SECOND HALF, Duke 65-51, 1:59 remaining: He may be an undersized 5, but there's no denying that Dave McClure can play defense. His block on Zachary Peacock, who has given the Blue Devils trouble all night, got the Duke bench up and cheering. Keep in mind, McClure gives up a few inches and about 30 pounds on Peacock.
The crowd here at Alexander Memorial Coliseum is clearing out as Duke seems to have wrapped up its third win in ACC play to go to 15-1 on the season.
SECOND HALF, Duke 60-50, 3:28 remaining: Scheyer's second three gave Duke a 13-point lead, but some deadly outside shooting for Maurice Miller is keeping the Yellow Jackets within striking distance. The Blue Devils are sticking with their small lineup, as Tech hasn't found any real offense in the past four minutes outside of Miller.
SECOND HALF, Duke 46-41, 7:51 remaining: Duke has gone small with McClure at the 5, but out of necessity rather than choice as Zoubek has four fouls and Lance Thomas has three. This lineup of McClure, Henderson, Singler, Scheyer and Nolan Smith usually works really well when the Blue Devils are making threes, but they're not. Scheyer even seems a little hesitant about launching from long-distance.
It'll be a long time before this one goes final as both teams are in the single bonus and the refs are having no qualms about blowing the whistle.
SECOND HALF, Duke 42-35, 11:07 remaining: Where is Jon Scheyer? The Blue Devils' second-leading scorer has been noticeably absent tonight with just three points-none in the second half. It's gotten to the point where Tech is doubling off of Scheyer, and the junior cannot make the Yellow Jackets pay.
SECOND HALF, Duke 38-33, 14:53 remaining: Duke usually makes it runs at the start of the second half, but that patented run has yet to arrive tonight. Tech has scored only five points in five minutes, but lots of open misses from the Blue Devils.
END OF FIRST HALF, Duke 31-28: A low-scoring half for the Blue Devils, but the defense finally showed up, limiting Georgia Tech to one field goal in the last 7:09. Duke has found the way to be successful: deny entry passes into the post and make the Yellow Jackets make jump shots, and attack the basket to earn free throws and create open looks from 3-point range. The Blue Devils are shooting 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. That number needs to get closer to 30 percent if Duke is going to open up a sizable lead.
The key stat that favors Duke is turnover margin. The Blue Devils have forced 10 turnovers and only given away the ball four times, earning a six-point advantage in points off of turnovers. The Yellow Jackets have also missed five free throws.
FIRST HALF, Duke 30-28, 40.3 remaining: The 13-0 run comes to an end for the Blue Devils, as Alade Aminu drains a free throw to end the drought. The 3-pointers weren't falling, so that is probably the end of the Marty Pocius experiment as well.
FIRST HALF, Duke 26-25, 2:37 remaining: Interesting substitution for Duke, putting Marty Pocius in place of Gerald Henderson. Pocius can spread the floor better than Henderson, although he hasn't made any yet, but now Kyle Singler has moved back into the post instead of playing near the perimeter. He's been crashing the boards, and his two put-backs - coupled with a Greg Paulus three - have given the Blue Devils the lead for the first time since 4-2.
Duke has also done a good job of adjusting on defense. They are very effectively denying the entry pass into the post, and consequently, the Yellow Jackets haven't scored in nearly five minutes.
In other news, the Duke University Marching Band should really learn how to play "Love Shack". It's a hit here in Atlanta.
FIRST HALF, Georgia Tech 23-15, 7:41 remaining: The Blue Devils are getting open jumpers in rhythm, but they aren't falling. Meanwhile, Tech is still dominating inside. The Yellow Jackets have committed a couple of silly turnovers getting the ball inside, but the once they get the ball into the post, it's been pretty automatic. Duke will have to make some adjustments to keep the ball out of the paint on defense.
FIRST HALF, Georgia Tech 17-14, 11:19 remaining: The Yellow Jackets are having their way in side, led by Gani Lawal, who already has seven points. The defense has picked up from Duke, as Krzyzewski has gone with Dave McClure over Brian Zoubek. But the team still can't find a flow on the offensive end. Georgia Tech is clogging the lane and forcing the Blue Devils to be jump-shooters. So far, Duke has made two threes and missed four.
FIRST HALF, Georgia Tech 7-4, 15:53 remaining: You wouldn't be able to tell that Tech is hosting the No. 3 team in the country looking at the stands, which are surprisingly empty. But the Yellow Jackets definitely know what they're up against. Their defensive pressure is slowing the Blue Devils, and Coach K already doesn't like what he's seen from Nolan Smith and Gerald Henderson, who have been replaced by Greg Paulus and Elliot Williams.
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