UKE BASKETBALL (?)

Overall: 22-3ACC: 10-2

Team Statistics | ACC Statistics | Rankings

Princeton: 87-50

Shane Battier answered any doubts about his ability to be a complete player Tuesday night…scoring 29 points on a school-record nine 3-pointers as the second-ranked Blue Devils rolled over Princeton 87-50.

"They made a lot of baskets and we didn't make enough," Thompson said. "We got tired right then and once fatigue sets in the mental part of the game goes also. We made some dumb mistakes we shouldn't have made. We made some pretty bad turnovers."

Villanova: 98-85

Carlos Boozer had 22 points and coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 500th game at Duke as the second-ranked Blue Devils beat Villanova 98-85 Friday night in the Preseason NIT.

"They're great. They're a great team and they were here (Cameron)," Villanova coach Steve Lappas said. "It's hard enough to play them somewhere else, on a neutral court. You cannot play a tougher place than at Duke. What can you say about him? And this is only his second game.."

Texas: 95-69

The Blue Devils (No. 1 ESPN/USA Today; No. 2 Associated Press) never let Texas in the game Wednesday night, soundly defeating the Longhorns 95-69 to reach the final of the Preseason NIT.

Temple: 63-61

The two sophomores refused to let Duke lose, as the Blue Devils pulled out a 63-61 victory over a hardscrabble Temple team.

Now the two teams get to do it again in eight days at Philadelphia. Temple coach John Chaney rolled his eyes at the prospect of a rematch. "I'm gonna get me a box of Tylenol next time," he said.

Army: 91-48

Carlos Boozer scored all 22 of his points in the first half as No. 2 Duke rolled over Army 91-48 Saturday night.

“We played against probably the best competition we will face all year,'' Army coach Pat Harris said.

Illinois: 78-77

Undefeated Duke (6-0) got 23 points from Jason Williams and 21 from Mike Dunleavy to beat Illinois (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today; No. 9 Associated Press) 78-77 in the marquee matchup in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night.

"It's too early in the season to be discouraged," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "We're disappointed because these guys came in here with one thing in mind and that was to knock Duke off.

"I think both teams will be better because of this basketball game. It's great to play these type of games, but enough is enough for us."

Temple: 93-68

Williams had a career-high 30 points and was 8-for-10 from beyond the arc to lead the Blue Devils to a 93-68 victory over Temple (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) on Saturday night.

"It was weird. I was so into the game. I wanted to beat them so bad. When they told me I had eight, I said `Wow,' " Williams said after falling one short of the school record for 3-pointers.

"I felt like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Every time I looked up somebody was shooting at me," Chaney said. "I've never seen a college team as good as that one. I would love to coach that team."

Davidson: 102-60

Jason Williams had 25 points and Nate James added 20 in a 102-60 victory over Davidson on Tuesday night

"I hope you (Duke) people realize what greatness you have in this program," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said.

Michigan: 104-61

The undefeated Blue Devils (9-0) started with a mind-numbing 34-2 run en route to a 104-61 thumping of Michigan.

“That was pretty awesome," Shane Battier said of Duke's early defensive domination. "I've seen a lot of things in basketball, but I don't think I've ever seen a game start 34-2.”

Those guys were very accurate right from the beginning," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "Our young guys were very, very shell-shocked. They just did not function in this environment -- at all. There was a lot of standing around."

When the lead reached 32 about eight minutes before halftime, the Cameron Crazies chanted, "We want Oakland," in reference to a small Michigan college that beat the Wolverines earlier this season. The students also gave Blanchard a "Bronx cheer" when he scored on a baseline shot to break the long scoring drought.

Portland: 97-64

Dunleavy scored 18 points, and Carlos Boozer made all 11 of his shots for 22 points, as No. 1 Duke tuned up for Stanford by routing the University of Portland 97-64 Tuesday night.

"It was special to come back home and play, especially since I'm so far away," Dunleavy said. "It was kind of weird. Even though it may have been a lesser opponent, there was a little bit of pressure. It was different. It just felt weird."

"I'm their biggest fan, so when I got in the game, that was awesome," said Portland's Casey Frandsen, who played the last three minutes.

Stanford: 83-84

Jacobsen banked in a jumper with 3.6 seconds left as No. 3 Stanford roared back from an 11-point deficit in the final four minutes to beat top-ranked Duke 84-83 Thursday night at the Pete Newell Challenge.

"Now there'll be a new No. 1, and we'll see who it will be," Jacobsen said with a grin.

"There's an aura Duke has because they play with such extreme confidence," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "We need to develop that ... and this was a big step."

"We didn't convert our last few chances, and that put us in a position to lose," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We came out ready to play, but we just missed at the end."

Florida State: 99-72

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski makes no bones about it: His team can shoot. "That's one of our strengths," Krzyzewski said after watching his team hit 15 3-pointers in a 99-72 victory at Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night.

Jason Williams, Shane Battier and Nate James combined for 70 points as the third-ranked Blue Devils (12-1) coasted to their 18th win in 19 games in ACC play vs. the Seminoles.

"When you play Duke, you have to pick your poison," Florida State coach Steve Robinson said. "Are you going to stop the drive, the 3 or the post-up game?”

"They have so many weapons," Robinson said. "Once you get away from doing your thing, they just seem to continue to pounce on you."

Clemson: 115-74

This isn't what the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference wanted to see -- No. 3 Duke gaining momentum in early January. The Blue Devils, gunning for an unprecedented fifth straight ACC regular-season title, routed Clemson 115-74 Sunday behind 25 points from Carlos Boozer and 21 each from Shane Battier and Nate James.

"They play clearly at a different level," Shyatt said. "I compliment their talent. I believe their talent is clearly as good or the best I've seen in 20 years, with three or four lottery picks."

N.C. State: 84-78

The Blue Devils, who lead the nation in 3-pointers per game, got 22 points each from Battier and Jason Williams, and 12 baskets beyond the arc for an 84-78 victory over North Carolina State on Wednesday night.

"We got what we expected," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We knew State would play us unbelievably hard and they did. I thought we played well."

"It doesn't take a lot as we've all witnessed against Duke to go from 18 to 30 by the time you take another sip of your Coke," Sendek said.

Virginia: 103-61

The Blue Devils (15-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a 23-0 run in the first half Saturday to top the Cavaliers 103-61

Virginia's scoreless streak lasted over 5 minutes as Duke scored 10 points in a span of 1:01 at one point, getting a driving layup from Nate James and a 3-pointer, a three-point play from Carlos Boozer and two free throws by Battier.

The Duke lead reached 40 less than two minutes into the second half and J.D. Simpson scored on a baseline jumper with 1:56 left to hit 100 points.

"I'm glad I don't have to come back here no more." Donald Hand on Cameron, after his 1-for-10, 7 turnover disaster.

"Mike was being kind," Gillen said of Krzyzewski. "They could have won by a lot more if they wanted to."

BC: 97-75

Williams scored a career-high 34 points and had nine assists as No. 2 Duke won its sixth straight game, a 97-75 victory over No. 25 Boston Colleg

Williams slapped the floor on successive Boston College possessions to stir up the crowd, then raised his arms on the next two to bring the decibel level higher.

He sent the "Cameron Crazies" into a frenzy with 17:18 left, feeding Carlos Boozer for a two-handed dunk that put the Blue Devils up 55-42.

He also goaded Kenny Walls into throwing an elbow with less than a second left, leading to technical for Walls and four free throws for Williams.

"He controlled the game for them and did what he had to do," said Boston College coach Al Skinner.

Georgia Tech: 98-77

With a devastating 1-2-3 punch, second-ranked Duke made sure that Georgia Tech had no hope of pulling off another upset.

Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer combined for 34 points in the first half, then Shane Battier scored 30 of his 34 points in the second as the Blue Devils beat Georgia Tech 98-77 Saturday.

Wakeforest: 85-62

With a devastating 1-2-3 punch, second-ranked Duke made sure that Georgia Tech had no hope of pulling off another upset.

Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer combined for 34 points in the first half, then Shane Battier scored 30 of his 34 points in the second as the Blue Devils beat Georgia Tech 98-77 Saturday.

"There's no more difficult place to test your team than at Cameron Indoor Stadium," said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom earlier this week.

Maryland: 98-96 OT J-Will sparks the comeback (avi) T1 (real)

Duke added another chapter to its basketball history. Carlos Boozer and the Blue Devils stage a remarkable comeback to upend the shocked Terps.

The second-ranked Blue Devils overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 54 seconds of regulation and went on to a 98-96 overtime victory over Maryland (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 8 AP) on Saturday night.

It seemed Duke (19-1, 7-0) would see those road streaks ended when it trailed 90-80 with a minute left in regulation. That's when Jason Williams went to work.The sophomore guard, who was averaging 23.8 points over his last 13 games, scored eight points -- including two 3-pointers -- in a 13-second span to get the Blue Devils within 90-88 with 41 seconds to play.

"We had a team huddle with 54 seconds left and we could hear the Maryland fans chanting `Over-rated,"' Williams said. "We said we are not overrated, we are the Duke team we think we are and we made one of those runs."

GO TO HELL CAROLINA GO TO HELL!!! : 83-85

One of North Carolina's poorest free-throw shooters did in Duke on one of its worst nights from the foul line.

The Tar Heels (18-2, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their 15th straight game and snapped Duke's five-game winning streak in the series. The loss also snapped the nine-game overall winning streak for Duke (19-2, 7-1), which shot 13-for-27 from the free-throw line. The Blue Devils entered shooting 72 percent from the line, the second-best mark in the league.

"North Carolina played a great basketball game and I thought we played really well but we didn't shoot the ball well, especially from the foul line and that's been a huge thing for us," Krzyzewski said. "I think the emotion of the game, sometimes you want it too much and that's what I sensed from our kids right from the beginning. They were too ready, too emotional."

Florida State: 100-58

No. 2 Duke created its own atmosphere Sunday.

Carlos Boozer scored 23 points and Shane Battier 21 as the Blue Devils rebounded
from a loss to North Carolina three days ago by beating Florida State 100-58.

"It was a strange feeling. You looked at the fans and even they were exhausted," senior tri-captain Nate James said of the Cameron Crazies. "There was so much emotion in that North Carolina game, we walked onto the court today and said, 'Wow, we really have to play well because we owe it to the fans and we owe it to each other. Once you step on that court it's not about you. It's about Duke."

"This wasn't as big a game for everybody, but it was for us," Dunleavy said. "We really wanted to get back in the win column. We got the kinks out early and it was back to our usual ways."

"We have a few moments where we do some good things, but you can't have few moments," Florida State coach Steve Robinson said. "You've got to have about 40 minutes of good basketball if you expect to come out of here with a victory."

Clemson: 81-64

"I've been here for five years, but people still don't know who Nate James is," said James, who scored a career-high 27 points to lead the third-ranked Blue Devils to an 81-64 victory Wednesday night. "So, I want to go out there and show. Show them that this is my last go-round and I want to win."

James' performance propped up Duke (21-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) despite Jason Williams' second consecutive poor shooting performance. The Blue Devils extended their Atlantic Coast Conference-record 24-road winning streak to 24 and beat the Tigers (10-13, 1-9) for the 11th consecutive time.

N.C. State: 101-75

After a couple of mediocre games by Duke standards, the No. 3 Blue Devils shot 53 percent, forced 24 turnovers and used a 17-0 first-half run to roll over North Carolina State 101-75 on Sunday.

Jason Williams, coming off a pair of season-low eight-point games against Florida State and Clemson, scored 23 as Duke's starters all hit double figures. Nate James added 19, while Shane Battier had 18 and Carlos Boozer 17 in front of members of the 1991 national title team, who were honored at halftime.

"Certainly it was thorough and complete," Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said of the beating his team took.

Virginia: 89-91

"I think it rolled off somebody or the rim or something and just came to me," Hall said after scoring with 0.9 seconds left Wednesday night as No. 12 Virginia ended No. 3 Duke's 24-game ACC road winning streak, 91-89.

"We're not that good where if we're off our game just a little bit we can win against really good competition," Krzyzewski said.