Duke 9-0 for 15th time under Coach K
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Even after his 936th win, the most by a Division I men's basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski takes nothing for granted.
Not even when his team is off to a 9-0 start for the 15th time under his direction. The No. 2 Blue Devils reached that mark with a 90-67 victory over Temple on Saturday at the Izod Center.
"I couldn't expect to be 9-0," Krzyzewski said. "I have dealt with unrealistic expectations since 1986. It's a good place to be. I'd rather have people expect something of you than not expect something good of you.
"We're a beatable team. We just haven't been beat yet. With our conference, we'll be tested a lot."
Seth Curry scored 23 points, and big men Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly had double-doubles as Duke prevailed in the matchup of unbeatens. Curry shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range, leading Duke's 12-for-20 effort from behind the arc.
The Blue Devils have three wins over teams that were ranked in the top four at the time: No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 4 Ohio State.
Plumlee finished with 16 points - his first game below 19 this season - and 14 rebounds. Kelly had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Quinn Cook added 14 points and made three 3s.
Quenton DeCosey scored 13 points to lead Temple (6-1), which was seeking its best start since going 14-0 in 1987-88.
AROUND THE NATION
TOP 25
• HOOSIERS HIT 100 - At Bloomington, Ind., Christian Watford scored 21 points, and Cody Zeller compiled 19 points and 19 rebounds, powering No. 1 Indiana (9-0) to a 100-69 victory over Central Connecticut State (4-4). Hoosiers sophomore forward Austin Etherington was carried off the court with a left leg injury in the first half.
• WOLVERINES CLIMB TO 9-0 - At Ann Arbor, Mich., Jordan Morgan had season highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 3 Michigan (9-0) used a late 10-2 run to gain an 80-67 win over Arkansas (4-4).
• SYRACUSE IN A ROUT - At Syracuse, N.Y., Michael-Carter Williams had 15 points and 16 assists, and the No. 4 Orange (8-0) stretched their home winning streak to 28 with a 108-56 win over Monmouth (5-5).
• CARDINALS ROMP - At Louisville, Ky., Russ Smith scored a career-high 31 points as No. 5 Louisville (8-1) coasted to a 99-47 rout of Missouri-Kansas City (4-5).
• THOMAS, BUCKEYES BREEZE - At Columbus, Ohio, Deshaun Thomas scored 18 points, lifting No. 7 Ohio State (6-1) to an 89-55 win over Long Beach State (3-6).
• WILDCATS PREVAIL ON ROAD - At Clemson, S.C., Mark Lyons had 20 points, and No. 8 Arizona (7-0) surged to a 66-54 victory over Clemson (5-5).
• McLEMORE CARRIES KANSAS - At Lawrence, Kan., Ben McLemore scored 24 points, and No. 9 Kansas (7-1) rolled to a 90-54 victory over Colorado (7-2). Elijah Johnson (Cheyenne) scored 11 points for the Jayhawks, hitting three 3-pointers.
• HARRIS POWERS SPARTANS - At East Lansing, Gary Harris hit three 3-pointers during a 22-9 spurt and scored 20 points, lifting No. 19 Michigan State (8-2) to a 73-61 win over Loyola of Chicago (6-3).
• TAR HEELS OVERPOWER FOE - At Chapel Hill, N.C., No. 20 North Carolina (7-2) held East Tennessee State (2-5) to 12 first-half points and rolled to a 78-55 win.
REGIONAL
• CARLINO, BYU TOP UTAH - At Provo, Utah, Matt Carlino had 19 points off the bench, including two straight 3-pointers to help Brigham Young (6-3) erase a double-digit deficit in a 61-58 win over Utah (6-3). Justin Seymour's 3-point attempt for the Utes clanged off the rim as time expired.
• BRUINS FEND OFF LONGHORNS - At Houston, Jordan Adams scored 18 points, Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman) had 16, and UCLA (6-3) closed with a 13-2 run to gain a 65-63 win over Texas (5-4). The game was played at Reliant Stadium before a meager crowd of 2,797.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
• NO. 18 LOBOS REPEL VALPO - At Albuquerque, N.M., Alex Kirk and Chad Adams each scored 12 points, sparking 18th-ranked New Mexico (10-0) to a 65-52 victory over Valparaiso (6-3).
• BURTON RESCUES WOLF PACK - At Seattle, Deonte Burton scored UNR's final nine points, including two 3-pointers, and had 29 points to give the Wolf Pack (5-4) a 76-73 win over Washington (4-4). UNR rallied after blowing an 18-point lead.
• GILMORE, WYOMING REACH 10-0 - At Laramie, Wyo., Derrious Gilmore hit 6 of 8 3-pointers and scored 21 points, lifting Wyoming (10-0) to a 74-55 victory over Division II Oklahoma Panhandle State (4-5).
• RAMS TUMBLE - At Chicago, Gary Talton made all 12 of his free throws and scored 20 points, leading Illinois-Chicago (8-1) to a 64-55 victory over Colorado State (6-2). Greg Smith scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Rams.
• LYONS LEADS AIR FORCE - At Air Force Academy, Colo., Michael Lyons had 26 points, leading Air Force (7-2) to a 65-49 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-8).
