No. 1 Duke 105, Colgate 56, 1:18 2nd Half
The crowd accidentally distracts Seth Curry during his free throw cheering at the news that North Carolina lost to Minnesota. Don't expect to see the Tar Heels at No. 8 in next week's poll.
No. 1 Duke 10, Colgate 52, 2:57 2nd Half
Josh Hairston misses the free throw attempt after drawing a foul converting a reverse layup, but Casey Peters takes a charge on the other end to get possession back for the Blue Devils
No. 1 Duke 102, Colgate 50, 3:45 2nd Half
Casey Peters came in with Duke up 50 and 4:57 left. I honestly can't figure out what's gone wrong for the Blue Devils in the second half. Not much. Miles Plumlee showed the crowd a sweet up and under hook shot, but he fouls out in what has to be described as an up-and-down game. He picks up an offensive foul shortly thereafter and joins his younger brother on the bench as both have fouled out. It won't affect the outcome today—Todd Zafirovski comes out onto the floor to replace him.
No. 1 Duke 94, Colgate 43, 7:46 2nd Half
Wow. This is getting out of hand. The two last of a series of obscenely good plays: Kyrie Irving weaves through the Raiders one-on-three (or four!) and hits a reverse layup. Then he finds Ryan Kelly for a three. This is a dangerous team. And UNC is down six with four and a half minutes left.
No. 1 Duke 81, Colgate 37, 11:20 2nd Half
New cheer for Josh Hairston: "Josh, Josh, Josh, Josh... everybody" to the tune of "Shots" by LMFAO. Also getting a new-look cheer is Andre Dawkins, who is serenaded with a chorus of "Dre All Day" after diving for yet another loose ball. He deserves it too. After spending last year as almost exclusively a three-point shooter, he has added some ball-handling ability and has blown by some defenders for mid-range jumpers.
No. 1 Duke 73, Colgate 35, 12:49 2nd Half
Singler isn't having a great shooting night but still has 18 points and nine rebounds. Smith has six assists and one turnover after halftime as compared to two assists, three turnovers before the break. He's also 2-4 as compared to only 3-8 from the field at the half.
No. 1 Duke 67, Colgate 32, = 14:22 2nd Half
Whatever Krzyzewski said to the team—particularly Miles Plumlee—at halftime worked. He has three steals now and is really getting into a rhythm. Hairston now comes into the game for the first time.
No. 1 Duke 65, Colgate 30, 15:01 2nd Half
Great news for Duke fans: No. 8 North Carolina is losing to Minnesota 29-35 five minutes into the second half. Mason Plumlee follows up a spectacular block with a ticky-tack foul. That's the type of inconsistency that has plagued Duke's big men. Mason is upset as he heads to the bench, but his older brother cheers him up by making the dunk of the year so far—a reverse alley-oop slam. Follow that up with two straight threes by Singler and Dawkins and you have the recipe for a LOUD Cameron Indoor Stadium chanting "More than double!" This game is effectively over.
No. 1 Duke 55, Colgate 30, 17:33 2nd Half
Duke has come out full of energy in the second half, and has expanded its lead to 25 after Mason Plumlee hits Nolan Smith with a long pass for a breakaway slam. On the next possession Smith returned the favor, lobbing a pass that Mason Plumlee converted for an alley-oop dunk.
No. 1 Duke 44, Colgate 26, Halftime
The big story right now is the play of Duke's big men, as Ryan Kelly is having an outstanding performance starting in place of Miles Plumlee, who has had a frustrating evening to say the least. He is only 0-1, but has failed to finish underneath on at least two occasions. Based on my interview with him in the preseason, I got the sense that he takes a lot of pride in his role as a mentor to the other big men, so despite his own frustrating day, I'm sure he's pleased to see Ryan Kelly doing so well—even if it means less playing time.
No. 1 Duke 44, Colgate 26, Halftime
Despite his team's huge lead, Krzyzewski is sticking with an eight-man rotation despite the obvious depth on this team. I 'm not sure why, given that Colgate has 10 players who have seen action so far, but I'm pretty sure Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton will see action in the second half for the Blue Devils.
No. 1 Duke 38, Colgate 19, 5:00 1st Half
Ryan kelly is really breaking out this game, making hustle plays and grabbing huge rebounds, including one from the floor after being knocked over. Tonight is his night, it seems. He has four points, four boards, two steals, and a block. He also took a charge and hasn't committed any fouls—both big pluses that don't necessarily show up in the box score.
No. 1 Duke 33, Colgate 17, 7:58 1st Half
Crazy Towel Guy gets called on for his standard performance at the under-eight media timeout after Duke gets a layup from Kyle Singler, who will go to the line for another shot.
No. 1 Duke 31, Colgate 17, 8:24 1st Half
Colgate's Chad Johnson comes into the game, prompting an "Ocho-Cinco" chant. That is probably the best innovation since the invention of the "air-ball" chant. Even though the ESPN named Cameron "only" the second loudest stadium in the country, it doesn't feel like it from where I'm sitting here on press row. And the Crazies certainly know how to make clever cheers.
No. 1 Duke 24, Colgate 15, 11:51 1st Half
Colgate is demonstrating remarkable accuracy from beyond the arc, hitting its first three from long range. Venezia is leading the Raiders with five points. Duke is scoring at will, but Colgate isn't the pushover on offense that Miami (OH) was. Smith leads the Blue Devils with seven points on 2-4 shooting.
No. 1 Duke 21, Colgate 10, 13:32 1st Half
It looks like Colgate came prepared to play despite their 0-2 record and Patriot League membership. Duke's primary advantage will be its depth in almost every game the team plays, but Colgate is substituting liberally. Highlight so far: Andre Dawkins gets a steal and slam, then hits a 3 to force a timeout by the Raiders. The Cameron Crazies are, as Dick Vitale would say, "going bananas, baby!"
No. 1 Duke 12, Colgate 8, 15:15 1st Half
Ryan Kelly is making the most of his opportunity. He converts an alley-oop on the first play of the game and then takes a charge on the other end of the floor. Guard Andre Dawkins and Center Miles Plumlee replace Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly as the first two off the bench. Lots of running in this one, but Colgate's stayed in the game with a couple of 3-pointers with the shot-clock running down. Seth Curry replaces Kyrie Irving as Smith gets set to take a couple free throws.
Pregame:
Ryan Kelly gets the start. For Duke, the starters will be #34 Ryan Kelly, #5 Mason Plumlee, #2 Nolan Smith, #12 Kyle Singler, and #1 Kyrie Irving. For Colgate: #12 Mike Venezia, #25 John Brandenburg, #33 Yaw Gyawu, #2 Mitch Rolls, and #21 Sterling Melville
Pregame:
One of the biggest stories for Duke last game was the surprise start that sophomore Ryan Kelly got in place of Miles Plumlee. Coach K has been adamant that it wasn't a promotion/demotion situation. After a spectacular rendition of the National Anthem marred by only a couple of "O"s (why won't that tradition die?) we're ready for the starting lineup.
Pregame:
Welcome to the Chronicle Sports live blog. Tonight the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils will be facing the unranked Colgate Raiders of the Patriot League in a final tune-up before heading on the road to complete the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
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