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Duke is 10-0 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, but they will face one of their tougher challenges when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Bo Ryan who is in his 9th year with the Badgers is 120-10 at the Kohl center. Ryan's Badgers are 4-1 currently after finishing in 3rd place at the Maui Invitational last week. Wisconsin will be looking to avenge a crushing defeat two years ago in Cameron by an 82-58 score, one of the worst loss of Ryan's tenure at Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is coming off a 20-13 season in which they made their 8th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. As always it seems the Badgers have an experienced returning as they start two seniors and three juniors. Here are the starters and key reserves.
6-0 Sr. Trevon Hughes 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds
6-10 Jr. Jon Leuer 13.8 points, 4.6 rebounds
6-2 Sr. Jason Bohannon 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds
6-8 Jr. Keaton Nankivil 8.4 points, 6.4 rebounds
6-6 Jr. Tim Jarmusz 4.0 points 4.6 rebounds
6-1 Soph. Jordan Taylor 6.6 points, 2.9 assists
6-6 Fr. Ryan Evans 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds
6-4 Soph. Rob Wilson 2.8 points
6-6 Fr. Mike Brueswitz 2.0 points
The Badgers average 67.4 points and give 58.4 per game. They are shooting 44.0 % from the field and holding their opponents to 38.8%. They are shooting 29.2% from three on 5.6 made per game and their opponents are shooting 25.4% on 3.4 made. They have a 3.8 rebound margin over their opponents and commit 12.0 turnovers a game while forcing 12.2.
Notes: The game is scheduled for 9:15 on Wednesday and will be televised on ESPN. The Badgers beat Arizona and Maryland, while losing to Gonzaga in the middle game.
NEW YORK (AP)—The game that started with more wins between the coaches than any in Division I history was far from an instant classic.
Duke and Connecticut combined to miss a total of 90 shots from the field, and the team that missed more of them rebounded its way to another big win at Madison Square Garden.
Seventh-ranked Duke and Mike Krzyzewski won another NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday with a 68-59 victory over No. 13 Connecticut and Jim Calhoun.
The Hall of Fame coaches set the record for total career wins in a game and Krzyzewski now has 839, fourth on the all-time list, and Calhoun still has 809, good for sixth place.
“It was a big-time game, shots were so hard to come by, open shots. Both teams are very, very good defensively and you know, you get by one guy and it’s hard to get to the bucket,” Krzyzewski said. “But we rebounded very well and we played outstanding defense.”
The Blue Devils (6-0) dominated the Huskies (4-1) in every category except shooting in extending their winning streak in the tournament to 12 games with a third straight title (2000, 2005) and fourth overall (1985).
Duke shot 28.4 percent (21 of 74) compared to Connecticut’s 37.3 percent (22 of 59), but the Blue Devils finished with a 56-43 rebound advantage, including 25-14 on the offensive boards.
“We missed 53 shots and we had 56 rebounds, you know?” Krzyzewski said. “It’s a very unusual game, but it’s a game where both teams played with a lot of heart, and we feel very fortunate to win this game and win the NIT championship.”
The victory also snapped Connecticut’s four-game winning streak in the series with the last two victories both coming in Final Fours—the 1999 national championship game and the 2004 semifinals.
It was the first time Duke won a game shooting under 30 percent since a 68-53 victory over Navy on Feb. 4, 1950, when the Blue Devils shot 27.3 percent.
“The last time we lost a game when we held a team to eight field goals in the second half and 28 percent shooting, I can’t remember,” Calhoun said. “Quite frankly, they outwilled us and did the things you need to do to win a game.”
Tournament MVP Jon Scheyer had 19 points to lead Duke, which has won five straight games and 12 of its last 13 at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils extended their winning streak in November to 22 straight games and that will stand for 11 months because their next game is against Wisconsin on Dec. 2.
Nolan Smith had 16 points and Lance Thomas added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Duke, which beat Arizona State 64-53 in the semifinals.
“Our defense was really great and it had to be since we shot the ball so poorly,” Scheyer said. “Defense won this game and our big guys rebounded huge for our team.”
Jerome Dyson had 15 points and Gavin Edwards added 12 for the Huskies, who beat LSU 81-55 to get to their first championship game in three NIT Season Tip-Off appearances.
“They just wanted the offensive rebounds more than us and that killed us,” Dyson said.
Duke was able to take a 37-28 halftime lead with an 8-2 run in an ugly last 4 minutes. Kyle Singler, who had his second straight poor shooting game, hit a 3 with 4:17 left that gave the Blue Devils a 32-26 lead. That was Duke’s last field goal of the half and the Huskies had just one in that span, a drive by Stanley Robinson with 51 seconds left that made it 37-28.
The second half was Duke’s in a hurry.
The Blue Devils used a 12-0 run—during which five players scored—to go ahead 53-34 with 13:18 to play. Calhoun called two timeouts in a 1:13 span in the run—he had already called one 1:30 into the half—to try and slow things down but the Blue Devils were scoring from the perimeter and overpowering the Huskies down low.
Duke finished 6 for 18 from 3-point range while the Huskies didn’t make any in four attempts.
“I didn’t want them taking 3s,” Calhoun said of his team, “I thought we had the quickness to go by them. (Duke) didn’t score on nine of 10 trips at one point in the second half but we scored on one of those. They outquicked us to the ball when they needed to get it to the offensive end, which is something that can’t happen to us.”
The Blue Devils even stayed with Connecticut in blocked shots, not an easy thing to do since the Huskies have led the nation in that stat the last eight seasons—and they averaged 10.3 coming in. The Huskies blocked 13 in each of their last two games, a total Duke managed in all five games combined. Connecticut finished with nine, two more than the Blue Devils.
“Our big guys were coming over and at least if they didn’t take charges, they were trying to take charges and they got a few blocks. They distracted the shooter, kind of like how they did to us,” Krzyzewski said of his team’s help defense. “I thought shooters in the lane today was not a good place to shoot the ball. There were a lot of distractions defensively being made by both teams for those shooters.”
Connecticut did get within single digits with a 12-2 run that made it 62-54 with 52 seconds to play.
“I’m appalled by the lack of rebounding by us as a team,” Calhoun said. “You can’t beat anybody if they get 25 offensive rebounds. If you hold somebody to 28 percent, you can’t lose, but if you give them 25 offensive rebounds and can’t make a shot, you can get some problems.”
Jim Calhoun will bring his Connecticut Huskies back to Madison Square Garden tomorrow night to face Duke for the first time since the 2004 Final four. The Huskies are 4-0 and coming off their best game of the year. They were underwhelming in their wins over William and Mary, Hofstra and Colgate,but they were overwhelming against formerly undefeated LSU as they crushed them 81-55.
The Huskies are essentially playing 6 players, with highly regarded freshman Ater Majok out for the first semester. Here are the starters and key reserves.
6-9 Sr. Stanley Robinson 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds
6-1 Soph Kemba Walker 16.0 points, 2.5 rebounds
6-9 Sr. Gavin Edwards 11.3, 4.8 rebounds
6-9 Fr. Alex Oriakhi 6.5 points, 10.3 rebounds
6-7 Fr. Jamal Combs-McDaniel 3.8
6-4 Jr. Donnell Beverly 2.0 points
The Huskies average 77.2 points, while giving up 62.8. They are shooting 49.8% and holding their opponents to 39.1%. They are shooting 37.7% on five made per game and give up 36.8% on 8 made a game. They are out rebounding their opponents by 2.7 per game and are committing 11.9 turnovers and forcing 14.5.
Notes: Coach K and Coach Calhoun combine for 1647 wins and this game will present the most wins combined ever for two college coaches. They also combine for 13 grandchildren, quite a record in itself. The LSU game was the first one that Connecticut has been able to cross 80 points. The game is scheduled for 5pm and will be televised on ESPN. Duke will going for their record 4 Preseason title. They have a second place and third to go with their 3 titles.
NEW YORK - Jon Scheyer had 16 points and six assists, and No. 7 Duke used a 19-3 second-half run to take control of a 64-53 victory over Arizona State on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Nolan Smith had 14 points and Kyle Singler added 13 for Duke (5-0), which led by only four at halftime.
The Sun Devils (4-1), who managed to stay close behind their patient offense and pesky zone defense, tied it at 43 on two free throws by Derek Glasser with 13:11 to play only to see Duke break it open with the deciding run.
The Blue Devils will face No. 13 Connecticut in the championship game Friday at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies beat LSU 81-55 in the other semifinal.
Singler, who missed eight of his first nine shots from the field, made his second straight to give the Blue Devils the lead for good. After Singler scored again in the lane, Scheyer hit his only 3-pointer to make it 50-43. Rihards Kuksiks' three-point play slowed the run some but the Blue Devils were back at it behind some suddenly effective defense that allowed Arizona State just that one field goal over a 10-minute span.
Trent Lockett, limited to 30 minutes by foul trouble, and Glasser both had 13 points for the Sun Devils.
The victory allowed Duke to extend some impressive streaks. This was its 11th straight win in this tournament as the Blue Devils swept to the title in 2000 and 2005. They also won the inaugural tournament in 1985.
This was Duke's fourth straight win at Madison Square Garden and the 11th in its last 12 games in the building. It also was the Blue Devils' 21st straight win in November, a streak that dates to a 2006 loss to Marquette.
Scheyer hit a 3 as he was falling in front of the Arizona State bench to give the Blue Devils a 34-30 lead with 4.8 seconds left in the first half.
Scheyer committed his first turnover of the season 8:02 into the game. The senior guard entered with 21 assists and no turnovers in 131 minutes over the first four games.
His first turnover of the season came when he stepped on the sideline as the Blue Devils were setting up a play, but it didn't lead to any points for the Sun Devils. He finished with two turnovers in the game.
Duke will take on a couple of familiar names when they journey to New York for a Wednesday night match up at Madison Square in the semifinals of the Dick's Sporting Goods Preaseason N.I.T. with Arizona State. The coach for Arizona State is Herb Sendek the former N.C. State coach who is in his fourth year in Tempe Arizona after 10 years with the Wolfpack. Also former Duke big man Eric Boateng transferred three years ago to ASU and now is enjoying his best year as a senior with the Sun Devils.
Arizona State is coming off a 25-10 record and a NCAA tournament berth. The Sun Devils lost their two best players to the NBA and a total of 34 points went with them. Sendek returns three starters with two of them Derek Glasser and Richard Kuksiks being two of the best three point shooters in the country.
Here are the starters and key reserves for the Sun Devils who like Duke are off to a 4-0 a start and have only been tested in one game a 52-49 win over TCU to advance to New York.
6-6 Sr. Richard Kuksiks 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists (10.3, 2009)
6-10 Sr. Eric Boateng 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds (1.8, 2009)
6-2 Jr. Jamelle McMillian 7.3 points (3.5, 4.8 2009)
6-3 Sr. Ty Abbott 10.0 points (7.1,4.0 assists, 2009)
6-2 Fr. Demetrius Walker 6.3 points
6-3 Sr. Jerren Ship 4.7 points
7-0 Fr. Ruslan Pateev 4.0 points
The Sun Devils are averaging 81.8 points and giving up 52.8. They are 53.6% from the field and allowing 33.9%. They are shooting 49.4% from three on 9.5 made per game and giving up 29.3% on 5.5 made. They hold a 6.0 rebound margin over their opponents and committing 13.3 turnovers and forcing 16.8. They hold wins over Western Illinois 87-35, Texas State 84-62, TCU 52-49 and San Francisco St. 104-65.
Notes: The game is scheduled for around 9:30 or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the LSU-Connecticut game and will be televised on ESPN2. Arizona State like Duke made 18 threes in their last game. Duke is 20-2 alltime in the preseason N.I.T. and won the championship in 1985,2000,2005. Dating back to the last game of last year Jon Scheyer has now gone 149 minutes without a turnover.
Duke rolled over Radford and big center Art Parahhouski 104-67. Duke hit 18-32 from the three point line to tie a school record for made threes. Duke had three players in Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan all have 7 assists as the team had a season high 25. Radford big man had 23 points and 14 rebounds, but he had to take 19 shots to get to his point total.
No Duke player played more than Singler's 30 minutes and they had 8 players in double figure minutes.They also shot 48.6% from the floor and 94.1% from the line in making 16-17 and out rebounded the Highlanders 45-38. The Duke team only had 8 turnovers and forced 16.
Here is a run down on the players and a brief thumbnail analysis of their performance.
Kyle Singler had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. A very line obviously, but Kyle had a off night shooting. He was only 4-13 from the field and 2-8 from three. He had his usual great court presence and as you can tell by his assists he really was every where on the court.
Miles Plumlee had 12 points and 11 rebounds. He was 5-8 from the field and 2-2 from the line. Miles continues to gain confidence and he is becoming a force as his athletic ability gives opponents problems as it did Parakhouski today. He did get pushed around at times by the Radford future pro, but overall he did well. His hands are something that I have noticed have improved this year.
Nolan Smith had 20 points,6 rebounds and 7 assists. He is instant energy for the Blue Devils and make them look so much faster when he is on the court. There is no small coincendence that Duke has scored over a 100 points in both games he has played. He really give the opposing guards fits defensively on the perimeter.
Lance Thomas was quiet again today. He 4 points and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes. He is playing good defense, but as has been the case for his entire career he isn't much of a threat offensively, but he doesn't need to be with the weapons on this team.
Jon Scheyer had another steady game as he had 18 points and 7 assists in 28 minutes and most importantly he extended his no turnover streak to 137 minutes over the first four games without a turnover. Jon is playing good defense also, seldom does his man beat him.
Andre Dawkins had his career high today as he had 20 points on 7-9 shooting, including 6-8 from three. Andre played 22 minutes and also had 3 steals. He is getting better on defense.
Ryan Kelly had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in 18 minutes. Ryan continues to play well. He has great skills and is seldom out of position. He had 2 nice blocks today and continues to play good defense.
Brian Zoubek had 4 points and 9 rebounds, but was limited to 14 minutes because of foul trouble and he ended up fouling out late. Brian is doing a good job on the boards, but gets caught inside on defense reaching entirely too much.
Duke's next game is Wednesday night at 9:30 at Madison Square Garden against Arizona State.
The 3-0 Duke Bluedevils will take on the 2-0 Radford Highlanders in Cameron Indoor tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. This will be the second ever meeting between the two schools. Radford led by Brad Greenberg in his second year are coming off a 21-12 season im 2008-09 and they are the preseason favorite in the Big South Conference.
The Highlanders are led by two outstanding seniors in 6-10 Art Parakhouski and 6-8 Joey Lynch-Flohr whom both had double doubles in their first two games. They have another senior in the starting lineup and also start two freshmen. Here are the starters and key reserves.
6-11 Sr. Art Parakhouski 25.5 points, 15.0 rebounds (16.2 2008-09)
5-10 jr. Jeremy Robinson 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists
6-1 Sr. Cole Wilder 2.0 points
6-8 Fr. Jamal Curry 2.0 points
Radford is averaging 85.0 points a game and are giving up 67.5. They have have shot 50% in both games and are shooting 50.4%. They have only made 6 three pointers and are only shooting 21.4% frim behind the arc. They out rebounded their 2 opponents by 12.0 per game. They have turned it over 36 times in the two games while forcing 16.5
Notes: The game is last one of the year not televised. It can seen on ACC Select or GoDuke.com. Duke beat Radford in their only game in 1998 in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Lexington 99-63. Brad Greenberg is the brother of Virginis Tech's Seth Greeberg. The Highlanders two wins are over Navy 76-65 and Lynchburg 94-70.
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Thursday the signing of Josh Hairston, Kyrie Irving and Tyler Thornton to national letters of intent to play basketball for the Blue Devils beginning in the fall of 2010. The trio is ranked as the No. 5 signing class in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 7 by Scout.com
"Josh, Kyrie and Tyler will be tremendous additions to our program on and off the court," said Krzyzewski. "They are outstanding young men, terrific students and talented basketball players. We are excited about their respective futures in our program and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop."
Hairston, a 6'8" power forward from Spotsylvania, Va., averaged 23.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while leading Courtland to the Group AA, Division 4 state championship a year ago. He earned state player of the year by the Virginia High School Coaches Association and the Associated Press. Hairston is ranked No. 27 overall and the No. 8 power forward by ESPN.com and is the No. 10 power forward according to Scout.com. He is also ranked No. 49 (No. 12 among power forward) by Rivals.com. Hairston transferred to Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., for the 2009-10 season.
Irving, a 6'2" point guard from Elizabeth, N.J., is among the top rated players in the country. He averaged 16.6 points per game in 20 contests last season at national powerhouse St. Patrick High, earning all-state honors. Irving had a season-high 29 points to help St. Patrick beat Elizabeth, 89-72, in the Union County Tournament final and had 26 in a 73-57 victory over Science Park of Newark in the Tournament of Champions final. He scored over 1,000 points in his first two years of high school at Montclair Kimberley before transferring to St. Patrick High. Irving is ranked No. 6 overall and second among point guards by ESPN.com. He is also ranked No. 2 among point guards by Scout.com and No. 9 overall by Rivals.com. Irving's dad, Drederick, played at Boston University in the late 1980s.
Thornton comes to Duke from Washington D.C. where he goes to Gonzaga College High School. A 6'2" point guard, Thornton is ranked No. 129 on the Rivals150 list and is ranked as the No. 29 player at his position. He is also ranked No. 20 by scout.com and No. 21 by ESPN.com among the nation's top point guards. Last season, he averaged 14.4 points per game while leading Gonzaga to the WCAC Championship game, a one-point loss to DeMatha. Thornton was named to the All-WCAC first team and to the Washington D.C. All-Beltway second team as a junior.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Mike Krzyzewski settled in at the podium between his two veteran guards, gesturing first toward Nolan Smith and then toward Jon Scheyer.
"I know these guys are happy to be together again," Coach K said.
Especially when things click like this.
Smith scored a career-high 24 points in his return to the lineup, Scheyer added 20 and the Blue Devils (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) routed Charlotte 101-59 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Kyle Singler finished with 17 points for the Blue Devils (3-0) -- who never trailed, hit 12 3-pointers and shot 52.9 percent in advancing to next week's semifinal matchup at Madison Square Garden against the TCU-Arizona State winner.
Duke went up by double figures to stay before Charlotte hit its first field goal, and its top three scorers combined for 61 points -- two more than the entire 49ers' roster.
"Those three guys on the perimeter don't need a bucket to get them going -- they are ready to go, and they're really good basketball players," Krzyzewski said. "The three of them, 61 points, that's a pretty good night."
Shamari Spears had 20 points to lead the overmatched 49ers (2-1). Sloppy play and 33.9 percent shooting kept them from their first 3-0 start since 1995 and denied them a second straight victory against a ranked opponent dating to last season's win against then-No. 17 Xavier. They had 17 turnovers -- 12 in the first half, when this one was decided.
Charlotte was expected to provide some measure of resistance for the Blue Devils, who were short-handed during their first two games due to forward Mason Plumlee's broken left wrist and Smith's two-game suspension yet routed North Carolina-Greensboro and Coastal Carolina by an average of nearly 30 points.
But with Smith back in the lineup after sitting out for playing in an unsanctioned summer league, Duke had little trouble claiming its NCAA-record 71st straight nonconference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium and 31st consecutive home win against an unranked opponent. The Blue Devils, three-time champions of the preseason NIT, improved to 20-2 in the event.
"[Smith] changes the dynamic of their team," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "They weren't pushing the ball nearly as much [without him]. We knew they would, and had we had days of preparation, we probably would have slowed the game down, but we're not built that way. ... We wanted to pick our spots, but they almost wouldn't allow that to happen."
If Smith wasn't determined to make up for lost time, it sure seemed that way. He reeled off eight quick points in just more than 3 minutes, surpassed his previous best -- a 21-point outing at Wake Forest two seasons ago as a freshman -- roughly 8 minutes into the second half and finished 9 for 15.
"When I'm in the game, the coaches want us to look to push tempo and be aggressive, getting into the paint and making plays for myself and for others," Smith said. "That's what I went out there and did."
Meanwhile, Charlotte's offense at times resembled a one-man show. Spears, a transfer from Boston College who was no stranger to the Cameron Crazies, had his second straight 20-point performance as a 49er. But none of his teammates had more than six points -- a big reason why Charlotte was denied its first victory against a top 10 team since 2004.
Miles Plumlee added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Brian Zoubek added 13 boards for the Blue Devils, who made the first half look like one 20-minute-long burst of dominance.
They went up 14-2 before the 49ers' first basket -- Rashad Coleman hit a layup roughly 3 1/2 minutes in -- as part of the 20-6 burst they used to begin the game. By the midpoint of the half, they were up by 20 on Scheyer's 3-pointer in transition, and pushed the lead to 30 on Singler's finger-roll with 3 1/2 minutes before the break.
The only negative in the first half for Duke would wind up being wiped out by a scoring change: Scheyer originally was charged with his only turnover of the season in 103 minutes. After a postgame review, that giveaway instead went to Smith.
"They really imposed their will on us tonight from the start," Lutz said.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke didn't have one of its key players and Coastal Carolina was missing one too. The big difference: The Blue Devils had plenty of other weapons to make up for it.
Kyle Singler had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Duke (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) routed the equally short-handed Chanticleers 74-49 on Monday night in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Freshman Andre Dawkins had 13 points and Jon Scheyer and Miles Plumlee added 10 apiece for the Blue Devils (2-0), who in the final game of guard Nolan Smith's two-game suspension held the Chanticleers to three field goals during a 14-minute stretch of the first half.
Facing a Coastal Carolina team that suspended one of its starting forwards, the Blue Devils put themselves up by 25 points with a 24-11 spurt midway through the second half and cruised from there into a second-round matchup with the Elon-Charlotte winner Tuesday night.
"It's that kind of game where it's Nov. 16 and they've got a guy suspended from their starting lineup, and they're going to junk it up, which they should," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, referring to Coastal's triangle-and-two defense.
"And we've got some guys who are out, and you try to figure it out," he added. "Overall, we figured it out fine."
Mario Edwards scored 12 to lead the Chanticleers (1-1), who will face the Elon-Charlotte loser in a consolation game. Their coach, Cliff Ellis, spent a decade coaching at Clemson and beat Duke three times from 1987-90, but that didn't translate onto the court for a Coastal Carolina team seeking its first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference team since 1987.
"I thought we did the things we needed to do to win, and if the ball goes in the hole, I think it could've really gotten interesting the last few minutes of the game," Ellis said. "They knew we were there for about 25 minutes, 28 minutes. After that, it was pretty much their ball game."
On a night when the Blue Devils once again had a thin bench, Singler was there to keep things rolling. The ACC's preseason player of the year followed his 20-point performance in the opening win against North Carolina-Greensboro with even bigger numbers, scoring 15 in the first half and finishing 8 of 14 in 36 minutes.
Dawkins, a newcomer with a quick trigger from long range, hit two 3-pointers during the overwhelming second-half spurt. The first made it 50-28 with 11 minutes left and pushed Duke's lead into the 20s. Scheyer remained turnover-free while playing all but six minutes of the season.
"Jon did a very good job of making sure that the team was in sync," Singler said. "I tried to follow, and that's basically it. It was basically on Jon. Jon was our leader out there, and I was just trying to jump on his back and follow -- whether it was my shots in the first half that kind of kept us ahead, it really was Jon that kept us together."
The Blue Devils extended their NCAA-record nonconference winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 70, claimed their 30th straight win at home against an unranked team and improved to 19-2 in the preseason NIT, a tournament they have won three times.
Coastal Carolina, which was playing its first game against a top-10 team since a 43-point loss to No. 7 Florida in 2002, fell to 1-28 against the ACC. The Chanticleers were without three first-year players suspended for the game for violating undisclosed team rules -- most notably, South Carolina transfer Chad Gray, who had 17 points against College of Charleston.
Meanwhile, Duke had just eight players in its rotation because of Smith's suspension for playing in an unsanctioned summer league and 6-foot-10 freshman Mason Plumlee remained out with a broken left wrist. Smith is expected back for the second-round matchup.
"Overall, we've done a good job without him," Krzyzewski said. "What he does when he comes back is, he brings the familiarity that you've known for a month."
Without them, the Blue Devils pushed their lead into double figures to stay by scoring 10 straight points midway through the first half and forcing the Chanticleers into some miserable shooting.
Coastal Carolina reeled off six quick points in the first 2 minutes -- but managed just six more during the following 14. In that stretch, the Chanticleers were held to 3-of-22 shooting while allowing Duke to take a 26-12 lead. Coastal attempted its only two free throws of the half at the 2:20 mark.
"We fought hard," Ellis said. "Very simply, we didn't make shots. That's the bottom line."
