kyxu
12-21-2008, 07:48 PM
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj89/xhoops/d83bd5f1-e93e-472e-952e-a5f80f5a934.jpg#6 Duke dismantles #7 Xavier in the Meadowlands, 82-64
by Mike Damone
One of just a few men’s basketball programs perennially hailed among the nation’s elite, the #6 Duke Blue Devils (10-1) had been perceived to be somewhat relenting their prestige, mostly due to consecutive -- and uncharacteristic – opening-weekend exits in the NCAA Tournament, as well the sheer domination exuded by their archrival North Carolina Tar Heels.
On top of that, two weeks prior to Saturday’s contest between Duke and Xavier, the Blue Devils lost their first game of the season, 81-73, to a University of Michigan team they had defeated just a few weeks before. Duke was presented with a golden opportunity this past Saturday to pick up a solid win on “national” television against a fellow top-10 opponent and dismiss the notion as absurd that Duke basketball had achieved a lesser status among its hegemonic peers. The Blue Devils did just that this past Saturday at the IZOD Center in the Meadowlands at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Blue Devils went on a 15-0 run within the first five minutes of their contest against the #7 Xavier Musketeers (9-1) to effectively end the game before the opposition had a chance to run their offense. The score climbed to 22-3 before Xavier even tallied their first field goal, a lay-in from senior CJ Anderson (8 pts, 5 reb) to make the score 22-5.
Duke’s Kyle Singler (9 pts, 8 reb) would quickly answer with a bucket inside before junior Derrick Brown (18 pts, 3 reb) started an 8-0 run to cut the Xavier deficit to 24-11 with 12:27 left in the first half. It was the closest Xavier would get in this highly-anticipated match-up, as the Blue Devils went on to shoot 70 percent from the field in the first half, including 53 percent from long-range.
When Duke opened up the scoring with an 18-1 run, John Scheyer (23 pts) had 13 of those, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. And when Xavier tried to get back into the contest with their 8-0 run, Scheyer answered with five more to quell any potential shift in the game’s momentum.
Duke would go on a 20-5 run that saw six different Blue Devils score, pushing the score to 46-17 and effectively stomping the Musketeers’ hopes. A dunk by David McClure just before halftime gave the Blue Devils a 55-24 lead at the intermission. Xavier shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half and committed numerous turnovers as a result of Duke’s intense man-to-man defense.
Xavier came out of the break scoring the first seven points of the second half, bringing the score to 55-31 with 17:48 left in the game, but Duke answered with five of their own to keep the Musketeers at bay. It had become apparent that Duke’s defense and veritable offensive clinic relegated the Musketeers to simply hoping they could at least keep the game respectable.
Brown turned in an improved performance in the second half, finishing the game with a team-high 18 points, but it was not enough to present a realistic threat to the Blue Devils. Xavier did shoot a respectable 47.6 percent from the field for the game, as well as 54.5 percent from long range, but turnovers and the Musketeers’ inability to prevent Duke’s dribble penetration consistently kept Xavier on its heels. Blue Devil Gerald Henderson (19 points) had his way with the Xavier defense, cashing in both from deep and when creating his own shot through interior penetration. Duke also beat Xavier on the glass, 31-27.
It was anticipated that Duke would boast the advantage in the backcourt, with Xavier holding the edge in the frontcourt. Unfortunately for the Musketeers, the former trumped the latter, as the Xavier backcourt committed a number of turnovers at the hands of the Duke pressure defense, allowing the Blue Devils to build the early lead and hold on. A late Xavier run, capped by two three-pointers from freshman Brad Redford (6 points), made the final score more respectable, but still decisive, 82-64.
The Musketeers will need to regroup quickly, as the Horizon League power Butler Bulldogs visit the Cintas Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs (9-1) are coming off a 73-53 win over Florida Gulf Coast.
by Mike Damone
One of just a few men’s basketball programs perennially hailed among the nation’s elite, the #6 Duke Blue Devils (10-1) had been perceived to be somewhat relenting their prestige, mostly due to consecutive -- and uncharacteristic – opening-weekend exits in the NCAA Tournament, as well the sheer domination exuded by their archrival North Carolina Tar Heels.
On top of that, two weeks prior to Saturday’s contest between Duke and Xavier, the Blue Devils lost their first game of the season, 81-73, to a University of Michigan team they had defeated just a few weeks before. Duke was presented with a golden opportunity this past Saturday to pick up a solid win on “national” television against a fellow top-10 opponent and dismiss the notion as absurd that Duke basketball had achieved a lesser status among its hegemonic peers. The Blue Devils did just that this past Saturday at the IZOD Center in the Meadowlands at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Blue Devils went on a 15-0 run within the first five minutes of their contest against the #7 Xavier Musketeers (9-1) to effectively end the game before the opposition had a chance to run their offense. The score climbed to 22-3 before Xavier even tallied their first field goal, a lay-in from senior CJ Anderson (8 pts, 5 reb) to make the score 22-5.
Duke’s Kyle Singler (9 pts, 8 reb) would quickly answer with a bucket inside before junior Derrick Brown (18 pts, 3 reb) started an 8-0 run to cut the Xavier deficit to 24-11 with 12:27 left in the first half. It was the closest Xavier would get in this highly-anticipated match-up, as the Blue Devils went on to shoot 70 percent from the field in the first half, including 53 percent from long-range.
When Duke opened up the scoring with an 18-1 run, John Scheyer (23 pts) had 13 of those, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. And when Xavier tried to get back into the contest with their 8-0 run, Scheyer answered with five more to quell any potential shift in the game’s momentum.
Duke would go on a 20-5 run that saw six different Blue Devils score, pushing the score to 46-17 and effectively stomping the Musketeers’ hopes. A dunk by David McClure just before halftime gave the Blue Devils a 55-24 lead at the intermission. Xavier shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half and committed numerous turnovers as a result of Duke’s intense man-to-man defense.
Xavier came out of the break scoring the first seven points of the second half, bringing the score to 55-31 with 17:48 left in the game, but Duke answered with five of their own to keep the Musketeers at bay. It had become apparent that Duke’s defense and veritable offensive clinic relegated the Musketeers to simply hoping they could at least keep the game respectable.
Brown turned in an improved performance in the second half, finishing the game with a team-high 18 points, but it was not enough to present a realistic threat to the Blue Devils. Xavier did shoot a respectable 47.6 percent from the field for the game, as well as 54.5 percent from long range, but turnovers and the Musketeers’ inability to prevent Duke’s dribble penetration consistently kept Xavier on its heels. Blue Devil Gerald Henderson (19 points) had his way with the Xavier defense, cashing in both from deep and when creating his own shot through interior penetration. Duke also beat Xavier on the glass, 31-27.
It was anticipated that Duke would boast the advantage in the backcourt, with Xavier holding the edge in the frontcourt. Unfortunately for the Musketeers, the former trumped the latter, as the Xavier backcourt committed a number of turnovers at the hands of the Duke pressure defense, allowing the Blue Devils to build the early lead and hold on. A late Xavier run, capped by two three-pointers from freshman Brad Redford (6 points), made the final score more respectable, but still decisive, 82-64.
The Musketeers will need to regroup quickly, as the Horizon League power Butler Bulldogs visit the Cintas Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs (9-1) are coming off a 73-53 win over Florida Gulf Coast.