Notes: Duke 76, Gonzaga 41

Team Notes:

Duke is now 3-0 at Madison Square Garden this season and have won its last six games at MSG. The Blue Devils are 26-14 all-time in the arena, including a 21-6 mark under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils improved to 159-26 in the month of December under Coach K. The Blue Devils have a 51-4 record in the month since the 1999-2000 season.
The 41 points allowed are tied for the 12th fewest under Coach K. It marks the fewest points given up since the Blue Devils held Wake Forest to 40 points in a 62-40 win at Cameron on Jan. 18, 2007. The 41 points mark the lowest for Gonzaga since 1984 and are the fewest points given up to a ranked team under Coach K. The previous best was when No. 2 Duke defeated No. 8 Temple, 59-47, on Feb. 27, 1994. It is the second fewest points given up to a ranked team in program history. Only No. 6 Duke's 47-40 win over No. 4 North Carolina on Feb. 24, 1979, is less. That is the famous 7-0 game in which Duke held North Carolina scoreless in the first half and led 7-0 as Dean Smith implemented his famous four-corners offense throughout the first half.
The Duke defense did now allow a single point in the first 4:32 of the game and held Gonzaga to 17 points in the first half on .233 (7-of-30) field goal percentage. The 17 points is tied for the 21st fewest allowed under Coach K. It is the third time in five years the Blue Devils held a team to 17 points or fewer in the first half at Madison Square Garden, allowing only 10 against St. John's in 2007 and 17 against the Red Storm in 2005. The previous low allowed by Duke this season was 19 against Coastal Carolina.
For the game Gonzaga shot just .278 (15-of-54), marking the second time this season the Blue Devils have held an opponent under 30 percent from the field. Duke also limited to Coastal Carolina to .286 (16-of-56) from the floor. The .278 percentage is tied for the 12th lowest an opponent has shot from the field under Coach K and tied for the 27th lowest opponent total in Duke history. It's the lowest field goal percentage for a Duke opponent since holding Seton Hall to 24.1 percent (13-of-54) on Nov. 16, 2005. It's the second lowest opponent field goal percentage by a ranked team in Duke history. The lowest is when No. 10 Virginia shot 19-of-71 (26.8 percent) on Jan. 13, 2001.
Duke only gave up one three-point field goal in the game, marking the third time this season the Blue Devils have allowed two or fewer made treys. Gonzaga went 1-for-10 from beyond the arc in the game, missing its first nine attempts. The Blue Devils also held Connecticut to 0-for-4 from long range and in Duke's three games at Madison Square Garden this season, opponents are just 3-of-27 (.111).
No Gonzaga player scored in double figures. The last time Duke held an opponent without a double-figure scorer was the 2005-06 season opener against Boston University when Ben Colbyn came off the bench to lead Boston with nine points in a 64-47 loss.
Duke's top two scorers Nolan Smith (24) and Jon Scheyer (20) outscored Gonzaga in the game. The last time Duke's top two scorers outscored its opponent was against Southern in the NCAA Tournament on March 16, 2006, when both J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams scored 29 points to combine for 58 in a 70-54 win in the first round. It is the third time this season the Blue Devils have had two players score 20 or more points.

Player Notes:

Ryan Kelly

Freshman Ryan Kelly came off the bench with five points, three rebounds and four blocked shots.
Kelly has a block in seven of the 10 games this season with two or more three times. He now has 12 blocks overall.

Jon Scheyer

Senior Jon Scheyer reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season and 18th time in his career. He has scored in double figures in all 10 games this season and now has 86 career games with at least 10 points.
In his last two games, Scheyer has scored 56 points to lead the Blue Devils.
Scheyer made his first seven free throw attempts to extend his streak to 28 consecutive made free throw attempts. His streak ended in the final minute of the first half.
Scheyer recorded eight assists to become the 18th player in school history with at least 300 career assists. He now has 305 career assists. It marked his eighth game this season with five or more assists. He has 17 assists in his last two games.
With 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists Scheyer now has three games this season with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. He has accomplished the feat in back-to-back games.

Kyle Singler

Junior Kyle Singler extended his consecutive starts streak to 36 games and has now started in 79 career contests.
Singler pulled down 11 rebounds for his second double figure rebound performance this season and 15th of his career.

Nolan Smith

Junior Nolan Smith matched his career high of 24 points and made a career best 10 field goals. Smith also had 24 points on a previous career high nine made field goals against Charlotte earlier this season.
Smith notched his third game with 20 or more points this season and fourth career game. He has reached double figures in scoring in all eight games he has played in this season and now has 31 career games with 10 or more points.

Lance Thomas