Duke 62, Boston College 61 (FINAL): Mason Plumlee hit two free throws to tie the game at 61 after a beautiful feed by Cook. He then hit one of two on the next possession to give Duke the lead, and ultimately the win.
BC had a full possession and chance to score but could not convert.
And Duke will likely be the No. 1 team in the country going into its matchup against North Carolina...
Duke 56, Boston College 59 (2:31, second half): Eddie Odio threw home another slam for the Eagles, who retook the lead, and can Duke be the next top team to go down?
It's loud in Chestnut Hill and the Blue Devils have committed some silly turnovers. Duke has just one field goal in the last five minutes... it's not pretty.
Duke 50, Boston College 47 (7:35, second half): This game has been ugly the entire way through with turnovers and a lack of fluidity on both ends from both teams, and now it's getting much more physical. The teams are fighting for the ball and every rebound, knocking each other around and refusing to back down on either end of the floor.
In line with that, Duke has shown a full-court press, wasting some time on the BC shot clock. Even though the Blue Devils have held the lead for a while now and you sense they have control of the lead, the Eagles refuse to go away and stop making noise. Eddie Odio threw down an big dunk against Plumlee, also drawing the foul, to invigorate the BC faithful. Plumlee responded on the other end, however, and now has 13 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Another big stat? Duke has 16 second-chance points, Boston College has two.
Duke 43, Boston College 38 (11:57, second half): Duke now has its largest lead of the game, capped off by the highlight of the game. Mason Plumlee knocked the ball way near midcourt and chased it down for an emphatic fastbreak slam.
Curry leads Duke with 15 points and now is half of the highest scoring brother duo in Div. I history, as he and his brother Stephen passed the Hansbrough brothers. Curry's last four points all came off one play, when on a second chance opportunity, he nailed a 3-pointer and drew the foul and converted on the free-throw attempt.
Duke 35, Boston College 34 (14:48, second half): Duke is now on top and has shown some better rhythm on the offensive end. Curry nailed a trey after initially struggling from deep, while Cook failed to convert despite making two intelligent and aggressive drives. Cook redeemed himself, however, with a 3-pointer from the corner.
Duke 27, Boston College 27 (halftime): And after all that, it's even as the two teams go into the break.
Duke took a brief lead after a three-point play from Plumlee, though the Eagles retook the lead on the next possession. Yet, again, Plumlee picked up an offensive board to give Duke the tie game going into the break.
It's been a tough time for Plumlee, who has been getting double or triple-teamed on every possession. Yet, Duke's ball movement hasn't been good enough to take advantage. For a team averaging 11 turnovers per game, the Blue Devils already have nine.
It was an ugly first half, and you have to imagine Coach K is not pleased in the locker room.
Duke 18, Boston College 21 (3:10 first half): Unlike the last couple games when the Blue Devils came out on fire, Duke has struggled from beyond the arc today, going 1-for-5 thus far. Curry is 0-for-2, failing to hit two decent attempts.
Coach K, meanwhile, continues to shuffle the lineup looking for some magic sauce. 'Sheed is on the bench with two fouls while Murphy has played significant minutes at the four.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have been able to maintain their lead even though their best player, Ryan Anderson, has been on the bench with two fouls. Boston College's starting center, 7-footer Dennis Clifford, has also been sent to the bench with two fouls.
The Blue Devils went nearly five minutes without a field goal until Josh Hairston nailed a jumper to end the drought. Curry followed that up with a floater to bring the game within three.
Duke 11, Boston College 17 (7:25 first half): Since Duke started 0-for-5, they have made 5-for-8 as this game finally has developed some of that offensive flow.
The Eagles have continued to really collapse on Plumlee in the paint. Even when Plumlee found his way to the rim once, he couldn't put it away.
Also of note? Duke already has seven turnovers. They're averaging about 11 per game, one of the keys to their success all season. So, even though they have started making shots, they need to stop coughing it up.
Duke 5, Boston College 9 (11:39 first half): Coming out of the gate, Coach K went with a peculiar lineup. Sending Mason Plumlee to the bench, he went with Cook, Curry, Tyler Thornton, Josh Hairston and Alex Murphy. Why? Tough to say for sure, though you have to think Coach K wanted to send a message to Plumlee, who began the game 0-for-2 from the field.
Subbing back in, Plumlee looked like he wanted to get more aggressive, but was punished with a charge call.
The next time down, three defenders collapsed on Plumlee, who found Tyler Thornton for a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key. Patrick Heckmann responded on the other end with a trey to push the BC lead back to four.
Duke 0, Boston College 4 (15:17 first half): It was an ugly start to the game with Duke turning it over three times in the early going. Quinn Cook appeared to have scored the team's first bucket, but it was called back for a charge. The Blue Devils are 0-for-5 from the field, in addition to the three turnovers.
Can they blame it on the strange travel arragnements caused by the storm? Who knows, it but hasn't been pretty and you don't want to give a team that you should blow out much hope early.
Pregame: Just a day after two feet of snow landed in in the Boston area, the No. 4 Duke basketball squad flew north to take on Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Starters
Duke: Mason Plumlee, Amile Jefferson, Rasheed Sulaimon, Seth Curry, Quinn Cook
Boston College: Ryan Anderson, Lonnie Jackson, Olivier Hanlan, Joe Rahon, Dennis Clifford
Follow along with Duke basketball for live updates and here for analysis in this ACC contest.
Here are some pregame notes:
- Duke is an 11.5-point favorite to win this one.
- The Eagles have lost six of their last seven, while Duke has won four in a row.
- Should the Blue Devils win, they will likely be the No. 1 team in the nation after the top three teams all lost this week.
- Seth Curry is 11 points away from becoming half of the highest-scoring all-time brother tandem, along with his brother Stephen Curry, formerly at Davidson and now with the Golden State Worriers. Who would they pass? The Hansbroughs.
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