Duke One Step Closer To ACC Title With Win Over Hokies

Duke is down...  They are not athletic, they are slow, and can't play with the top teams in D1...  Jon Scheyer can't run the point...  Coach K's focus on Team USA is killing Duke...  They can't stop athletic guards...

If you listened to the media outside of Durham you would think this team is terrible...

All of these things have been said over the course of this season.  The same season that the Duke Blue Devils are playing the third toughest schedule in the country (RPI), and getting closer to another ACC Regular Season Title with each game.

In a very tough defensive game at Cameron vs. Virginia Tech, the Devils held their guard by winning by a count of 67-55.

The big three came to play as they scored all but four of the Duke points.  This is very important to note because in the future they will need someone else to step up!

Speaking of the big three...Kyle Singler continued his solid play of late with a double double (25 points, 10 boards).  Nolan Smith is continuing to evolve into a notable Duke guards with 23 points, and team leader Jon Scheyer added 15.

The Duke player that has been playing better than expected of late is big Brian Zoubek.  Zoub had another great rebounding performance grabbing 16.  The senior big man is truly trying to make the best out of his last year at Duke.  He couldn't have picked a better time to finally step up and be the big man Duke expected when he was recruited.  No, he is not a scoring maching, but his rebounding has been a large part of why Duke is currently on top of the ACC.  He very well could have a huge impact on this team as they try to make a run into late March.

In my preview of this game I mentioned that if Duke was going to win that they would need to contain ACC leading scorer Malcolm Delaney.  He was able to score 19, but he struggled for most of the game and got his 19 the hard way.

Duke has been led with a very tough defense all year.  They understand that this team is not an offensive juggernaut, but their defensive pressure has been enough for most of the season.

One thing to note, if/when this team starts hitting their shots, they will be able to play with any team in the nation. 

The Devils are in the ACC driver seat with a few key games left on their schedule.  They have a game with second place Maryland (March 3rd) as well as UNC at Cameron (March 6th).  UNC is down but they would love nothing more than to spoil a net cutting ceromony at Duke.

Duke has tied their longest winning streak of the season and seem to be getting better at the right time of the year.  Up next they face a tough tulsa team that is fading fast as they have lost their last three.