Tag: Gerald Henderson (Page 2 of 2)

UNC beats Duke to clinch ACC regular season title

March 8, 2009 /

It was nip and tuck most of the way, but the Tar Heels got it together late in the second half to pull away over arch rival Duke, 79-71. North Carolina has almost a two-point lead over the next-best team in Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings (which is the main way that I fill out my bracket), but I just don’t like this team to win it all. They’re sloppy with the ball, have poor spacing on offense and they missed a ton of free throws. But they have so much talent that when the game is tight in the second half, they always seem to be able to put together a run to put the game away. Really, they could win it all or they could lose in the second round to an eight- or nine-seed that plays a good, clean game.

Five Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by Tyler Hansbrough’s 17 points. Conversely, Duke was very content to walk the ball up and run its half court offense, which put the ball into the hands of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, and allowed them to go to work. Coach K really shortened his bench for this game — just three reserves played a total of 19 minutes (and they failed to score a single point).

The win should seal a #1 seed for North Carolina, and barring Duke winning the ACC tournament (coupled with an early round exit by Oklahoma or UConn), the Blue Devils are probably looking at a #2 or #3 seed. Check back tomorrow for a preview of all the major conference tournaments.

College Basketball, March Madness

UConn tops Marquette, Duke survives

February 26, 2009 /

– Jim Calhoun became just the seventh coach in Division I hoops to win 800 games as his #2-ranked Huskies beat #11 Marquette in Milwaukee, 93-82. (Apparently, Calhoun is worth his big salary.) A.J. Price scored a career high 36 points in the win. Marquette’s Dominic James is going to miss the rest of the season with a broken bone in his foot. His college career is over. UConn is likely to be ranked #1 next week.

– #7 Duke survived a tough College Park environment to beat a streaking Maryland team, 78-67. Gerald Henderson’s draft stock continues to shoot up the charts. He scored 19 points in a variety of ways, but none of his buckets were as spectacular as his down-the-lane jam in the second half. Check out the video below. (It’s at the 0:39 mark.)

Video

College Basketball, NBA Draft, Television, Video

#8 Duke beats #9 Wake Forest

February 23, 2009 /

In a battle of two of the top teams in the ACC (and in the nation), the Duke Blue Devils jumped out quickly on the Demon Deacons, building a 22-point lead late in the first half before Wake slowly chipped away at the lead. They got within two points with under eight minutes to play in the second half, but Duke managed its lead and ultimately triumphed, 101-91.

Before the game, Wake Forest head coach Dino Gaudio talked up his team’s league-leading field goal percentage allowed, and then Duke went out and set the nets on fire. Duke shot 54% from the field, and Wake was even better, shooting 61% in the loss. It’s not often that a team shoots over 60% and still loses the game.

Gerald Henderson scored a career-high 35 points and was phenomenal the entire night. He was 10 of 11 from two-point range and hit 12 of his 14 free throws. Jon Scheyer chipped in with 30 points, and seems to be adjusting to playing more point guard.

Coach K moved Scheyer to point and decided to start freshman guard Elliot Williams and he had 11 points and four steals on the night. Williams has seen inconsistent minutes all season, and registered two DNP’s against North Carolina and Boston College. It looks like he’ll see more minutes down the stretch. He gives the Blue Devils more athleticism at the guard position and is a solid defender and slasher.

Jeff Teague (28 points) and James Johnson (26 points, 11 rebounds) led Wake Forest’s comeback. The Demon Deacons had trouble executing down the stretch because of poor guard play out of Ishmael Smith. He played well for much of the game but had a couple of key turnovers (five on the game) down the stretch that ended Wake’s comeback. It was a big win for the Blue Devils as it was their first win over the top teams in the ACC – North Carolina, Clemson and Wake. More importantly, it keeps them in the hunt for a conference championship and a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

In other action, #14 Villanova beat #25 Syracuse, 89-86. The Wildcats are one of the hottest teams in the country right now and are getting great play out of the guard position (Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, Corey Fisher). They are going to be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.

College Basketball

Pay attention! #3 North Carolina visits #5 Duke tonight on ESPN

February 11, 2009 /

This is how a Duke/North Carolina matchup is supposed to be. Both teams are ranked in the top five, they’re tied for first place (at 7-2) in the ACC, and the winner will have the inside track to the conference championship. The game takes place at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a venue that even Duke haters will admit has set the standard for home court advantage. Duke was one of the first schools (if not the first) to put the student body front and center and that atmosphere has played a huge part in the Blue Devils’ success over the past two decades. (Though it should be noted that, with a win, Tyler Hansbrough could go 4-0 at Cameron in his career, so North Carolina has owned Coach K Court of late.)

Duke is just 2-2 over its last four games with a tough two-point loss at Wake Forest and a disastrous blowout loss at Clemson. They almost lost three of their last four as they trailed Miami by 16 (at home!) in the second half, but they made a big comeback and won that game in overtime. Gerald Henderson continues to play great basketball. He is averaging 18.6 points over the last 13 games. Duke needs solid contributions from Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and the rest of the supporting cast if they hope to beat the Tar Heels.

Meanwhile, North Carolina is currently riding a seven-game winning streak, which featured wins against a scrappy Florida State team in Tallahassee and a blowout win against Clemson at home. Wayne Ellington has really come on over the last 11 games, averaging 18.1 points in that span. Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough continue to play solid ball while Danny Green is the wild card.

ESPN starts its coverage at 9 PM ET. They’re also broadcasting the Syracuse/UConn game at 7 PM. Hopefully, that one won’t run long — I’d hate to miss the tip-off in Durham.

College Basketball, Television

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