After two days of upsets, the third day of the 2010 ACC Tourney finally saw all the higher seeds advance. One-seeded Duke took care of twelfth-seeded Miami, 77-74, and seven-seeded Georgia Tech took down eleventh-seeded NC State. Kyle Singler put on a show, going for 27 points, racking up eight rebounds and six assists in the process. It was an offensive clinic, as he found ways to score from everywhere on the floor. Duke struggled to stop Miami’s penetration and trailed at half by three, but used two half-court runs to put themselves in front for good.
Georgia Tech leod for the early part of the game, but fell behind in the second half and had to rally late to win. They did a great job exploiting their size advantage inside, routinely getting the ball to Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, who led the Jackets in scoring with 17 and 12 points respectively. G-Tech again struggled taking care of the ball, ending the game with 16 turnovers, but won the rebound battle and defended well, holding the Wolfpack to 19-62 shooting from the field.
The Blue Devils and Jackets will face off today for the ACC Championship after splitting their two games during the regular season; each team won at their respective home gym.
The first meeting, at Georgia Tech, was back and forth for the entire game, but the Yellow Jackets pulled away towards the end, winning 71-67. They’re free throw advantage is the only thing that separated the two teams. Tech was 22-28 from the line, while Duke was just 9-14.
Singler and Scheyer went off in the second meeting, combining for 51 points, leading Duke to an 86-67 victory. Zach Peacock was the lone Yellow Jacket in double figures with 11.
So this is the rubber match. Who will win the season series?
No. 7 Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 Duke
— Greensboro Coliseum is Duke’d out.
— Duke wins the tip.
— Nolan Smith takes the first two Duke shots. Misses the first, but knocks down the second. Jon Sceyer steals a pass and takes it in for an easy layup. Duke up, 4-0.
— Three GT possessions, three turnovers.
— Make that four. Nolan Smith gets a steal and takes it in for an easy two.
— Make that five GT turnovers. Duke fans on their feet. GT Head Coach calls timeout.
— Nolan Smith knocks down a jumper. Duke up, 8-0.
— Shumpert throws it up to Favors for the Yellow Jackets first bucket. 8-2, 15 minutes to play in the first half.
— Smith is going for his. Knocks down another one in the lane. He’s 4-5 with eight of Duke’s first 10.
— Moe Miller pulls up for three, knocks it down. 10-5, Duke leads. 13:18 to go.
— Smith for three. He’s got 11 already.
— Miller with another deep ball for GT. Blue Devils lead it, 17-8, 11:33 to go.
— GT’s bigs having all kinds of problems catching the ball for some reason. Lawal has three turnovers already. Favors corrals this one though and gets fouled. Knocks down both free throws. Duke leads, 17-12.
— Singler knocks down his first bucket of the game. An 18-foot jumper. DeAndre Bell responds with a jumper of his own.
— Surprisingly, Brian Zoubek has been very active so far. Three boards, a block, a steal, an assist. And he’s doing a good job on being physical with Tech’s bigs. 19-14, Duke up. 7:58 to play in the first half.
— Good defense by Tech, but they can’t come up with the loose ball, and Andre Dawkins drills a three.
— Dawkins is having himself a game. Knocks down a jumper from the top of the key, then drives the lane and finishes with a dunk on hte next possession. Duke all over the offensive glass. They lead 26-15 with 3:53 to play in the half.
— Duke fans going crazy. Players pumping their arms getting them even more fired up.
— Lawal scores, and-1. His first points of the game, but he misses the free throw.
— Singler flies into the crowd, clearing Dick Vitale, landing on Dan Shulman. You know he loved that. Dickie V signaling for a charge call. 26-18, Duke up. 1:49 to play.
— Shumpert throws it up to Lawal for the oop.
— Brian Oliver fouls Singler as he attempts a three. Singler knocks misses two of his three free throws. 27-20, Duke. 1:02 on the clock.
— Favors for two.
— Singler drains another to stop GT’s momentum.
— So after opening the game with five straight turnovers, the Yellow Jackets clawed their way back to stay in the game. Duke leads at half, 29-22. Duke got a balanced offensive effort, but Smith and Dawkins led the way with 11 and seven, respectively. The Blue Devils also held the Jackets to 35 percent shooting. Favors leads GT with seven. Back with the second half in 13 minutes. Stay tuned.
— Shumpert finds Glen Rice, Jr. for the first points of the half.
— Smith picks up where he left off and answers with a three. 32-24, Duke.
— Favors doin’ work. 33-26, Duke. Turnovers killing G-Tech.
— Favors sends a Singler floater into the cameras.
— Tech coming with some full-court pressure, throwing Duke’s rhythm off a bit.
— Favors doin major work. He’s got the last six Tech points, is clearing the glass, and blocking shots. 35-30, Duke up.
— Duke is king of the three-point flop.
— Shumpert throws it up high to Favors, who misses the dunk. Duke comes down, Singler gets an and-1. Five-point swing.
— Shumpert to the rack….and-1! 38-33, Duke. 12:25 left to play.
— Tech’s full-court pressure is giving Duke a lot of problems (as is Duke’s for G-Tech). Coach K calls timeout just before the Blue Devils get a 10-second call.
— This time the press nearly leads to a Singler breakaway dunk, but a good foul by Brian Oliver saves the easy two. Singler hits both free throws. 40-33, 11:48 to play. Duke leads it.
— Turnovers just murdering Tech. Lawal steps out of bounds on an inbounds play.
— Smith nails a floater. That’s his bread and butter. Right side, off the glass. So smooth.
— Tech goes right back to Favors, who gets fouled. The boy is a problem. Sinks both. 42-35, Duke.
— Shumpert pulls up for three, Tech fans rise to their feet. 42-38, Duke.
— Oliver fouls Scheyer on a three-point attempt. Scheyer hits all three FT’s.
— Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers….
— 47-38, Duke. 7:57 to play.
— Favors for two. And-1! Makes the free throw.
— Smith gets loose for a breakaway dunk, but Miller runs him down and gets clean block. Duke maintains possession. Mason Plumlee pulls a huge offensive rebound and kicks it out to Scheyer, who drills a three.
— Miller gets a steal for G-Tech and slams it home.
— Singler hits two FT’s. 54-43, Duke.
— Oliver finds Lawal for a dunk. 54-45, Duke. 4:58 to play.
— Shot clock running out, Smith throws up a shot that hits all backboard, but Mason Plumlee is there for the tip dunk.
— Rice, Jr. responds with a three for GT. Big shot. The roof might have flown off in here if the Blue Devils got a stop. 56-48, Duke.
— Rice fouls Scheyer, Duke in the double bonus. Two shots on the way. 56-48, Duke. 3:37 to play.
— There’s so little fan support for G-Tech here.
— Scheyer nails both.
— Zoubek at the line. Hits both. 60-50, Duke.
— Shumpert for three. 60-53, Duke. 3:08 to play. Hewitt calls their last timeout.
— GT comes out in a press. Singler steps out. GT ball.
— Favors with the tip-in. 60-55, Duke. 2:30 to play.
— Miller with the nice hesitation move, gets all the way to the basket and gets fouled. Makes both. 60-57, Duke leads. 1:48 to play.
— Smith to the cup, has it blocked, Tech gets the rebound.
— Shumpert dishes to Favors for a dunk. 60-59, Duke. Less than a minute to play.
— Rice, Jr. loses Scheyer for a split second, and he drills a three. Wow. 18 seconds to play. 63-59, Duke.
— Shumpert for two. 12 seconds to play.
— Duke gets it into Singer who gets fouled. Makes both. 65-61, Duke. Nine seconds left.
— Shumpert throws one up from halfcourt but misses long. Duke wins 65-61. G-Tech fought their way back into the game time and time again, but it wasn’t enough. Singler was just 3-15 from the field, but 14-16 from the free throw line. He led the Blue Devils with 20. Smith and Scheyer had 16 apiece for the Dukies, who made twice as many free throws as GT. Favors led the Yellow jackets with 20 and 11 boards, while Shumpert added 12 points, five assists, and five rebounds. The Yellow Jackets were bitten by the turnover bug again, with 17 today. The win is Duke’s ninth ACC Championship victory in the past 12 years.
So long, thanks for tuning in.
