 28-27, FIRST HALF 3:12 remaining: The offense has started to pick up, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski can't be pleased with Duke's defense in that last stretch. Time and time again, the Blue Devils are leaving their man open in the corner, and Boston College has responded by hitting open threes and driving almost uncontested down the baseline to the rim.
Also, Ryan Kelly is still perfect. But he hasn't taken a shot in the last six minutes.
Duke 19-15, FIRST HALF 7:28 remaining: It hasn't really been his night from the field, but Kyle Singler always finds ways to contribute. The senior just scored his first points of the game by picking off another Boston College pass and going coast-to-coast for the dunk. Meanwhile, freshman Tyler Thornton just got his first minutes, and the prime beneficiary was none other than Nolan Smith, as Chronicle columnist Scott Rich suggested earlier this week.
Duke 11-8, FIRST HALF 11:30 remaining: Not the prettiest stretch from the Blue Devils on the offensive end, as Duke missed no less than seven shots since the last media timeout. The defense has still been very solid. The Blue Devils--namely, Miles Plumlee--are flustering the Eagles in the passing lanes and coming up with a number of steals, even though they can't convert. Andre Dawkins also came up with the first block of the night, stuffing Corey Raji on a transition layup. You may recognize Raji as the younger brother of big B.J. Raji, whose pick six sent the Packers to the Super Bowl this past weekend.
Duke 11-5, FIRST HALF 14:41 remaining: The fates continue to smile on Ryan "Can't Miss" Kelly. He has now made 13 consecutive field goals in the last three games after his turnaround jumper grazed every part of the rim before bouncing in. The sophomore's been the fan favorite tonight, hitting two jumpers and flushing a fast-break dunk off of a steal from Seth Curry.
PREGAME: We're here at Cameron Indoor Stadium as the No. 3 Blue Devils (18-1, 5-1 in the ACC) take on Boston College (14-6, 4-2). The Eagles have historically given Duke a tough time up in Chestnut Hill, Mass. but have never beaten the Blue Devils on Coach K's court. We'll see if that streak stays alive tonight, along with Duke's 30-game win streak at home--the longest in the country.
STARTERS:
Duke: G Nolan Smith, G Seth Curry, F Kyle Singler, F Ryan Kelly, C Mason Plumlee
Boston College: G Corey Raji, F Joe Trapani, C Josh Southern, F Dallas Elmore, G Biko Paris
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