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(02/05/14 7:26pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was not nearly as exciting as the last time the Blue Devils took the court in an overtime thriller against Syracuse, but Duke's first game following the close loss at the Carrier Dome went as well for the Blue Devils as they could have hoped for. In an 83-63 victory No. 11 Duke (18-5, 7-3 in the ACC) vanquished ACC-opponent Wake Forest (14-9, 4-6 in the ACC) with ease. Jabari Parker, Rasheed Sulaimon and Andre Dawkins carried the majority of the scoring load for the Blue Devils, combining for 67 of Duke's 83 points. The Blue Devils capitalized on 10 steals and 19 Demon Deacon turnovers to put the game out of reach for Wake Forest towards the end of the first half.Revisiting the three keys to the game:
(02/03/14 7:23pm)
Notre Dame solidified itself as the No. 2 team in the nation with an easy victory against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
(02/02/14 11:56pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This time they'll meet as conference opponents.Following last year's Elite Eight matchup in the Norfolk Regional that ended the Blue Devils' season, No. 3 Duke (21-1, 8-0 in the ACC) will face undefeated No. 2 Notre Dame (20-0, 7-0) for the first time as ACC opponents Sunday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils, who snuck by an upset-minded Miami team earlier in the week on a late game free throw from center Elizabeth Williams, will face their toughest test since a December game against Connecticut that resulted in a 20-point Duke loss. Without captain Chelsea Gray in the lineup due to a season-ending injury, younger, inexperienced players have been forced to play different roles than earlier in the season.The Fighting Irish know something about transitions, as they lost star guard Skylar Diggins, who scored 24 points in the teams' 2013 Elite Eight contest, to graduation last spring. But unlike the Blue Devils who have struggled to find answers mid-season, Notre Dame has handled the period of transition easily, racking up an undefeated record thus far by relying heavily on a committee of players to win."They might even be better than they were last year," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Skylar Diggins is a really great player—there's no doubt about that—but they seem to be more in cahoots with each other."Despite the challenges of adjusting the lineup in the middle of the ACC season, Duke has focused primarily on improving the consistency of play on the court, an issue that has plagued this Blue Devil squad for the past two seasons. Even with talent and experience on both ends of the floor, the challenge of playing a full 40 minutes and commanding the dynamic of a game remains."When you play very good teams, consistency is the answer," McCallie said. "Every possession being in it, being intense, and immediate. There's a lot of good things we can take from Miami."Preventing opponents from scoring has been a consistent issue for McCallie's squad, despite its size under the basket in Williams and senior Haley Peters. In the past four games, Duke has allowed an average of 72.3 points per game to opponents while putting up 86.5 points per game. In all of the Blue Devils' close contests this season and their sole loss, opposing teams have scored an average of 76.5 points per game, highlighting Duke's struggles to contain competitive foes."The biggest thing for us is our defensive intensity, our focus, and really coming out from the start and shutting people down—not letting them get hot and dictating what they can do with what we play on defense," senior forward Haley Peters said.The difference maker for Duke continues to be senior guard Tricia Liston, who has led the Blue Devils in scoring all season and has averaged 24.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in the five games since Gray's injury . Liston has become the de facto leader on the court for Duke even leading the Blue Devils in scoring the last time they faced the Fighting Irish with 19 points. The team, however, will need to support Liston's efforts with multiple players scoring in double figures for Duke to claim the victory. A bright spot of playing through the season's close games has been the development of players such as Amber Henson, who sat out two years due to injury, and freshmen Oderah Chidom and Kendall McCravey-Cooper."Having that experience with those close games under our belt, that is going to make us feel like we've been there before," Liston said. "[Those games] make us more comfortable in those situations, especially some of the younger players who haven't been in many games like that yet."The Fighting Irish will present a challenge to Duke on both ends of the floor with three players—Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride, and Natalie Achonwa—averaging double-digit scoring.Duke has succeeded against top-five ranked opponents in Cameron Indoor Stadium with McCallie at the helm if they are not Connecticut, who has handed the Blue Devils all three of their home losses to top-five teams. With a packed crowd Sunday, Duke will have the chance to assert its place in the national championship discussion once again.Though they may be multiple steps behind Connecticut, the Blue Devils need to earn a victory in order to compete for the top spot in the ACC with another contest against Notre Dame on the horizon, a game against No. 6 Maryland and two contests with No. 7 North Carolina. Hustle and effort will be crucial to earning a Duke victory against another talented team, something that was lacking at times against Connecticut."Its a whole team mentality," Peters said. "We've gotten a little bit more gritty. We've had some games where we've had to fight and its not pretty. Its not really flashy, but we've gotten the job done. Its something we've needed to get better at."
(01/27/14 7:16pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As No. 3 Duke cruised to an easy victory against Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon, there was little change in the top of the standings in women's college basketball.No. 1 Connecticut continues to steam-roll its competition and has yet to face as a close a matchup in terms of talent and skill as when the Huskies suited up in Cameron Indoor Stadium this past December. The elite top four or five programs remain perched—if not precariously—atop the standings, but there were some shakeups in the lower half of ranked teams.All that is clear for Duke is the importance of this upcoming Sunday's matchup at Cameron Indoor against undefeated No. 2 Notre Dame. Beating the Fighting Irish would solidify Duke atop the ACC standings and put the Blue Devils in position to have an advantageous draw in the NCAA tournament.The ACC has become the league with the greatest parity by far in which an unranked team has a higher chance of beating a highly-touted program in comparison to other conferences. No. 6 Maryland suffered its first defeat in 17 games against Virginia Thursday, finding itself in the position Duke was almost in with the close No. 24 Florida State contest. No. 9 Kentucky also caught the upset bug, losing to an unranked Alabama squad on a last-second layup.Notre Dame handled No. 11 Tennessee earlier in the week avoiding the Fighting Irish's first loss by controlling the game from tip-off. No. 4 Stanford also continued its winning ways, unfazed by Pac-10 opponents like UCLA. One of the most compelling non-ACC games was Sunday's No. 10 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Vanderbilt contest in which the Gamecocks narrowly slid by the Commodores by a slim four-point margin. Looking forward, all eyes in the country—and especially in the ACC—will be pinned on Duke and Notre Dame on Superbowl Sunday as the game will have ramifications not only for the two other ACC squads in the top-10, but for the broader NCAA rankings.Game to watch: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Duke. Sunday, 2:00 pm.ACC game: No. 3 Duke vs. Miami. Thursday, 7:00 pm.Duke needs to prove that they can easily beat an ACC opponent on the road.Upset Alert: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Maryland. Monday, 7:00 pm.Expect the Terrapins to be hungry for an upset.
(01/27/14 11:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Pittsburgh made its first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium as a member of the ACC, but the result was the same as the team's last trip to Durham in 2011—a blowout.No. 3 Duke cruised to a 111-67 victory against ACC newcomer Pittsburgh Sunday, with six Blue Devils scoring in double figures."Duke is very, very talented," Pittsburgh head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "It's pick your poison. If you try to take away their inside presence, they kill you from the outside. They're just so well-balanced and have so many weapons. It was a tough matchup for us across the board. We were oversized and outmatched."The trio of Elizabeth Williams, Haley Peters and Tricia Liston combined for a total of 59 points on the afternoon. In the process, Liston became Duke's all-time leader in 3-pointers made. Duke (20-1, 7-0 in the ACC) largely had its way on the offensive end in the paint. Four of the six double-figure scorers were post players and 50 of Duke's points came in the paint.After a pair of close contests, including an overtime victory against Florida State earlier in the week, the Blue Devils' athleticism was simply too much for the Panthers (9-11, 1-5) on both ends of the floor. Ball control became a key factor in widening the gap between the teams with the Blue Devils giving up the ball merely three times in the second half after nine first-half turnovers.
(01/20/14 9:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As No. 3 Duke continued to recover from the sudden loss of its captain Chelsea Gray to a career-ending injury, the Blue Devils narrowly slid by Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon in a 74-70 victory. Around women's college basketball, the increasing parity and competition of the conference season has begun to take hold of the headlines. Though there will be little changes in the top-10 teams in the country, the increased competition is proving to make the possibility of a compelling NCAA tournament ripe with upsets more likely.The biggest upset of the week came to No. 7 Baylor which lost to an unranked Kansas squad by 16 points after a close matchup with No. 1 Connecticut earlier in the week. Speaking of the Huskies, they continue to cruise during American Athletic Conference match-ups, crushing No. 23 Rutgers by 30 points. Since the Blue Devils' loss to the Huskies in December, Notre Dame has taken over as the No. 2 ranked team in the country with Duke falling to No. 3. The Fighting Irish blew out Pittsburgh this week and are facing a Monday night matchup with No. 12 Tennessee. Duke fans should circle the upcoming games against Notre Dame as they will be the indicators of whether this Blue Devil squad can remain in the National Championship discussion. With the addition of the Fighting Irish into the ACC this season, the conference has become the most competitive in the women's game, boasting four of the top 10 teams and a bevy of other ranked squads.Both No. 6 Maryland and No. 9 North Carolina earned victories, yet No. 20 North Carolina State and No. 17 Florida State were upset by unranked ACC opponents. The fact that Virginia Tech stayed in the game with Duke is of important note here as well because it shows how contested ACC play will become moving forward. Any team has the ability to beat the other and Duke will certainly be challenged to maintain the top position in the conference not just from other top-10 performers but unranked competition as well.What has become apparent as the push to the final third of the college basketball season begins is that there are two tiers in the women's game. There is Connecticut and everyone else. Within the rest of the game there is increasing parody, but few can even contest the Huskies let alone hope to pull off the upset. Duke had its chance and failed yet again losing by 20 points ranked No. 2 in the country. The story line moving forward will be whether this Blue Devil squad can succeed consistently against this second-tier competition because that points for the chance to upset the Huskies in the NCAA tournament. The season is heating up quickly and the games continue to increase in intensity and excitement. Without further ado, here are the picks for the week.Game to watch: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Tennessee. Monday, 7:00 p.m.ACC Game: No. 3 Duke vs. No. 17 Florida State. Thursday, 7:00 p.m.Upset Alert: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Tennessee. Monday, 7:00 p.m.
(01/12/14 2:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CLEMSON, S.C.—The road woes continue for Duke.In front of a sold-out raucous crowd at Littlejohn Coliseum, Duke failed to hold off a late second-half Clemson runs to lose their second ACC road game 72-59. The crowd stormed the court following the Duke loss. "We're not very good compared to who we've been. Who we've been has been very good," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We can't live in the past; we have to live in the present and figure out how this team can win."With a rejuvenated Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood continuing his hot shooting, the Blue Devils (12-4, 1-2 in the ACC) looked poised for the first 30 minutes to gain the victory, but poor late-game shooting and a subpar defensive effort led to Duke's demise."They just outplayed us today," Hood said. "Rebounds, loose balls, everything..... We scored 22 points in the second half. They out-toughed us when we went into the basket. They're a good athletic team. They played to the end."Clemson (11-4, 2-1) pulled to within one around the 14-minute mark of the first half, but Duke responded with a corner jumper by Parker to stave off the Tiger rally. The Tigers soon regained the lead they had lost early in the first half at the nine-minute mark, going up 54-52 on a Landry Nnoko layup. The Blue Devils pulled in within two after Clemson jumped out to a 59-54 lead on a Quinn Cook 3-pointer, but failed to regain the lead.Duke faced a seven-point deficit with 3:25 remaining in the game, yet failed to hit open shots down the stretch. The Blue Devils had 13 team fouls in the second half and gave up 14 offensive rebounds on the afternoon. Without a field goal in the final 6:28 from Duke, Clemson cruised to a double-digit victory."That's how games change," Krzyzewski said. "They killed us on the boards 48-30. We're not a good team right now. We're a small team and we need to make up for it enough in different ways. We're not some powerhouse."On multiple occasions earlier in both halves, the Blue Devils found themselves about to give up the lead but clutch shooting and defensive stops held off the Tigers propelled by their home crowd. This time Duke failed to hit key shots down the stretch or cause turnovers on the defensive end that led to easy buckets. The exuberant environment for Clemson compounded the Blue Devils struggles in the second half.The beginning of the contest was a different story. Duke found itself down by five early on until Parker exploded for ten points draining back-to-back triples to put Duke up 8-7. The Blue Devils never looked back relying on Hood, Parker, and diffused production from the bench and other starters to hold a lead for the remainder of the half and most of the subsequent half.Parker's struggles began in the second half as the freshman was matched up in the post against Nnoko among others unable to protect the rim effectively. The poor performance on defense translated into merely five points in the closing frame as the Blue Devils combined to shoot 25 percent from the floor in the second half.The youth of this team in crunch situations on the road when Duke has the lead has shown. It is a problem, which no one on the court or the bench has answers to right now."On the road, when you have a lead, you have to extend that lead," Hood said. "We can't let them come down and get tip dunks and layups and [commit] ticky-tack fouls, put them in the one-and-one, get their crowd into it. That's part of maturing."The Blue Devils ended the first half shooting around 45 percent from the floor and from beyond the arc. The 3-point shooting seemed to be the difference early on as Duke continued its rebounding woes giving up seven first-half offensive rebounds to Clemson. The Blue Devils caused seven first-half turnovers for the Tigers ending the half up 37-31.K.J. McDaniels led the Tigers in scoring in the first frame with 17 of the Tigers' 31 points. McDaniels led Clemson in scoring with 24 points and combined with crucial 3-pointers from Blossomgame—who had 14 points and 14 boards—helped the Tigers overcome the Blue Devils.The undersized Blue Devils whose lack of a rim protector continues to plague them on the road or at neutral sites were outrebounded by 18 including giving up 14 offensive rebounds that translated into 17 second-chance points for Clemson."We're not physically strong so we have to do things collectively, especially on rebounding," Krzyzewski said. "Everyone has got to be rebounding. You hope that you can match the other team, not out-rebound them, but match them."Duke's Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker both led the team in scoring with 20 and 15 points respectively, but a lack of a third scorer contributed to the loss for the Blue Devils. Quinn Cook followed the duo with a meager eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.This Duke team continues to struggle without go to options on the floor and a reliable defensive effort. As ACC play continues Monday night against Virginia, the Blue Devils are forced to recover quickly so that their hope of contending for a National Championship remains a possibility."We just have to understand that we don't get these games back," senior guard Tyler Thornton said. "Every game in the ACC means something. Coach has said it all year. You're not guaranteed of any postseason position in the NCAA tournament and that's the ultimate goal. We have to handle these games one game at a time."
(01/08/14 11:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>One man does not make a team.Rebounding from a disappointing loss in their ACC opener, the Blue Devils overcame a sluggish first half to cruise to a 79-57 victory Tuesday night. Though Rodney Hood scored more than a third of Duke's points on the night, the story was not just about his individual performance, but how the Blue Devils as a team combined to earn the victory on both ends of the floor.Hood, Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon—who made his first start of the season Tuesday—and Jabari Parker were four of Duke's five double-digit scorers on the evening. Playing early and often, Andre Dawkins accounted for all 10 of the Blue Devils' bench points in the game. The lone starter to not manage 10 points was forward Amile Jefferson, who added six points along with a team-leading 10 rebounds, a major factor in helping the Blue Devils become the first team to outrebound the Yellow Jackets this season."Knowing that's what the team needs—being able to help this team in any possible way—is what I'm willing to do," Jefferson said. "Its not always going to be scoring. Sometimes it is not even going to be rebounding, but its going to be bringing energy, and if I can do that, all the guys have really good enthusiasm, we're a really good team."Jefferson's classmate, Sulaimon, also made significant contributions to the game. His first shot was not how head coach Mike Krzyzewski drew it up—heaving a desperation shot from beyond the arc as the shot clock expired, which bounded high into the air off the rim before finding the bottom of the net. Sulaimon's struggles have been well-documented, yet against Georgia Tech he showed signs that he is on the way to becoming the dynamic player he was during Duke's successes last season."I'm still on the road to get my confidence back, but I fell like I'm on the right track," Sulaimon said. "It starts with my preparation, and every practice I've been coming to practice and practicing hard and it's been translating into the game. I just feel like if I stay on this course I'll continue to do well."Although Duke relied heavily on Parker and Hood to carry the scoring load during its nonconference schedule, the team's greatest success has come when its supporting cast has stepped up. Two of the keys have been Sulaimon and Jefferson, who were both bright prospects at the close of last season but hit an early sophomore slump, struggling to earn playing time and produce consistently.The Blue Devils' supporting cast showed glimpses of its true potential during a second-stretch where Sulaimon, Cook and a revitalized Dawkins spearheaded the team's three-guard attack. Playing power forward, Hood had the opportunity to stretch the floor and hit back-to-back 3-pointers in two separate two-minute spans to help put the game away."Rasheed and I bring different things to the offensive end," Dawkins said. "He's more of a driver, and I'm more of a spot-up shooter so its hard to defenses to lock in on one thing because we bring so many things to the table. With both of us on the court, it brings an added dimension to our offense, and it gives Hood the chance to play the four which creates a lot of matchup problems."When players like Jefferson and Sulaimon first entered the Blue Devil program, the team had the benefit of consistency from senior leaders such as Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry. One year later, the tables have turned, and it is two newcomers in Parker and Hood that are expected to shoulder the scoring load consistently during conference play.With Parker struggling to regain top form, Duke will look to its more experienced players to make up for a drop in the freshman's production. Although the 18-year-old's ups and downs have led to two tight games to open ACC play, Krzyzewski noted that forcing the team's veterans to step up could be to the team's benefit when his freshman phenom regains his form."This is a work in progress, and I want to coach Jabari that way without putting extra pressure on him," Krzyzewski said. "Our veterans are still establishing themselves."
(12/20/13 10:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Deflating losses have hangovers.Fresh off a disappointing loss against No. 1 Connecticut Tuesday night, No. 2 Duke defeated an unranked Albany squad 80-51 Thursday but had to work through a first-half scare in which the Blue Devils trailed the Great Danes for the majority of the opening stanza.Focus and effort were the major issues for Duke Thursday night, as they has been all season. The Blue Devils were able to rally after Albany (8-1) led 20-13 with 7:53 left in the first half, finishing on a 15-2 run.The Great Danes' Shereesha Richards was the reason for Albany's early lead notching 20 of her 24 points in the first half. The Blue Devils did not seem to have an answer for Richards early on the defensive end at first, but once Duke found one, the game quickly became one-sided.Although the loss to Connecticut did not seem to weigh on the minds of the players, the lack of intensity on the court gave the Great Danes a chance to command the first 12 minutes of the game.“I think we just weren’t focused. Credit to [Shereesha Richards], she had 20 of their points in the first half," senior guard Chelsea Gray said. "We had to pick it up defensively. I don’t think we were thinking about past games, we just weren’t focused and defending as well as we should have.”Senior forward Haley Peters led Duke (11-1) in scoring with 17 points followed by 12 from Gray and Richa Jackson respectively. Senior guard Tricia Liston was noticeably quiet in her 20 minutes of play scoring just 5 points and grabbing zero rebounds in the contest.Jackson benefited from the lackluster performance from Liston, receiving the start in the second half and the majority of minutes for the rest of the game. The Blue Devils remained focused on how they could learn from Tuesday night's blowout loss, and the shift in rotation, according to head coach Joanne P. McCallie, was a result of trying to communicate those messages to her players."If you’re not going to rebound, we’re going to move you. I mean, there’s just no way. It’s too competitive," McCallie said. "Most of [what we need to do to be better] is hustle plays and rebounding and these intangible things, so we’re going to get after it. [Liston] is a great player, she didn’t have a great day, and if she’s not going to rebound, that might happen.”The difference in the second half came with increased defensive efficiency opening up the offensive game for Duke. Despite improving on the offense as the game progressed, the Blue Devils gave away 22 turnovers in the contest and had no player grab more than five rebounds.That lack of consistent play had allowed Connecticut to jump out to an early lead Tuesday, and with Albany, Duke faced the same slow start, but the Blue Devils were able to recover against the Great Danes."If we’re not scoring, our defense should be sharper. And when our defense is sharper, that should feed us on offense," senior forward Haley Peters said. "We just weren’t focused, and I don’t know that it was because we were missing shots, I think it was just a general thing."Heading into a weekend matchup against No. 4 Kentucky, Duke will need to play as they did in the second half against Albany. Having lost to the Wildcats on the road 75-62 Dec. 8, 2012, most of the Blue Devils already know the level of urgency they'll need to bring to Lexington."We’ve already been to Kentucky. We didn’t play a great game," McCallie said. "We all remember, we all played at Kentucky before, and we didn’t play a great game. So we get another opportunity. That’s good. But I feel we’re experienced, and we’re used to that.”
(12/18/13 10:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Duke found its kryptonite yet again.When the Blue Devils failed to compete in a 22-point loss to reigning national champion in Connecticut, the questions seemed to dominate the answers. This experienced Duke squad continues to struggle against the Huskies on the big stage, falling in front of a packed Cameron Indoor Stadium on national television against the No. 1 team in the country.Since 2007, when head coach Joanne P. McCallie began her tenure at Duke, the Blue Devils have lost to Connecticut in all seven of their meetings by an average of nearly 30 points. Even though Duke was ranked No. 2 in the nation heading into this matchup, the gap between the Huskies and Blue Devils Tuesday night was a wide one."I thought with Duke being at home, and they got a bunch of upperclassmen that have been through it a few times, it would be a little bit different," Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma said. "It was a little bit different. It wasn't like what happened last year at our place."The question for McCallie and her players is not just when they will, but if they will get over the hump against Connecticut. In front of a vivacious Huskie crowd in Storrs, Conn., last season, Duke let a competitive first half slip into a 30-point blowout. Even in front of a loud home crowd Tuesday night, the Blue Devils did not have the answers for Connecticut's runs. Duke was able to claw within 13 points in the second half, but failed to make plays when it needed it the most. After his team's victory, Auriemma pointed out that a team cannot win a game in five minutes, but it certainly can lose one. It seemed Duke's five minutes to lose were an eight-minute span in the first half when Connecticut went on a 16-1 run to widen its lead to 28-12."There are lapses in our energy, in our intensity throughout the game," senior forward Haley Peters said. "We do that in the other games, but we can get away with it in those games. We haven't pushed each other enough in that and not letting it happen no matter who we're playing. When you do that against [Connecticut], you're going to put yourself in a hole."Duke's ball movement struggled as the Blue Devils failed to find offensive structure against the Huskie defense, managing just 13 assists on 27 field goals. Twenty-five of Connecticut's 30 field goals were assisted. The biggest beneficiary of the Huskies' offensive flow was guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who returned to the lineup after missing a month due to an elbow injury and hit 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc in a 21-point performance off the bench."When we started executing, reversing the ball and playing off each other is when our runs came," senior guard Chelsea Gray said. "We were getting good looks, and we were getting good shots. Some didn't fall. However, when we would take one bad shot or not execute the plays and stay with our mental focus—focusing on what we needed to do offensively—that's when it translated to their run."Connecticut is no ordinary opponent. The Huskies play hard for a full 40 minutes, and they make their shots when presented with opportunities. The pressure, unlike most games for the Blue Devils, is on Duke rather than its opponent to force the issue."At times they played exceptionally well—like the kind of team I thought we would face coming in here," Auriemma said. "They made open shots, they attacked the basket, they forced a lot of turnovers—just how active they were on the defensive end—but obviously if they had done that for 40 minutes, the game would have been a lot closer. We had something to do with that." The score and Duke's shooting percentage were not the only things that concerned McCallie. The Blue Devils managed to grab 10 offensive rebounds in the first half but were unable to secure one in the second half. Similarly, Duke earned just five trips to the charity stripe in the contest, a number McCallie said she hopes to be around 25 each game.Hustle and effort plays will remain a focus for the Blue Devils moving forward, as improvements in those areas would signal a greater chance to compete a national championship. Should Duke hope to accomplish that ultimate goal, it will have to count on facing—and defeating—the top-ranked Huskies again to do so. "The bigger deal is the Final Four and trying to pursue a national championship at this level," McCallie said. "This helps us in our journey to get better and figure things out. Whether its ball movement or stops on defense, there's quite a few things we can look at.... Intangibles matter. We didn't make those kind of plays. It adds fuel to the fire. Its motivating."
(12/17/13 11:22pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Every champion has its challenger.As No. 2 Duke faces No. 1 Connecticut Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a coach with eight national titles in the Huskies' Geno Auriemma will square off with the Blue Devils' Joanne P. McCallie, who is still searching for her first championship.During Auriemma's 28-year tenure, Connecticut has risen to national prominence as a perennial top-ranked team and national championship contender. As his team has performed on the court, Auriemma's popularity and celebrity have skyrocketed, making him one of the biggest faces of women's college basketball.In contrast sits McCallie, a seventh-year head coach at a Duke program that has yet to make a Final Four during her time, despite McCallie's guiding her team to the Elite Eight in four consecutive seasons. Although some might argue that this is the marquis matchup of the season on the court, McCallie remains focused on the details of her team's play rather than the magnitude of the situation."There's a whole season to play," McCallie said. "It's important to get an opportunity to have two teams go after it. That's a good thing, and that's the story on the media side. For us, this is one game. We've got a lot of games to play."McCallie's teams have not fared well against Connecticut in the past, dating back to an opening-round loss in the 1995 NCAA tournament while she was the head coach at Maine. Last year, Duke trailed by two points heading into halftime before the Huskies—who would go on to win the national championship—outplayed the Blue Devils in a 30-point blowout.Although Duke has been an ACC champion and ranked consistently in the top 10 teams in the country, the Blue Devils have rarely been able to play hard for a full game against Connecticut. Last season's loss was a prime example of what senior guard Tricia Liston hopes will not happen again."We've never really played a full 40 minutes," Liston said. "We've kind of got outside of ourselves or lost focus. I don't really know what exactly that's due to but I definitely would say we haven't put two good halves together since we played them in the past. That really hurts us. You can't play against a good team for one half and expect to win."In his long and successful tenure, Auriemma's trademark has been his ability as an in-game manager. Connecticut teams are known for their intensity and pedigree just as Auriemma is for his perfectionism. The Huskie program has had the consistent presence of Auriemma to rely on for the past 28 years, while Duke has had McCalle for merely a fraction of that amount of time. That difference in consistency is one that McCallie points to as the cause for a tradition of competitive play and winning with the Connecticut program."When there's a change in coaching, its starting all over again.... For example if there was a change at Connecticut, I'd like to see the person [following] Geno," McCallie said. "If I'm in year seven at Duke, then I'm in year seven at Duke. That's not year 27, so it takes time to get great players. It takes time when you lose a couple years. You lose a couple years as there's a lot of transition. I think when you have even more known programs it takes even longer because there's more things engrained."McCallie's tenure at Duke may have just begun, and along with it, has been the opportunity to change the dynamics of the Blue Devil program. Although that process has taken time, McCallie has begun to carve out an identity for herself and her team on the national stage much like Auriemma once did.Tuesday night may be Duke's first opportunity to claim a victory against the Huskies. Although this puts the Blue Devils no closer to a national championship, a regular-season victory against the defending national champions would send shockwaves through the college basketball world. For McCallie, it would be a statement win against one of the most iconic coaches in college basketball history.It took Auriemma 10 years to finally win a national title with Connecticut, but once he managed to get the Huskies over the hump, the accolades continued to follow. Soon, Connecticut became the school that brought in the nation's top talent along with Tennessee and head coach Pat Summit. Both Auriemma and Summit developed a rivalry between the two programs that produced some of the most exciting women's college basketball games in recent memory.With that success came with what McCallie terms a "monopoly" on the women's college basketball. The era of one or two powerhouse schools easily beating every other team is slowly coming to an end with increased parity in the game, something she hopes that Duke can play a role in."We're trying to have a shift in women's basketball against teams that have been around a long time," McCallie said. "The success that Connecticut has had is indisputable. Its a monopoly. Its been a long time. That's kind of the fun part of what we're chasing. We're trying to be the shift of some sorts. It takes time, and there's no shortcut."
(12/17/13 7:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If there was rust, it didn't show.After a 13-day hiatus for exams, No. 8 Duke cruised to an 85-66 victory Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Gardner-Webb. With the most intense academic period of the season complete, the Blue Devils' win begins the final stretch of nonconference play."There are some real positives there today," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our defense in the second half was a lot better than the first half. You don't stop playing for two weeks and not have some slippage. But overall I was pleased with our team."Following a Jabari Parker 3-pointer that put Duke up by 17 early in the second half, Gardner-Webb pulled within 12 points of the Duke lead. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski inserted redshirt senior Andre Dawkins into the mix, who drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night and gave the Blue Devils a 16-point advantage.Duke would hold that lead for the remainder of the contest stretching it out to more than 20 late in the game. Despite efforts by the Runnin' Bulldogs to cut into the Blue Devil lead, Duke's defense and a poor second-half shooting performance from Gardner-Webb proved too much to overcome."We were better defensively [in the second half], got some stops, but then we couldn't score. So there was that window there where we had an opportunity maybe to close the gap," Gardner-Webb head coach Tim Craft said. "Anytime we were able to cut into [Duke's lead] a little bit, they responded with a run to open it back up to 16, 18. It was kind of like that the rest of the game."Multiple times in the first half it appeared that Duke would blow the contest open. Some lackadaisical defensive play from the Blue Devils allowed Gardner-Webb to stay within striking distance heading into the second half down 53-39."Playing in this type of setting for [Gardner-Webb], they are playing their best basketball right now," Krzyzewski said. "You have to play really hard in order to stop them from doing this stuff on offense."In the first period, the Runnin' Bulldogs, who average around 32.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, shot 62.5 percent from the floor, and the Blue Devils managed 58.8 percent. Against Gardner-Webb, each half was a reminder of how Duke can control the flow of the game with strong defensive play."In the first half, I don't think we played as good a defense as we wanted to, but we were able to play a little bit better in the second half," Dawkins said. "We gotta keep building on the defensive end. That's where our identity has to be because scoring comes easy for a team like this."Though Duke's defense improved as the game went on, Gardner-Webb was able to penetrate to the rim, grab offensive rebounds and hit open outside shots early keeping the game close throughout the first 10 minutes of the contest.The Runnin' Bulldogs ended the contest having shot 54 percent from the floor and held the Blue Devils to 50 percent from the field. Duke rebounded the ball well throughout the contest, winning the battle on the glass 37-22 and turning 15 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.The combination of Dawkins and guard Quinn Cook powered Duke's offense early in the game during a five-minute run that put Duke up 35-18 with nine minutes remaining in the first half. Dawkins had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and was the sparkplug off the bench for Duke, while Cook had a team-high nine assists along with 16 points in the game. Dawkins benefited from his graduate school exams being earlier in the break than his undergraduate teammates, one that Krzyzewski believed helped contribute to the on-court performance."He and [assistant coach] Steve [Wojciechowski] would come in every night or late in the afternoon after our morning workouts and put in extra time, and its paid off," Krzyzewski said. "Andre's been practicing great, and he played that way today."The duo of Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood both had quiet nights despite both scoring in double figures. The Blue Devils shared the scoring load and the ball throughout the night ending with 18 assists on 28 field goals.Parker finished the night with a game-high 21 points, most of which came in the flow of the offense. Having two other scoring threats than Parker or Hood gave more opportunities for secondary players to contribute and allowed the Hood-Parker duo to contribute without drawing double- and triple-teams."Defenses are going to be focusing in on [Parker and Hood] so for guys like me, Andre [Dawkins], Rasheed [Sulaimon], and Tyler [Thornton] to step into those scoring roles that's going to help make their job easier," Cook said. "Its a big thing we have to do."
(12/17/13 5:58am)
The No. 8 Blue Devils managed 53 points in the first half and shot a lower percentage than Gardner-Webb despite shooting 58.8 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc. Duke’s defense was able to force six turnovers while committing merely three in the half. The Blue Devils had four players score in double figures, led by 12 points from Jabari Parker, and the Runnin' Bulldogs' Jerome Hill was the sole Gardner-Webb player with 15 points.
(12/09/13 9:34pm)
No. 1 Florida State was simply too much for then-No. 20 Duke Saturday night in the Dr. Pepper ACC Championship game. Despite an early defensive effort that kept the Seminoles from scoring for the entire first quarter, the Blue Devils were overpowered by their opponent’s size and physicality losing the contest 45-7. Duke will need to regroup over the next three weeks to prepare for a Chick-fil-A Bowl appearance Dec. 31 against SEC powerhouse Texas A&M and last year’s Heisman trophy winner, Johnny Manziel. Here are the grades for Duke’s performance:
(12/08/13 9:15pm)
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(12/05/13 11:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Haley Peters may be returning at just the right time for Duke.After earning the Paradise Jam Tournament title last week, the No. 2 Blue Devils begin a slate of difficult games that includes three ranked opponents in two weeks. They start Thursday with a matchup against No. 16 Purdue at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 6:30 p.m. in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. With Peters returning to the rotation after recovering from a knee injury against Vanderbilt Nov. 21, the Boilermakers (5-1) will have their hands full with a Blue Devil squad that learned how to play without their leading rebounder in a successful Paradise Jam tournament performance.
(11/29/13 9:34pm)
Elizabeth Williams
(11/26/13 9:24pm)
A look at the top women's basketball programs in college basketball.
(11/19/13 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following a blowout victory against Florida Atlantic Friday night, the Blue Devils take on UNC-Asheville Monday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first game of the Preseason NIT tournament. No. 6 Duke should have few problems containing the Bulldogs, whose only other ranked opponent this season, No. 1 Kentucky, won by more 30 points. Here are Duke's three keys to the game:Duke must rebound the ball on both ends of the floor.Much has been made of Duke's struggles rebounding the basketball at both ends of the floor. The Blue Devils will need to start addressing this issue—especially against lesser opponents. That consistent effort will be necessary for this young team to learn quickly and the Bulldogs might be Duke's first chance to show that the maturation process is progressing. If the Blue Devils rebound as a team, boxing out individual players now, then one can expect them to do so later in the season when the games matter more and the opponents are more formidable. The Blue Devils must cause turnovers and put pressure on the ball.Defense will continue to be a crucial aspect of Duke's game, as the Blue Devils must overcome traditional post threats by pressuring the opposing team from the time a point guard crosses halfcourt. Quinn Cook has played exceptionally well against opposing point guards, putting pressure on the ball and disrupting the flow of offenses. Defense will lead to transition opportunities for Duke and open up the game for players like Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood to convert easy layups or give a shooter like Matt Jones or Andre Dawkins a chance to hit an open transition 3-pointer. If Duke is playing shutdown defense and causing multiple turnovers, then it will be hard for any opponent to keep a game close.Does Andre Dawkins continue his hot streak?The crowd is important in Cameron, but few early-season moments compare to the return of Andre Dawkins to his former glory Friday night, when Dawkins notched 17 points. Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker are given contributors, but the third scorer is flexible game to game. Sometimes it is Rasheed Sulaimon or Amile Jefferson and other games it can be Dawkins. He is the most experienced member of the squad having hung a banner in 2010, and has proven to be a clutch shooter. Duke needs another player to score beyond Hood and Parker each game, and a now healthy Dawkins could begin to assume that place in the lineup.
(11/18/13 11:12pm)
A look at the premiere women's basketball programs in college basketball.
