Duke rolls over Virginia Tech

Kyle Singler had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Nolan Smith added 23 points and No. 6 Duke pulled away late to beat Virginia Tech 67-55 on Sunday night.

Jon Scheyer had 15 points for the Blue Devils (23-4, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). They used a late 14-4 run to overcome their only deficit of the second half and earn their sixth straight victory.

Malcolm Delaney, the ACC's leading scorer, finished with 19 points for Virginia Tech (21-5, 8-4), which fell to 1-17 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. His 3-pointer capped a 13-5 run and put the Hokies up 45-44 with 9:55 left.

Smith followed with a three-point play roughly 30 seconds later and scored seven points during the decisive burst that followed. Scheyer finished the spurt with a 3 that made it 60-49 with 4:15 to play. Tech didn't get closer than six after that.

Duke's three Ss - Singler, Scheyer and Smith - combined for all but four of the team's points. The only other Blue Devils players to score: Miles Plumlee, who hit a free throw with 13:29 before the break, and 7-foot-1 Brian Zoubek, who converted a three-point play with 7:12 remaining.

Zoubek finished with 16 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who ran their winning streak at Cameron to 17. They're 15-0 here this season, with 14 wins coming by double figures and 11 by at least 20 points.

Duke defeats Miami on strong 2nd half

Mike Krzyzewski claimed his halftime pep talk had nothing to do with Duke's dramatic turnaround Wednesday night.

"I don't even remember what I said," Krzyzewski said. "Nothing complimentary."

At the time, there was little to praise. The No. 6-ranked Blue Devils dug a 12-point halftime hole, then used smothering defense to rally and beat the Miami Hurricanes 81-74.

Jon Scheyer missed his first nine shots and Nolan Smith missed his first six for the Blue Devils, who shot 31 percent in the opening half to fall behind 37-25. But 22 turnovers doomed the Hurricanes, who attempted only 45 shots to 60 for the Blue Devils.

"In the second half our defense, especially in the first eight or nine minutes, was sensational," Krzyzewski said.

Better shooting helped, too. Scheyer, Smith and Kyle Singler combined for 49 points in the second half after totaling nine in the first half.

The Blue Devils (22-4, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) increased their league lead with their fifth win in a row. Smith said Krzyzewski made reference to the standings at halftime.

"He called us out," Smith said. "He let us know, 'It's now or never. You can take control of the ACC right now or put ourselves in a hole.'"

Daytona Embarrasses Nascar with huge delay due to pothole

In the midst of a Daytona 500 that featured 52 lead changes, a record 21 leaders and a thrilling chase to the checkered flag by the winner Jamie McMurray with the fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. closing fast, Nascar’s premier event was marred by an embarrassing track failure. The race was stopped twice, delays totaling 2 hours 25 minutes, because of a pothole in the asphalt between Turns 1 and 2.

The hole developed during the race at a dip in the pavement at that point, and racecars were bottoming out and digging into asphalt that was cold and moist underneath from recent rains. The pothole measured about 9 inches by 15 inches, and was two inches deep, large enough to damage racecars traveling close to 200 miles an hour.

“We are always prepared for these types of issues,” Robin Braig, Daytona’s track president, said before acknowledging that track officials did not have the proper materials to patch a pothole in the unusually cold and wet weather. Sunday’s high was 55 degrees.

The first delay lasted 1 hour 40 minutes and 45 seconds. But the fix failed, the pothole doubled in size and officials were forced to stop the race for another 44 minutes. They used Bondo, a filler typically used for auto body repair, as a last resort. That did not work, either. Drivers reported the hole had reopened by the end of the race.

The damage was done. Overnight television ratings came in at 7.7 (13.3 million viewers) compared to 9.2 in 2009. This after Nascar had announced rules changes designed to help promote better racing in hopes of lifting sagging ratings and attendance.

“We are always prepared for these types of issues,” ?? Did you really say that Mr Daytona track President? Please explain to me and the rest of your fans HOW you have prepared for 'these types of issues'... Let's see, oh, you surely have prepared a HUGE bank account for yourself and your constituents, now haven't you?

Please tell us WHY you haven't paved the racetrack that is considered one of Nascar's pristine jewels, the track that holds Nascar's Premiere race, WHY YOU haven't paved the track in 32 years..

Let's do the math shall we? 200,000 spectators at an average of say $50 per person equals $10 million, and thats only ONE RACE! How many races have you held at Daytona in 32 years oh Mr 'prepared for anything' President? Please explain to your fans how this is all 'the weather's fault', hell, maybe its Global Warming?!? Someone alert Al 'Internet' Gore!

Bondo... Really?? Prepared for anything? Really?

You embarrassed Nascar and lost the credibility and respect in the eyes of the fans.
And while Im on the stump here, let me pose a question to FOX, ESPN and TNT... Does the fact that someone is a great driver, or an excellent crew chief also make them a viable candidate for an announcer's position to call races on national television? Did it ever cross any of your minds to send these otherwise bright and talented individuals to speech therapy? At what point did 'boogity boogity boogity' become an intelligent term to begin a race? Talk about degrading a race, and degrading the dignity of the fans that (once) enjoyed Nascar. Please take the microphone away from Larry McReynolds and someone offer him a job under the hood of a racecar.. And DW, stick a fork in it, you've BEEN done..

And Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway. “It’s not Daytona Speedway’s fault, it’s not Nascar’s fault. Really? Then just who's fault is it? Who made the decision not to repave the rack for over 30 years?

Mr Daytona 'ready for anything" President, do the world of Nascar a favor by scraping the dust from your mountain of money and PAVE THE DAMN TRACK!!

Look at the wonderful press you would get, and you might, you just might even redeem yourself! In doing so you will have stimulated the economy, at least in Florida, why just imagine the amount of illegal aliens you could hire to do the job?!?!

Duke smokes Maryland by 21

Mike Krzyzewski's 1,000th game at Duke ended like so many others before it: overwhelmingly in his team's favor. With results like this, it's no surprise that he doesn't plan on slowing down.

Jon Scheyer scored 22 points and No. 8 Duke marked Coach K's milestone with a 77-56 rout of Maryland on Saturday in a matchup of the Atlantic Coast Conference's top two teams.

Brian Zoubek had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the ACC-leading Blue Devils (21-4, 9-2), who dominated from start to finish and at both ends of the court, shooting 41.5 percent and holding Maryland 25 points below its season average.

"Obviously, it's an honor to play" in a game of such significance for Krzyzewski, Scheyer said. "But after that, we're in first place - that's the main thing."

Greivis Vasquez scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Cliff Tucker added 12 to lead the Terrapins (16-7, 6-3), whose late run couldn't make up for going 7 early minutes between baskets. They were 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

"We weren't really in sync, and you cannot do that here," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "You have to be really ready to play, and everything has to go your way ... and we didn't play well enough."

From Art Heyman to J.J. Redick, roughly 100 former players, coaches and staff members returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium to celebrate a double milestone for Krzyzewski. On his 63rd birthday, he became the eighth Division I coach to reach four figures at one school. He's 781-219 in 30 seasons at Duke with three national titles and 10 Final Fours.

"I could not have had a better place to coach," Krzyzewski said. Describing its high standards, he added that the school "was more of who I want to be. I'm not saying I'm like Duke, but I want to be like Duke."

After the final horn sounded, he was presented with a framed Duke No. 1,000 jersey, the players pulled on T-shirts adorned with Krzyzewski's silhouette and the Cameron Crazies sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

"When you think of Duke basketball, you think of Mike Krzyzewski," Williams said.

Nolan Smith had 14 points and Kyle Singler finished with 10 for the Blue Devils - who have won four straight, six of seven overall and 40 in a row at home against unranked teams.

They have rarely been tested at Cameron this season - 14-0 with all but one of the victories coming by double digits.

Duke smothers UNC, dealing 11th loss to the Tarholez

Jon Scheyer scored 24 points and #8 Duke pulled away in the final minutes to beat North Carolina 64-54 on Wednesday night.

Kyle Singler added 19 points for the Blue Devils (20-4, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot poorly all night and couldn't make much of anything in close. But boasting a bigger and tougher front line than in years past, Duke dominated the boards and got plenty of extra looks to make up for all those misses.

Duke hit nine 3-pointers, but shot 32 percent overall and went 13 for 51 (25 percent) from inside the arc.

The loss only added to the defending national champions' misery in a season that is slipping away. North Carolina (13-11, 2-7) has lost eight of 10 since the start of 2010, including four in a row overall to fall near the bottom of the league standings.

Will Graves scored 13 points to lead the Tar Heels.

The rivalry game might have lost some luster this time around due to North Carolina's struggles and Duke looking like a good team. Both schools had been ranked in the top 10 in the past four meetings, but North Carolina - which started the season at No. 6 and as co-ACC favorite with Duke - fell out of the poll two weeks ago.

Still, this one ended up fitting right in with college basketball's fiercest rivalry when it came to intensity and fight. Neither team led by more than six points in the first 30 minutes and they were tied with about 8 minutes left before the Blue Devils finally took control.

Duke finished with a 51-42 rebounding advantage and converted 23 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points, baskets that repeatedly drained the momentum building when the Tar Heels appeared on the verge of a defensive stop, however, weakness ensued over the Tarhole bench, and Roy 'Choke' Williams let another game slip away.

Hey Roy, I hear that Pat Summit from Tennessee is wanting to coach Men's BBall, I'm sure she would interview you for an assistant coach's position... You should check look into it.

Duke holds on to beat Boston College

Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith scored 21 points apiece, each hitting two foul shots in the last 26 seconds after No. 10 Duke nearly squandered a 10-point halftime lead and the Blue Devils held on to beat Boston College 66-63 on Saturday.

Duke (19-4, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) missed five straight free throws in the middle of the game and two more in the final minute, helping BC cut the deficit to 64-63 on Reggie Jackson's long, high-arcing 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. Scheyer was fouled after he received the inbound pass, then made both free throws to force BC to try another 3 for the tie.

But Jackson couldn't get a clear look at the basket and passed off to Joe Trapani, who was momentarily open. Seven-foot-1 Brian Zoubek ran out to put a hand in front of the 6-8 Trapani and made him put the ball on the ground before sending a long 3-point attempt off the front of the rim at the buzzer.

"I saw Trapani wide open. It's the last thing you want to see when you've got a three-point lead," Zoubek said. "He made one dribble, a pump fake and shot it off balance."

Said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: "We didn't want Jackson to take the last shot. Let's put it that way."

Duke pounds Georgia Tech behind Singler's 30

Singler had career highs of 30 points and eight 3-pointers to lead the 10th-ranked Blue Devils past the 21st-ranked Yellow Jackets 86-67 on Thursday night.

"I just got into a rhythm," Singler said. "I took open shots ... and started knocking them down."

Jon Scheyer added 21 points for Duke (18-4, 6-2), which was strong inside and outside — hitting nearly 67 percent of its 3s and dominating Georgia Tech's foul-plagued front line. Duke held a 40-32 rebounding edge and remained atop the Atlantic Coast Conference by claiming an easy win in a matchup of the league's only ranked teams.

"In this type of game," coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "it's a spectacular shooting performance."

Zachery Peacock scored the Yellow Jackets' first 11 points, but was shut out after that. Leading scorers Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors were in foul trouble all night for Georgia Tech (16-6, 4-4), even though coach Paul Hewitt refused to use that as an excuse.

"I don't think the fouls had anything to do with anything," Hewitt said. "We had three days to prepare. I was sure we were ready. We spent more time preparing for them than we did anybody this year, and obviously, it didn't do any good."

Nolan Smith had 14 points for Duke, which led by double figures for the entire second half in bouncing back from an embarrassingly lopsided loss at Georgetown and avenging last month's 71-67 loss to Georgia Tech.

"We wouldn't be 18-4 unless we played really well," Krzyzewski said. "We've had a couple of poor games, and we're not going to define ourselves by a poor game. We're going to define ourselves by the full body of work, and we're just in a situation where a lot of people like to define us by whatever we don't do well. Our kids have done a lot really well, and tonight, they even did it a little bit better."