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Duke trounces Saint Louis for 20th straight win

Dec 11, 2010 - 9:34 PM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Nolan Smith scored 22 points and Kyle Singler added 21, as top-ranked Duke cruised to an 84-47 romp over Saint Louis at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Smith, who missed all eight of his shots and scored just two points in Wednesday's 83-48 win over Bradley, finished 8-of-13 in this one and added six rebounds with five assists and two steals.

"We just wanted to lead the team today, whether that is turning it up a notch or whatever you want to call it," Singler said. "And also playing in the afternoon - we don't really have too many of those games, so we wanted to come in, especially in the beginning of the game, and get off to a good start."

Josh Hairston chipped in 12 points and Seth Curry contributed 11 in the lopsided victory for the Blue Devils (10-0), who have won 20 straight games dating back to last year and have opened a season with 10 consecutive wins for the 13th time under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Duke has also won 25 straight home games and extended its winning streak against non-conference opposition at Cameron to 83 games.

The Blue Devils again played without star freshman Kyrie Irving because of a foot injury. The guard missed Wednesday's game against Bradley and on Friday had a hard cast placed on his right foot.

Mike McCall scored 15 points to lead Saint Louis (3-4), which has lost two in a row. Leading scorer Kyle Cassity, who entered the contest averaging 11.7 points per game, was held to just two points.

"You would want, in a sense of learning, to emulate someone who has a great team, this is a great team," Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus said. "So that would be probably the learning experience of it. To play with the purpose and passion and execution of a team like this. You don't want to get beat so bad learning how to do it."

Duke opened the game with stifling defense and raced out to a 13-4 lead just 9 1/2 minutes into the contest. The Blue Devils were a little sluggish on the offensive end, but forced seven turnovers and allowed Saint Louis to make just 2-of-11 from the field in that span.

After a layup by Cody Ellis for the Billikens, Duke reeled off the next 13 points. An emphatic dunk by Smith highlighted the surge and a three-pointer by Singler with just under seven minutes left in the half gave the Blue Devils a comfortable 26-6 cushion.

Duke continued to pour it on and carried a 40-16 advantage to the break. Smith made 7-of-9 field goals and scored 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Saint Louis never threatened in the second half and Duke built a 30-point margin at 59-29 with 9 1/2 minutes to play before coasting to the buzzer.

Game Notes

Duke scored 31 points of 22 Saint Louis turnovers...Krzyzewski notched his 878th career victory, one shy of former North Carolina head coach Dean Smith for second on the all-time list. Only Bob Knight has more wins with 902...Duke last lost on March 3, 2010 at Maryland...The Blue Devils haven't lost a home game to a non-conference opponent since a February 26, 2000 setback against St. John's...Duke improved to 4-0 all-time against Saint Louis, including three wins at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The teams last met in 1988.