Duke Chokes, Coughs up a Loss to #11 Pitt, 65-64

NEW YORK (AP) - Levance Fields hit a 3 with 4.7 seconds left in overtime to give No. 11 Pittsburgh a 65-64 victory over No. 6 Duke in a matchup of unbeatens Thursday night.

Duke's Jon Scheyer took a running three and was able to grab the rebound and get off a final shot but it missed as well, as Duke chokes on its first loss of the season.

At the end of regulation, Pitt's Michael Cook missed a 3 with 23 seconds left and the Blue Devils worked for a last touch, Henderson's driving miss in the lane, but Kyle Singler got the rebound and his putback went off the rim.

Singler and Henderson both had 17 points for Duke, while DeMarcus Nelson dished 14.

The loss snapped Duke's 36-game winning streak in December. The Blue Devils' last loss in the 12th month was 84-83 to Stanford on Dec. 21, 2000.

Both teams were used to playing in Madison Square Garden. Pitt is 18-8 there since 2001-02 and Duke is 15-6 in the Garden under coach K and the Blue Devils had won their last seven in the building.

It looked like Duke's winning streaks in the month and New York City would remain intact as the Blue Devils took a 16-point lead in the first half and were still up 39-26 with 16:31 left in regulation.

But Pitt picked up its rebounding and defense in the second half and OT and cut back on the turnovers. After being even on the boards at 19 at halftime, the Panthers finished with a 53-39 rebound advantage.

Duke choked on 39% shooting and went 4:48 without scoring in the 2nd half, part of a 6:31 span when the Blue Devils didn't have a field goal. Their spread offense wasn't getting the same shots it did in the first half and the Blue Devils were hurrying threes, going 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the final 25 minutes.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon called a 30-second timeout, the third one he called in a 3:24 span hoping to keep Duke within striking distance. The Panthers closed within 34-22 at halftime.

Duke drops to 10-1 as Pitt remains undefeated at 11-0. A much needed reality check for the Devils as they will now regroup, and hopefully relax on their shot selection and get back to what got them this far, passing to the open man with the cleanest shot.. Good game Pitt, on a much deserved win.

**In ranking news, the tarholez played another weak team on their wimpy schedule and that impressed the biased selection committee more than #2 Memphis beating #4 Georgetown, and roy's boys retain the top spot, so what else is new..

Duke succumbs to a top team and will fall to at least the #12 spot, if not the 14th..

Duke Blasts Albany 111-70

DeMarcus Nelson has seen No. 1 rankings and ACC Championships during his career at Duke, experience that has made him probably the Blue Devils' most valuable player on a young squad.

And though he's content to let teammates grab the headlines, the senior showed Monday night he still can power the Blue Devils' fast-paced offense.

Nelson had 23 points as #6 Duke turned in a sharp offensive performance to crush Albany 111-70, improving the Blue Devils to 10-0 for the sixth time in eight seasons.

Jon Scheyer added 18 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 60 percent and quickly turned this game into a rout. Duke had five players score in double figures and hit 15 of 26 3's, continuing its strong outside shooting.

The Great Danes (5-5), an NCAA tournament participant last season, fell behind by double figures in the first 6 minutes and trailed by 26 at the half.

It was a solid overall effort before facing #11 Pitt on Thursday night in NYC, and it gave Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski his 785th career victory to move within a game of tying Lefty Driesell for sixth on the all-time list.

"I thought DeMarcus played very, very well," Coach K said. "He's been our most consistent excellent player. It's just that his thing goes below the radar because this freshman did this or this guy's doing that... DeMarcus has been the solid one."

Nelson went 6-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, to go with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 26 minutes. The 23 points were one shy of tying a career-high for the 6-foot-4 swingman.

"I try not to put too much emphasis on scoring even though I can score and I will score," Nelson said. "I just try to go out there and be a player and whatever the play is to make it. And at the end of the game, I think the performance will speak for itself."

The Blue Devils hadn't played since beating Michigan 95-67 on Dec. 8, but they showed little rust from their layoff despite playing without starter Lance Thomas, who sat out with a sprained ankle. Nelson got Duke off and running, hitting a driving shot and a 3 in the first 2 minutes en route to his 16 points in the 1st half.

"He makes so many plays for other guys and gets other guys shots," Scheyer said of the Blue Devils' lone scholarship senior. "When guys don't help on him, he can score and that's what he did tonight."

But Nelson wasn't alone. Eight players scored in the first half while Duke shot 20-for-33 (61%) and went 9-for-14 from behind the arc to build a 57-31 lead. Scheyer scored 10 points in a span of just more than 2 minutes after the break — including consecutive 3's — to give Duke a 78-46 lead with 12:49 left.

The Blue Devils poured it on the rest of the way, cracking the century mark on Nelson's free throw that made it 100-57 with about 6 minutes left.

***Rankings, you know the routine, the heels played another sub-par team and remain on top, with nothing exciting going on besides exams, the top 10 stayed the same..

Duke's Bench Dominates Michigan, 95-67

Duke has more scorers on its bench than many teams do in their starting lineups.

Two freshman reserves posted big point totals Saturday, with Taylor King scoring 18 and the 'other' freshman, Nolan Smith adding a career-high 17, showing off his ball handling and driving skills during the Blue Devils' 95-67 rout of Michigan.

"Before the game, Coach K was like, 'We're going to play everybody in the first couple of minutes, so just get ready, play your [tail] off, pretty much,' " King said. "That's what they did, and we just brought guys in, put different lineups in ... and see what works."

Gerald Henderson had 12 points and DeMarcus Nelson and non-starter Jon Scheyer both added 10 for the Blue Devils (9-0), who shot 49 percent and built an insurmountable lead by reeling off 14 straight first-half points, a dominating stretch led by King and Smith. For the fourth time in nine games, the Blue Devils' leading scorer came off the bench -- with King doing it three times.

"Without those reserves, we wouldn't have the type of success that we're having," Nelson said. "On any given moment, we're going to need somebody to step up."

Duke opened with nine straight victories for the third time in four years, won its NCAA-best 56th straight non-conference home game and improved to 3-0 against the Big Ten by sending the Wolverines (3-6) to their sixth loss in seven games.

Ranking prediction: Duke bumps up a notch to the 5th spot, Tarhole nation keeps the top spot, without having played a top 25 team yet.. yep, cause they're unc.. yawn, and the bias train rolls on...

Duke defeats a Very Determined Davidson, 79-73

Charlotte: Davidson kept rallying from double-digit deficits, giving No. 7 Duke a rare close game.

But the Wildcats don't have athletes like Gerald Henderson.

In one of his best games this season, Henderson had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Greg Paulus had 2 key baskets and a steal in the final 2 minutes, as the Blue Devils climb to 8-0 by beating Davidson, an impressive mid-major, 79-73.

''I thought Henderson was the difference, both offensively and defensively,'' Coach K said. ''He had 21 points, but he had 3 really big blocks, 2 in the second half. You just don't teach that.''

Jon Scheyer scored 15 points and Kyle Singler added 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-0), who needed big plays from Henderson to extend their winning streak over Davidson to 21 straight.

Duke eventually wore down the Wildcats, using a wave of players and superior athleticism led by Henderson, who shot 8-for-17 and made 4-of-5 free throws.

''We got a lead where it was hard for them to come back at the end,'' Henderson said. ''They hit a few shots in the last couple of minutes, but it just wasn't enough. We did our work before that. I'm proud of the guys. This is a good win for us.''

Davidson (3-3), which took top-ranked North Carolina to the wire just over two weeks ago, rallied from down 16 in the first half and 12 with 5 minutes to play, getting within 70-65 with 2:37 left.

Paulus, who scored 11 points, then hit a 3-pointer. After Stephen Curry hit a 3 at the other end, Paulus' baseline fadeaway with 32 seconds left gave Duke a 75-68 lead.

Paulus then stole the ball from Jason Richards , and Duke held on with Henderson's two free throws with 5.3 seconds left putting it away.

Curry scored 20 points despite playing the final 12 minutes with four fouls, and Richards added 14 points and 11 assists for Davidson.

And poor shooting did them in, again, in the Wildcats' 23rd straight loss to a ranked team. Davidson hit eight of 24 3s, they also missed 7 of 12 free throws.

Davidson will get another chance to knock off a heavyweight next week, when it plays No. 2 UCLA.

Duke won its first 7 games by an average of 15 points, including an 82-58 rout of No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday. But despite being far more athletic, the Blue Devils never got comfortable against Davidson, which won a school-record 29 games last season before losing to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Duke, though, was able to hit 11 3-pointers to offset 16 turnovers and win its 42nd straight game against Southern Conference teams.

--Rankings prediction, Duke will move up one to 6th, UNC will reclaim the top spot on another lack-luster performance against another unrated team. Regardless of whether or not UCLA beats 8th ranked Texas, the tarholes will be on top because they're UNC.