Duke Basketball: Blue Devils Make Frank Martin Yell...A Lot

WHAT JUST HAPPENED:
The Duke Blue Devils sure picked a great time to play their best basketball. The Blue Devils dismantled the No. 4 ranked Kansas State Wildcats with a balanced offense and a stiffing defense. Kyrie Irving will make most of the highlight reels, the fact is, five players scored double digits, everyone crashed the glass and everyone locked it down on D.

THE GAME WAS WON WHEN…
…I sent out a tweet at the 14:18 mark in the second half that said, “Come on. Up 9 with the ball. Let’s blow this open.”

Up to that point, Duke seemed to be dominating, but were just up seven until Mason Plumlee scored. On Kansas State’s return trip down, Jaocb Pullen turned the ball over. Maybe it was the alcohol in my system. Maybe it was the fact I wasn’t wearing any pants, but something just felt right.

The tweet was good lucky timing. Mason’s basket just before was the beginning of 10-0 run. Just like that, a manageable deficit for the Wildcats suddenly became my hair, i.e. unmanageable.

Duke would actually go on a 12-2 run before State hit a couple baskets. I only bring this up because six different Duke players scored in that 12-point run. Balance.

WHO DESERVES MAD PROPS:
Kyrie Irving > Harrison Barnes. Sorry, Carolina fans, but Irving looked like the guy who should have been considered for first-team All-American. Against one of the best guards in the nation, Jacob Pullen, Irving simply owned him…and I mean owned him.

Irving finished with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. He turned it over three times, but all three times were due to a bad pass, a bad catch or a bad decision.

From the very start, Irving simply took it to the hoop…again and again and again. Now last night, I talked about Irving’s drives. I felt like he needed to avoid always going all the way to the basket (try a mid-range or two) and he needed to go left.

While he did take one mid-range shot, he still continued his drives all the way to the basket. However, Irving looked left-handed tonight. That’s how easy it was for him. He drove right. He drove left. After missing his first two circus shots, he soon hit everything.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT…
…Nolan Smith. The fact is, Irving and Smith finished with identical numbers. They both scord 17, they both grabbed five boards and dished out five assists. Now Smith didn’t have any steals, but he turned it over two less times.

I don’t know if Nolan has a nickname, but I want to call him the “Silent Assassin.” The fact is, all game long everyone’s talking/tweeting about how sick Irving is, how tough Singler is, how lethal Dawkins is and how talented Mason is, yet when the game is done, you look at the stat sheet and Smith is producing stud-like numbers.

On the season, Smith is first in points, second in assists (and steals) and third in rebounds. His .574 shooting percentage is second only to Mason Plumlee.

LOSERS NEED LOVE TO:
Curtis Kelly came off the bench and for a while was the only Wildcat who could do much of anything. He scored Kansas State’s first three baskets and finished with a solid 8-11 from the floor. He finished with 19, grabbing six boards in the process. He did turn it over seven times, so that’s not so good.

GOD I LOVE STATS: We all know Kansas State plays a ton of players, but tonight their benched outscored their starters, 45-23.

THREE FROM THE TOP OF THE KEY:

THE “D” IS FOR DEFENSE
The Duke Blue Devils played a near flawless defensive game tonight. Against Marquette, this blog talked about two key concerns, Duke’s lack of steals and the interior back-to-the-basket defense. Tonight, both issues were non-existent for the most part.

First, the Blue Devils stole the ball 13 times. They forced KSU into 21 turnovers. The simple fact is, Irving, Smith, Curry and Dawkins harassed the Wildcats’ back court all night long. Jacob Pullen, a pre-season All-American, made his best ‘Harrison Barnes against Minnesota’ impression tonight.

He was just 1-12 from the floor and he made zero penetration into the paint. Do not underestimate this. Pullen is a senior and he’s one of the best guards in the nation, yet he was abused by a freshman. At one point in the second half, after committing a foul on another Irving drive to the basket, the TV cameras cut to Pullen and the man looked baffled.

As for the interior, Duke did a much better job of keeping K-State’s big men off the blocks, while the team as a whole did a good job denying the ball down low. Outside of Curtis Kelly, no KSU big man looked comfortable inside the paint. Twice they were called for 30-second violations.

If you want to complain about anything, it has to be the defensive rebounding. The Devils were out-rebounded 34-26 tonight. I counted at least four times when Duke tipped the ball out of balance. Rebounds need to be grabbed, not tipped.

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