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BASKETBALL

Top Ranked Duke Host Saint Francis (PA) Looking To Improve To 11-0 On The Season

Duke who is the top ranked team in the country and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference  is  going for their eleventh win on the season as they host Saint Francis (PA) Tuesday night who is a member of the Northeast Conference. "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/2598/st-francis-pa-red-flash

Ranked No. 1 for the 134th week, tying UCLA for the NCAA’s all-time record, Duke hosts St. Francis Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688467

  • The Blue Devils are the first team this season to 10 wins and one of 13 remaining undefeated teams.
  • Head coach Mike Krzyzewski is 204-29 (.876) when coaching a No. 1-ranked Duke team. The 233 games when coaching at No. 1 are the most in NCAA history.
  • Freshman Marvin Bagley III is second in the NCAA in double-doubles (eight). He has a double-double in five straight games and in six of the last seven.
  • Senior Grayson Allen scored 25 points the last time out to give him 1,602 in his Duke career. He is now 25th on the all-time scoring list and needs 157 more points to move into the top 20. 
  • Saint Francis is 3-4 to start the season. The Red Flash finished the 2016-17 season with a 17-17 record and was third in the NEC standings. 
  • Keith Braxton was named ECAC and NEC Rookie of the Year last season and he is off to a strong start in his sophomore campaign. He leads the Red Flash in scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg). 

Duke and Saint Francis have never met on the hardwood. It will be just the fourth time Duke will match up with a Northeast Conference Member. The most recent game was in November 2015 when Duke beat Bryant 113-75 behind Allen's 28 points. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688467

As for Duke's last game, they routed South Dakota on Saturday returning to Cameron Indoor Stadium after a four game road trip that started in Portland Oregon and ended in Bloomington Indiana.

Duke dominated the first half to build a big lead, only to see South Dakota answer with a 50-point second half in the top-ranked Blue Devils' famously hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

And for the most part, Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski was good with that. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

Grayson Allen scored 15 of his 25 points in an 8-minute opening blitz to help Duke beat South Dakota 96-80 on Saturday in its first home game in nearly two travel-filled weeks. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

"What I saw was a team that put the (previous) nine games behind them and showed up ready to play," Krzyzewski said. "And I didn't help my team as much as I could in the second half because I subbed differently. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

"But that was OK, because we needed to get time for a bunch of kids. I saw us beating a good team today, overall." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

Duke (10-0) got its usual strong performances from top-liners Allen and freshman Marvin Bagley III, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Duke got a boost from sophomore Javin DeLaurier off the bench as Krzyzewski took a long look at his reserves in the second half. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

Duke shot 62 percent to lead 56-30 by halftime, then maintained a comfortable margin the rest of the way -- though South Dakota (7-3) shot 50 percent after halftime and made 7 of 13 3-point attempts to outscore the Blue Devils 50-40 after the break. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

"I feel like everyone had good intensity," Allen said. "It just kind of dropped off a little bit in the second half when they got 50 points. It's something we have to continue through the whole game." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

Tyler Hagedorn and Nick Fuller each scored 16 points for the Coyotes, though top scorer Matt Mooney (18.3 points) struggled to just three points on 1-for-5 shooting with four turnovers. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

"They did a great job of making him work for everything," South Dakota coach Craig Smith said, adding: "He's seen that before but certainly not against this level of competition." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

BIG PICTURE

South Dakota: The Coyotes entered the game ranked 23rd nationally by holding opponents to 37 percent shooting, but slowing Duke on its famously hostile home court was asking a lot. The Coyotes fell to 0-6 against ranked opponents in their Division I era since 2008, though this was the first matchup against No. 1 for a Summit League program that had never played a team ranked higher than seventh in that time before Saturday. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

Duke: Duke had played four straight games away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, first with three games in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Oregon, followed by Wednesday's visit to Indiana in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. That win capped an opening month that saw Duke travel roughly 8,500 round-trip miles that included a win against Michigan State in the Champions Classic in Chicago on Nov. 14 -- and prompted Krzyzewski to note his team has played much more than it has practiced. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

"Look we're 10-0, and with this schedule, it's been really good," Krzyzewski said. "Can it be better? Yeah. Can it be worse? Hell yes. It can be a lot worse, it can be a lot worse." "according tohttp://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

ENERGY GUY

Krzyzewski said DeLaurier provided "a good jolt" off the bench. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

The 6-foot-10 sophomore finished with a career-best 13 points to go with nine rebounds. He also had some hustle plays, such as when he ran over to a corner and dived on the court to force a first-half tie-up -- which brought Krzyzewski to his feet in applause. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

"Sometimes your shot's not always going to fall," DeLaurier said, "but you can always play hard." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

ALLEN'S FLURRY

Allen made 6 of 7 shots with three 3-pointers in the early flurry that had him single-handedly outscoring the Coyotes midway through the opening half. He made 8 of 11 shots for the game and 4 of 5 3s while also aiding the defensive effort on Mooney. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

TOPS IN THE USA

Bagley posted his eighth double-double of the season to tie Minnesota's Jordan Murphy for the national lead. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211688173

Saint Francis meanwhile  has a record of 3-4 and is coming off a loss on the road to Stoney Brook who is a member of the America East Conference . "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/teams/_/id/1/america-east-conference

- In a game where the Saint Francis men's basketball team (3-4) shot 60.4% from the field and 62.5% from three-point range, it picked a bad time to go cold missing its last four field goal attempts and making just 1-of-4 free throws over the final three minutes as the Stony Brook Seawolves erased a nine-point deficit with 3:02 to play to win 85-83. "according to http://sfuathletics.com/news/2017/12/2/mens-basketball-red-flash-let-lead-slip-in-85-83-loss-at-stony-brook.aspx?path=mbball

Krimmel's Reaction

For 38 minutes we played really well tonight but we didn't execute down the stretch," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "Free throws and taking care of the basketball are two things that I think we will be very good at over the course of the season but they were two areas where we struggled tonight. In the end it cost us the game." "according to http://sfuathletics.com/news/2017/12/2/mens-basketball-red-flash-let-lead-slip-in-85-83-loss-at-stony-brook.aspx?path=mbball

Turning Point

Boosted by eight three-pointers and a career-high 26 points from junior Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius), the Red Flash built an 18-point lead. A layup by sophomore Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) with 3:02 to play put the Red Flash in front 82-73 but Saint Francis would be outscored 12-1 over the final three minutes. A three-pointer from Jaron Cornish with :40 seconds remaining tied the game at 83-83 then Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) was whistled for a charge on the other end. After Stony Brook's Tyrell Sturdivant converted a layup with five seconds to play, Braxton took a deep three at the buzzer but the shot fell short and Saint Francis slipped to 3-4 on the season. "according tohttp://sfuathletics.com/news/2017/12/2/mens-basketball-red-flash-let-lead-slip-in-85-83-loss-at-stony-brook.aspx?path=mbball

Inside the Box Score

  • Saint Francis finished 29-48 (60.4%) from the field and 15-24 (62.5%) from three-point range, both season-highs.
  • Stony Brook shot 33-60 (55.0%) for the game but was 23-35 (65.7%) in the second half. They made 8-of-20 (40.0%) three-point tries.
  • The Red Flash went 10-18 from the line for a season-low 55.6%. Stony Brook was 11-18 (61.1%).
  • Saint Francis had trouble keeping Stony Brook out of the paint as the Red Flash were outscored 50-18 in the paint.
  • Saint Francis committed a season-high 18 turnovers in the loss. "according to http://sfuathletics.com/news/2017/12/2/mens-basketball-red-flash-let-lead-slip-in-85-83-loss-at-stony-brook.aspx?path=mbball

Notes

  • Wolford put in one of the top shooting performances in school history, hitting 8-of-11 three-pointers. The school record is nine, achieved twice by John Hilvert during the 1988-89 season. The most recent player to make eight or more in a game was Ben MIllaud-Meunier vs. Central Connecticut State on Feb. 6, 2016.
  • As a team, Saint Francis's 15 threes were its most since making 19 vs. Chatham last season on Nov. 11, which tied the school record.
  • Seven different players knocked down a three on the night.
  • Braxton followed Wolford's 26-point night with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
  • Junior Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) netted a season-high nine points, all in the second half. 
  • Sophomore Randall Gaskins set his career-high in assists with five to go along with seven points. 
  • Saint Francis has shot over 60% from the field in each of its last two games.
  • The Red Flash fall to 3-1 this season when leading at halftime. SFU led 46-31 at the break. 

Saint Francis is giving up 52 points per game in the second halves of its last two games "according to http://sfuathletics.com/news/2017/12/2/mens-basketball-red-flash-let-lead-slip-in-85-83-loss-at-stony-brook.aspx?path=mbball

Tip-off is set for 9:00pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium.. The game will be televised on ESPNU. "according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1845&SPSID=22726

 

 

 

 

College BasketballAbigail BaggettSaint Francis (PA), DukeComment