Thomas Breaks Out, Duke Spanks Duquesne

Lance Thomas scored a career-high 21 points Friday to help the 5th ranked Blue Devils rout Duquesne 95-72.

"I feel like that performance was long overdue," Thomas said. "On any given night, any of our guys can have a game like that. We have such a balanced team, such a deep team, that something like that can happen on any given night, and it says a lot about our team that we can do that."

Thomas might be the first big man off Duke's bench, but Krzyzewski described him as "another starter for our team." He had 12 of his points in the decisive first half and made all eight of his shots in helping the Blue Devils (7-0) shoot a season-high 54.7 percent.

Kyle Singler had 17 points, Nolan Smith added 11, and the only thing Thomas missed all day was a first-half free throw in surpassing his previous high of 15 set against Air Force in 2006. Duke — which hadn't shot better than 48.5 percent in any game so far — scored 31 points off 19 Duquesne turnovers.

"We like to run the fast break on a made basket. Unfortunately, there were a lot of makes on Duke's end today, so we got a lot of practice with it," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart quipped.

The Blue Devils never trailed, led by 10 midway through the first half, pushed it to 20 by the break and 30 shortly after halftime in cruising to their 64th straight non-conf win at home. Duke has won its 5 home games by an average of 24 points.

"We got that huge lead (and) it was a result of Duke scoring, not a certain player scoring," Coach K said. "That's when it's always the best, when you don't even know who scored. You just know that we scored."

The Blue Devils will have to wait a few weeks before they can go for No. 65. After a road trip through Big Ten country to face No. 10 Purdue and Michigan, they're off for final exams before hosting UNC Asheville on Dec. 17.

Duke Rolls to 6-0, Defeating Montana by 20

Nolan Smith scored 12 of his 14 points during the decisive first-half run that led #5 Duke to its third win in four days, 78-58 over Montana on Sunday.

Gerald Henderson also had 14 points, Kyle Singler finished with 13 and Jon Scheyer scored 12 for the Blue Devils (6-0), who played without co-captain Greg Paulus -- a starter-turned-backup this season who was held out with a bruised right forearm.

But with Smith making his sixth straight start at the point, Duke went back to its familiar formula of hot shooting and high-pressure defense to fuel the game-breaking 30-9 first-half run that carried the team to its NCAA-best 63rd straight non-conf. victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I just want him to keep developing," Coach K said. "He's got a tough position, and it wears on you mentally, not just physically, when you're responsible for running the team. ... Last year, he didn't have to do this as the primary guy, and all of a sudden, this is the fourth game in a week.

Jordan Hasquet scored 15 points to lead the Grizzlies (2-2), who averaged 78.5 points in winning their last two before Duke pressured them into a season-high 20 turnovers and turned them into 31 points.

"We let their intensity speed us up," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. "That was a big key going into the game, not to settle for mediocre (looks) because they trick you, they trick you into thinking you've got something, and you put it on the floor and they fly at you. We settled for mediocre and we also dribbled into some trouble, and they had layups and dunks and that certainly took some of our spirit from us."

Duke Captures 2K Sports Classic Championship

MSG NYC -- Kyle Singler showed up from the start this time, scoring 15 points and leading Duke #5 to a 71-56 victory over Michigan in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic.

Nolan Smith led Duke with 16 points and Gerald Henderson had 12 for the Blue Devils, who won their four games in the 2K Sports Classic by an average of 28.5 points. Duke has won seven straight in-season tournament games after sweeping through the Maui Invitational last season.

Manny Harris scored 25 to lead Michigan (3-1), which will get another crack at the Blue Devils (5-0) when they visit Ann Arbor on Dec. 6. DeShawn Sims added 10.

Singler was on target early, going 3-for-3 from the field in the first half and hitting key shots whenever Michigan threatened to tighten things up. He also had eight boards and earned the tournament MVP award.

The game figured to hinge on Michigan's ability to slow down Duke's high-flying offense, and early on coach John Beilein's patented 1-3-1 zone defense seemed to confuse the Blue Devils.

Then Smith and freshman Elliot Williams combined for eight straight points, giving Duke a 25-15 lead with just under 9 minutes left in the first half, forcing the Wolverines to eventually switch to a man-to-man defense that kept the game close for a while.

Duke has won 14 straight in November and improved to 108-16 in the season's first month, including 94-10 under Mike Krzyzewski. His teams are 17-6 at Madison Square Garden, where another heavily pro-Duke crowd showed up in droves to see the title game of the tournament benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

In the consolation game earlier in the night, Alfred Aboya and Darren Collison led the Bruins to a 77-60 victory over Southern Illinois.

Henderson Leads Duke to Finals in 2K Sports Classic

Gerald Henderson scored all 20 of his points in the second half, helping #5 Duke find some offensive rhythm in an 83-58 victory over So. Illinois in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic.

Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler each added 13 points for the Blue Devils (4-0), who advanced to play either Michigan on Friday night for the championship of the tournament benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Carlton Fay had 17 points to lead So. Illinois (2-1), which spent most of the game in foul trouble. Big man Nick Evans fouled out with 7:59 left and Tony Boyle was gone with just under 7 minutes to go.

The Salukis made things much more difficult than the final score might indicate. They pulled to 55-47 with about 9½ minutes left before Singler hit a three. A couple of minutes later, Duke's stellar sophomore was fouled on a breakaway dunk and crashed to the floor in a heap.

A referee came from the other end of the court to call an intentional foul on Boyle. After Singler made a pair of free throws, Henderson nailed a three from the wing to give Duke a 66-49 lead.

Henderson scored seven more in a span of just a couple of minutes, including a thunderous dunk that roused a late-arriving crowd and pushed the game out of reach.

Brian Zoubek added 10 for the Blue Devils. Kevin Dillard had 10 for So. Illinois.

The Salukis did their best to slow down the high-scoring Blue Devils, often pushing and grabbing them as they cut through the lane.

Somebody must have paid attention. The Blue Devils spent the final nine minutes of the half parading to the free-throw line, where they had just as many tries (19) as field-goal attempts.

Duke Tenacity Overcomes Rhode Island 82-79

Duke watched as Jimmy Baron turned the second half into his personal shootaround. Finally, the Blue Devils put their best player in his face — just in time to save their long home-court winning streak.

Kyle Singler hit two free throws with 19.4 secs left, then stopped Rhode Island's top scorer down the stretch to lead #5 Duke past the Rams 82-79 on Sunday.

Jon Scheyer scored 23 points and was 13-of-13 from the free-throw line, and Singler finished with 21 points for the Blue Devils (3-0). They fell behind by 12 early and trailed for most of the way before scoring on their final seven possessions to rally for their NCAA-best 62nd straight non-conf victory at Cameron Indoor.

"It was one of those February games in November," Duke coach Krzyzewski said. "The last 5 minutes, I thought we did everything right. ... And they didn't do anything wrong. They just missed a couple of shots."

Baron scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half and matched a career high with eight 3's for Rhode Island (1-1).

"(Duke) put every guy possible on him," the Rhode Island coach said of his son. "They were switching, changing defenses on him. He just stepped up and kept us ahead."

Delroy James added a career-high 21 points and Keith Cothran added 10 points.

Nolan Smith and Lance Thomas finished with 10 points apiece for Duke, which won its first two games by an average of 37 points. Maybe the Blue Devils should have expected a tighter contest from the Rams — both previous meetings between the schools came in the NCAA tournament and each was decided by one point.

The Rams made 7-of-9 3-pointers in the second half and finished shooting nearly 55 percent, but were denied their first victory against a ranked team since 1998 and their first win against an ACC team since 1987.

"I don't think our guys expected the level of play," Krzyzewski said. "Don't get me wrong. We respected Rhode Island. But they played at a really high level tonight. I thought it knocked us back."

Duke cruises past Georgia Southern, into 2K Sports semifinals

Singler Leads Duke Past Georgia So. 97-54

DURHAM, N.C. - Kyle Singler recorded 19 points for the second straight game and added eight rebounds as No. 8 Duke defeated Georgia Southern, 97-54, in the second round of the 2008 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Singler added eight rebounds in just 22 minutes of action and earned MVP of the Durham Regional of the tournament for his efforts. He opened the 2008-09 season with a 19-point, 10-rebound effort vs. Presbyterian Monday.

Duke led 52-25 at the half. Nolan Smith scored 13 points with a pair of steals while Gerald Henderson and Greg Paulus each scored 11 points. Jon Scheyer scored 8 points and had a game-high 7 assists while freshman Elliot Williams pulled down 11 rebounds off the bench in just 14 minutes of second-half action.

The Blue Devils did struggle from the line, hitting just 25-of-49 free throw attempts.

Duke next hosts Rhode Island Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium with tipoff set for 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Duke will then return to action in the 2K Classic and will face the winner of UMass or Southern Illinois. The Minutemen defeated Arkansas-Monticello, 90-71, while the Saluki's defeated California (Pa.), 66-52. UMass and Southern Illinios will square off Wednesday

Duke Ranked 5th In Coaches Poll

The Duke Blue Devils earned a No. 8 ranking in the preseason AP poll, marking the 13th consecutive preseason poll in which they've been ranked. With Kentucky not earning a ranking, the Blue Devils now hold the longest streak in the nation. Duke also earned a No. 5 ranking in the coaches poll release earlier last week.

Duke has now been ranked in every preseason AP poll since the 1996-97 season. In the AP poll, Duke is No. 8 behind North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville, UCLA, Pittsburgh, Michigan State and Texas. In the Coaches poll, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 5 behind North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville and UCLA.

This also marks the 21st preseason ranking in the AP poll in the last 22 years and 23rd overall under Coach K. Additionally, this is the 35th appearance all-time in the preseason AP poll and the 39th overall in the first poll of the season. The AP has distinguished the first poll of the season and the preseason poll every season since 1961-62.

More Duke In The AP Poll Notes:

* Duke has been ranked at some point in each of the last 26 seasons and in 48 seasons overall.
* Duke has earned a Top 10 preseason ranking for the first time since 2005-06, when it was No. 1 in the preseason poll. Under Coach K, Duke has earned a Top 10 ranking 19 times and 28 times overall.
* Coach K ranks No. 1 all-time for most seasons with at least one No. 1 ranking with 13, one ahead of John Wooden and three ahead of Dean Smith and Roy Williams.
* Duke has now been ranked in 597 overall polls of which 489 have been a Top 10 ranking. Duke's current streak of consecutive polls ranked stands at 21.
* Duke has been ranked No. 8 now 41 times in the AP poll and the Blue Devils are 60-15 as the No. 8 team in the AP poll.
* Under Coach K, Duke has been ranked in 411 overall polls, the Top 10 349 times and at No. 1 92 times, more than any other active coach.
* Of 938 games under Coach K, Duke has been ranked 793 of them. Duke is 650-144 as a ranked team under Coach K.