Duke Blue Devils Close Out Miami Hurricanes in ACC Road Contest

True to Blue Devil Duke form, Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team pulled out a tight victory over ACC-foe Miami on Wednesday night in Florida.

And typical of 2010 Duke Basketball, the Blue Devils squeaked out an 81-74 victory to improve to 22-4 overall and 10-2 in conference play.

So, what did Coach K tell his troops at halftime to reignaite the team?

“I don’t even remember what I said,” Krzyzewski told Duke’s official athletic site. “Nothing complimentary.”

Obviously, that was a good thing as the Blue Devils outscored the Hurricanes 56-37 in the second half after taking a 12-point deficit into the locker room.

“He called us out,” Duke’s Nolan Smith said of Coach K’s halftime speech. “He let us know, ‘It’s now or never. You can take control of the ACC right now or put ourselves in a hole.’”

That worked, as Smith (21 PTS), Kyle Singler (22 PTS) and company went on to pick up a much-needed win.

“We knew we had to get stops to get back in the game,” Singler said. “That was our focus—just get stops and just try to fight our way back into the game.”

Duke returns to the hardwood on Sunday evening with an ACC battle against Virginia Tech.

Hopefully, the Blue Devils can continue their recent run of wins and string together a sweet streak as the season begins to wind down…

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at [e-mail]