Hokies simply overwhelmed by Blue Devils in second half

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/04/2009 - Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Singler totaled 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead fifth-ranked Duke to a 69-44 victory against Virginia Tech in the ACC opener for both schools at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Gerald Henderson added 15 points, eight boards and four helpers for the Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0 ACC), who improved to 41-15 all-time in ACC openers and posted a fourth straight win since suffering their only loss of the campaign to Michigan in Ann Arbor, December 6.

Nolan Smith chipped in 13 points and Jon Scheyer 11 in the win.

Malcolm Delaney was the high scorer with 12 points for the Hokies (9-5, 0-1), who saw their four-game win streak come to an end. Jeff Allen had nine points and A.D. Vassallo seven in the loss.

Each of Tech's four losses prior to the game had come by four or fewer points, including a pair of one-point setbacks, but the Hokies went cold in the second half, hitting just 6-of-18 from the floor en route to the 25-point drubbing.

Virginia Tech kept things close in the first half despite falling behind 11-0 out of the gate. A three-pointer from Vassallo got the Hokies within six, 23-17, but Duke showed its fire-power and answered with a 9-2 spurt. Henderson started the run with a three and ended with a slam to make it 32-19 with 5:41 left in the half.

A trio of Delaney jumpers over the final 2:24 got the Hokies within eight, 39-31, at the break.

It was all Blue Devils in the second half, though, outscoring Tech by a 30-13 margin en route to an easy win. The Hokies' top three scorers in Vassallo, Delaney and Allen went for a combined five points and Tech got just six total field goals in the frame on the way to a 36.7 percent shooting effort overall.

Duke shot 40.7 percent from the floor for the game and connected on 19-of-20 free throw attempts.

Game Notes

Duke owns a 34-7 series lead over Virginia Tech, including wins in nine of the last 11 meetings with the Hokies...Tech committed 18 turnovers and got to the line just 12 times, making seven of those attempts...Duke owned the glass by a 38-28 margin.

Wwwbalicasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Anaheim's Hiller blanks Coyotes
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonas Hiller stopped all 29 Phoenix shots to notch his third career shutout, and the Anaheim Ducks topped the Coyotes, 2-0, at Honda Center. Chris Pronger and Bobby Ryan got the goals for Anaheim, both

<< Nolan, Backstrom carry Wild over Avs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Owen Nolan tallied the only two goals of the game, and the Minnesota Wild blanked the Colorado Avalanche, 2-0, at Pepsi Center. Niklas Backstrom made 32 saves for his fourth shutout of the season

<< Randle helps Cal top Arizona State
Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerome Randle connected on 7-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, as his 26 points and 10 assists helped the California Golden Bears pull out an 81-71 victory over the 17th- ranked

<< Blackhawks cool off streaking Flames
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Havlat recorded a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks returned to their winning ways with a 5-2 rout of the Calgary Flames. Playing without star forward Patrick Kane because of a hig

<< Chargers RB Tomlinson's status up in the air vs. Steelers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who sat out the entire second half of the team's wild card win over the Colts with a groin injury, is not a guarantee to play next week against the Ste

Lakers stay hot with rout of Trail Blazers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a game-high 26 points and the Lakers used a big third quarter to cruise to a 100-86 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Los Angeles' victory, coupled with the setbacks by Bo

Stars pick up tough shootout win over Canucks >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stars winger James Neal continued an impressive rookie campaign by netting the game-winning shootout goal in what was otherwise a goaltending clinic, as Dallas got by Vancouver, 3-2, at General

Ivanovic, Mauresmo advance, Hantuchova upset at Brisbane >>
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic and the fifth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo were both first-round winners at the $220,000 Brisbane International, while fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova was sent home early in the 2009

Fiesta Bowl pits Buckeyes against Longhorns >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten meets the Big 12 in one of the elite matchups of the 2008-09 bowl season, as the Ohio State Buckeyes battle the Texas Longhorns in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night in Glendale, Arizona. Ohio State c

Verdasco a winner at Brisbane, American Fish out >>
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Fernando Verdasco was a first- round winner on Monday at the $484,750 Brisbane International, while American Mardy Fish was handed a three-set loss at the season-opening 2009 ATP World Tour ev

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.