Men's Basketball Game Notes: vs. VCU, NCAA Tournament At Buffalo, N.Y., March 15, 7 PM, CBS

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke (22-10, 8-8 ACC), the six seed in the West Region, faces 11th-seed Virginia Commonwealth (27-6, 16-2 CAA) on Thursday at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y. in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:10 p.m. with CBS televising the contest.

The winner of the Duke-VCU games advance to the second round of the tournament to face the winner of the Pittsburgh-Wright State contest. Duke and VCU both earned at-large bids to the tournament and are unranked.

The Blue Devils have lost three straight contests, including an 85-80 overtime decision to N.C. State in the opening round of the ACC Tournament in their last outing.

Sophomore Greg Paulus led five double-figure scorers with 18 points in 42 minutes of action. Paulus has now led Duke in scoring eight times overall, including each of the last four contests. DeMarcus Nelson netted 17 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds against the Wolfpack, while Josh McRoberts added 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Freshman Jon Scheyer knocked down four three-point field goals and finished
with 14 points.

Sophomore Martynas Pocius had a career-high 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field in the loss. Pocius knocked down a pair of three-pointers and also converted two three-point plays for the Blue Devils.

Duke enters the NCAA Tournament having won four of its last seven contests. The Blue Devils are 8-8 against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament with wins over Davidson13MW, Georgia Tech10MW, Holy Cross13W, Indiana7W, Gonzaga10W, Boston College7E (2) and Georgetown2E.

Storylines

Duke enters the 2007 NCAA Tournament as the six seed in the West region. The six seed is the lowest for a Blue Devil team since being an eight seed in the 1996 tournament. Duke, a six seed for the first time in school history, has a 2-2 mark when playing out of the West Region.
Duke has an NCAA-best .759 winning percentage (85-27) all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Mike Krzyzewski is second in NCAA Tournament history with a .782 (68-19) winning percentage. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden holds the top mark with an .825 winning percentage (47-10).
Krzyzewski's 68 NCAA Tournament wins are the most in NCAA history. Coach K has led the Blue Devils to 10 Final Fours and three National Championships.
Duke is 27-4 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament overall, including a 21-2 mark in the opening round under Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils have advanced to the Sweet 16 in nine consecutive seasons, the longest current streak in the nation and the second-longest of all-time behind North Carolina's 13 in succession from 1981-93.
Duke is 39-3 all-time against teams currently in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Blue Devils have won 27 straight against CAA foes, including 22 straight under Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K is a perfect 22-0 against the CAA while at Duke. The Blue Devils' last loss to a Colonial Athletic Association team was an 85-82 overtime decision against William & Mary on Feb. 19, 1953.
Duke is 8-8 overall against teams that made the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils were 5-1 against non-ACC teams that reached the NCAA Tournament and 3-7 against the other six ACC schools in the tournament.
Greg Paulus has led the Blue Devils in scoring in four consecutive games and has reached double-figures in scoring in 11 straight games and in 15 of the last 16 contests. Over the last 11 games, Paulus is averaging a team-high 16.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. During that stretch, he is shooting 47.0 percent (62-of-132) from the field, including 46.5 percent (33-of-71) on treys.
Sophomore Josh McRoberts is one of two players in the country (along with Fresno State's Dominic McGuire) averaging over 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. The Carmel, Ind., native enters the NCAA Tournament averaging 12.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. He is also shooting a team-high 50.2 percent (157-of-313) from the field.
Junior DeMarcus Nelson has raised his 7.2 points per game from a year ago and is averaging a team-high 14.3 ppg. He has reaching double-figures in scoring a team-high 28 times this season.
Freshman Gerald Henderson returns to action after serving a one-game suspension that stemmed from a flagrant foul and ejection against North Carolina on March 4. Henderson is averaging 13.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.0 percent (16-of-32) from the field in his last three games.
Sophomore Martynas Pocius is coming off a career-high 14-point effort against N.C. State. The Vilnius, Lithuania, native was 5-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from the foul line and 2-of-2 from three-point distance, in the loss to the Wolfpack.