Duke defeats UConn for NIT Title

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. 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."

Duke advances to NIT final -vs- UConn

The Blue Devils turned up the defensive intensity in a 19-3 run that led to a 64-53 victory over the Sun Devils.

Jon Scheyer had 16 points and six assists, and he was the one who found Singler for the two field goals that tied the game and put the Blue Devils ahead for good.

"I don't think looking for him any more than usual and I'm always looking for him when he's open," Scheyer said. "Crunch time is always Kyle's time and those were two big shots for us."

Nolan Smith had 14 points 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.

"I thought defensively after the first 5 minutes was the key to the ballgame," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And Singler, who was not having a good shooting night, after that timeout in the second half he came out and hit those two buckets right away. It's nice if you're 9 for 12 but when you're whatever he was, when the score is tied, that's very good."

The Blue Devils will face No. 13 Connecticut in the championship game Friday. The Huskies beat LSU 81-55 in the other semifinal.

"A championship here would mean a lot because this is like a Final Four or a Sweet 16 because you play two games in three days against two good teams," Scheyer said. "We'll be ready and so will they."

Duke to face Arizona St in NIT semi-final

The Opening Tip
Duke (4-0), ranked ninth in the AP poll and eighth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, faces Arizona State (4-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 9:00 p.m. in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Wednesday's contest will be aired by espn2 with Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Doris Burke calling the action.

The Last Time Out
Duke is coming off a 104-67 win over Radford on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Junior Nolan Smith and freshman Andre Dawkins each scored 20 points to pace the offense.

The Blue Devils knocked down 18 three-point field goals, including six by Dawkins, to match a school record. Duke drained 13 three-pointers in the opening half to jump out to a 59-34 advantage.

Senior Jon Scheyer added 18 points and seven assists, while Kyle Singler (13) and Miles Plumlee (12) also reached double figures in scoring. Plumlee added a team-high 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Singler added seven rebounds and seven assists for his third career game with seven or more points, rebounds and assists. He is just the 10th Blue Devil to accomplish that feat three times in a career.

Duke cruises past Coastal and Charlotte to advance to MSG

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 ninth-ranked Blue Devils 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.

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Kyle Singler had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Duke 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 Coastal Carolina to three field goals during a 14-minute stretch of the first half.

Duke rolls over UNCG 96-62

Singler scored 20 points, Scheyer added 18 and the Blue Devils shrugged off a pair of key absences to rout North Carolina-Greensboro 96-62 on Friday night.

Singler, the ACC's preseason player of the year, had 14 points in the first half and wound up playing 38 minutes. Scheyer, the only true guard in the starting lineup, logged 37 turnover-free minutes for Duke (1-0).

"There's no middle reliever," coach Mike Krzyzewski said, referring to his temporarily shorthanded team. "There's no (Mariano) Rivera coming in at the end, or any setup guys, so they have to play like that."

The Blue Devils shot 59.7 percent and used two huge first-half runs to extend their NCAA record home nonconference winning streak to 69. The ACC's preseason co-favorites with defending national champion North Carolina improved to 28-2 in openers under Coach K.

And once they got rolling, they made it look easy - even without guard Nolan Smith, who was suspended for the first two games of the season for playing in unsanctioned summer league games, and 6-foot-10 freshman forward Mason Plumlee, who's out indefinitely with a broken left wrist.

Have a great season and Go Duke!