Duke took on Holy Cross, and expected a game at a slower tempo, but the Blue Devils 57-45 win was, in a word, ugly. Duke forced 20 turnovers, but gave the ball away 19 times as well, while neither team shot well and the Blue Devils shot under 50% from the free throw line.
AP
Josh McRoberts (13 pts, 6 rebs) and Demarcus Nelson (13 pts) led the way for the Blue Devils, while Gerald Henderson came off the bench to score 8 pts, including the first 2 threes of his career at a key point in the 2nd half. One oddity of the night was the Blue Devils woes at the free throw line, and notably the struggles of Josh McRoberts. McRoberts came into the game making 87% of his free throw attempts, but went 3-10 from the line dropping him to 74%.
NC State lost their 2nd straight game as they went on the road and dropped a game to West Virginia 71-60. Four Wolfpack players played 40 minutes, and the Pack turned the ball over 17 times, compared to just 7 for the Mountaineers. Courtney Fells led the way with 17 pts and 6 rebs, while Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner each added 15 pts.
Gavin Grant was at the point guard position once again, in the absence of Engin Atsur, and struggled turning the ball over 9 times against West Virginia. Grant did have 10 pts, 6 rebs, and 6 asts, but Sidney Lowe knows Grant is playing out of position:
“Gavin Grant is playing out of position and it’s not fair to expect him to think like a point guard all the time,” Lowe said. “I’m trying to push him and help with that. He’s accustomed to attacking and unfortunately, he’s getting some turnovers that he shouldn’t have because he’s handling the ball so much. It’s early and we’re looking forward to getting Engin back so we can move Gavin to his natural position.”
The Virginia Tech Hokies beat a good Old Dominion team 72-55, to earn a good win on Wednesday night. Deron Washington led the way with 18 pts and 7 rebs, while Zabian Dowdell (17 pts, 6 asts, 4 rebs) and Lewis Witcher (10 pts, 4 rebs) each added double-figures.
The Hokies played without Coleman Collins who suffered a thigh bruise in practice on Monday.
Boston College took out Fairfield 75-52, behind 20 pts, 8 rebs, and 5 asts from Jared Dudley. Dudley was 9-11 from the field leading an attack that also saw Sean Williams (16 pts, 5 rebs, 3 blks), Sean Marshall (14 pts), and Tyrese Rice (10 pts, 7 asts, 3 blks) end up in double-figures.
The Eagles took care of the ball in the win assisting on 19 of their 28 shots, while turning the ball over 13 times. Tyrese Rice in particular had 7 assists against 2 turnovers, an improvement upon his early season struggles.
AP Photo by Chris Gardner
Maryland took care of Fordham 79-59 behind a balanced scoring attack that say six players score 8 or more points. Mike Jones led the way with 18 pts and 6 rebs, including a perfect 4-4 from three point range. DJ Strawberry (16 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts) and Greivis Vasquez (16 pts, 4 rebs) each added double-figures as well for the Terps.
The Terrapins did turn the ball over 25 times in the loss, but counteracted the poor ball handling by allowing Fordham to shoot just 33% from the field.
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