2010 Duke vs. Georgia Tech

Re-Watch #13 - The Duke Basketball Project

Feb 01, 2024

Note: Video timestamps are in parenthesis and link directly to that point of the game. You can view the full game and additional resources at the bottom. Feel free to read from start to finish, skip around to different sections, toggle between the article and video links, or watch the entire game. Thanks for reading, Go Duke!

#4 Duke (28-5) vs. Georgia Tech (22-11)
ACC Tournament Championship
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC
March 14, 2010

Why this game

I’ve been working on an article about my favorite Duke games I’ve seen in person, so I decided the next re-watch would be a game I attended. I’ve been fortunate to see Duke in person a lot over the years, most often at the ACC Tournament. I considered a few other tournament games, but chose this one because it was the last ACC Tournament in which I attended the full weekend. For the Friday games, I was with a group of NC State friends. Duke won in the first game of the day, and then we had fun tailgating before the evening session. Georgia Tech beat #19 Maryland, before State knocked off FSU to advance as well. The Saturday semifinals saw both games decided by three points. Duke beat Miami 77-74, and Georgia Tech sent NC State (and my buddies) home with a 57-54 win. My dad couldn’t make it to Greensboro that year, so I took one of my best friends (and college roommate) with me on Sunday. He’s a UNC fan and an awesome buddy to watch basketball with. We went to the ACC Tournament together the year before in Atlanta, and his favorite day of the year is that first Thursday of March Madness. Even after college, he’d convince me to take off work with him so we could watch the games all day, color coding the results on his bracket with more highlighters than Digger Phelps.

Background

Duke and Georgia Tech split two regular season meetings - the Yellow Jackets won 71-67 in January, before falling 86-67 in Cameron one month later. Georgia Tech had been ranked as high as #20 behind a 17-5 start, before dropping six of their last nine games to end the regular season (tough conference). Duke lost for the fourth time in late January at #7 Georgetown, but had only lost once since, securing a share of the ACC regular season title with Maryland. The Yellow Jackets would be playing their fourth game in four days, trying to become the first team to win four games en route to the ACC title. Duke was hoping to add the tournament championship to go along with the regular season, a feat Coach K addressed after the game, saying “in the 30 years that I have been here, there aren't many teams that have won the regular season and the tournament. When you do that, it is an accomplishment.” Since the 1980-1981 season, a team has won both the ACC regular season, including ties, and the ACC Tournament on 16 occasions - how many can you name (team and year)? See Trivia Answer below.

The Teams

Georgia Tech, coached by Paul Hewitt, started Iman Shumpert, D’Andre Bell, Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal, and Glen Rice, Jr. Maurice “Moe” Miller, Zachery Peacock, Brian Oliver, and Mfon Udofia also saw action for the Yellow Jackets. Duke started Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Lance Thomas, and Brian Zoubek. Coach K used Andre Dawkins, Miles Plumlee, and Mason Plumlee off the bench.

Early Action

Nolan Smith scored the first basket of the game, using staggered screens from Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas to free himself for a short jumper before Jon Scheyer made a steal in the passing lane, taking it in for a layup (1:25). Smith would score the next six points for Duke, while Georgia Tech only managed one bucket from Derrick Favors. The freshman sensation caught and finished a difficult lob from Shumpert off a screen-and-roll (7:06). Smith responded by refusing a ball screen on the right wing and finishing a drive high off the glass. The “People’s Champ” now had eight quick points, and Duke led 10-2 at the 14:21 mark. Paul Hewitt began to mix up his defensive looks, utilizing full court pressure (both man and zone) to force Duke to use up some clock on offense. Nolan Smith swished a three from the left wing, assist to Singler, hockey assist to Scheyer (11:10) - it was the type of connecting play those three guys made all season. Scheyer finished a drive at the rim before Moe Miller responded by drilling his second three-pointer (12:27). Then, out of a horns set, D’Andre Bell made a tough pull-up two over the outstretched arm of Lance Thomas.

1st Half 7:55 - Duke 19 Georgia Tech 14

Closing the Half

The broadcast returned from the media timeout interviewing Bobby Cremins who, at the time, was the head coach at College of Charleston but led Georgia Tech from 1981-2000. Cremins played for Frank McGuire at South Carolina when the Gamecocks were in the ACC and, at age 27, got his first head coaching job at Appalachian State. My dad always loved Bobby Cremins (they were born the same year), and we met him briefly at the 2003 ACC Tournament. It was awesome to hear Coach Cremins talk about picking up his son and driving to Greensboro because he didn’t want to miss the Yellow Jackets in the championship.

Duke had only managed two points over the last five minutes, before Singler took an offensive rebound and scooped a pass to Andre Dawkins out top for a wide open three - I loved his stroke. Dawkins then took a hand-off from Zoubek and hit a long two, before Zoubek rebounded a miss from Singler and found Dawkins again. This time, he gave a slight shot fake and drove down the wide open lane, punctuating his seven straight points with a one-handed slam (26:55). Georgia Tech, now trailing by 11 points and in the midst of their own scoring drought, responded with a 7-1 stretch. Gani Lawal scored two baskets, one of which was an alley-oop from Shumpert (33:33), and Derrick Favors drove the lane for a layup to cut the deficit to five points. Thankfully, Kyle Singler was okay after diving into Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale.

With the half winding down, Singler drilled an isolation jumper from the left corner, before Iman Shumpert’s three-pointer was negated by a travel. Georgia Tech now had more turnovers (9) than field goals (8), while Nolan Smith led all scorers with 11 first half points on 5 of 7 shooting.

Halftime - Duke 29 Georgia Tech 22

Out of the Break

Duke opened the half going just 1 for 7 from the field - Nolan Smith nailed a triple from the left corner, assisted by Jon Scheyer after Kyle Singler collapsed the defense on a drive (38:20). Glen Rice got a backdoor layup and Derrick Favors put back a wild miss from Gani Lawal. Favors would get two more buckets inside, scoring from the right block before getting a drop off pass as Moe Miller drove the lane. Each team extended their defense to three-quarter court early in the second half, mixing in both man and zone - Duke in a 1-2-2 and Georgia Tech in a 2-2-1. Both teams committed multiple turnovers against the changing defensive looks. Free throws from Scheyer and Singler helped maintain the Duke lead at 35-30. Iman Shumpert found Favors for a lob off a screen-and-roll, but Favors missed the dunk, leading to an and-1 for Kyle Singler on the other end (49:38). Shumpert responded with his own and-1, driving left from the top of the key and drawing Singler’s third foul in the process. The teams began to push the pace a little more but neither could connect from long range, before Nolan Smith spun around Shumpert and lofted a soft floater off the glass (54:11). Derrick Favors hit two free throws and then Georgia Tech’s full court pressure forced a five-second violation on Duke. Shumpert rebounded a missed free throw, rushed the ball up the floor, and buried a pull-up three in front of the Georgia Tech bench (58:21).

2nd Half 9:29 - Duke 42 Georgia Tech 38

Winning Time

Jon Scheyer was fouled shooting a three from out top, knocking in all three free throws, before Kyle Singler made a pair from the line himself. After the teams traded turnovers, Georgia Tech used excellent ball movement to find Derrick Favors on the right block. Favors picked up the fourth foul on Lance Thomas, and completed the old-fashioned three-point play (1:03:45). Singler converted two more free throws, before Nolan Smith came darting back down court after snatching a loose rebound. Moe Miller made a sensational block from behind but Duke maintained possession (1:06:13). Singler missed a three at the end of the shot clock, but Mason Plumlee grabbed the miss and found Scheyer open for a deep three from straight on. Scheyer was 0 for 6 from beyond the arc so far, but he buried this one and gave a fist pump, bringing me to my feet (along with ten thousand other Duke fans).

2nd Half 6:20 - Duke 52 Georgia Tech 41

Moe Miller answered with a steal and uncontested dunk, before Gani Lawal got a dunk of his own against Duke’s zone press. Singler made another pair from the line, and Mason Plumlee slammed home Nolan Smith’s attempt to beat the shot clock (1:10:31). Derrick Favors assisted on a three from Glen Rice, before Scheyer and Brian Oliver traded two free throws as the game went under the four-minute mark.

2nd Half 3:36 - Duke 58 Georgia Tech 50

It was Brian Zoubek’s turn at the line after being fouled underneath. Zoubs made them both to push the Duke lead to ten. A lot of people would consider ten points to be a comfortable margin at this stage of the game, but those people haven’t watched enough basketball in my opinion. On the next possession, Shumpert immediately buried an isolation three from the right wing (1:15:24), and then Singler stepped on the sideline against the Georgia Tech press. Favors tipped home a missed jumper from Peacock and, in just twenty seconds, the lead was cut in half. See what I mean?

2nd Half 2:47 - Duke 60 Georgia Tech 55

Glen Rice nearly had a steal but stepped out in the process, before Scheyer missed on a three as the shot clock approached five seconds. Moe Miller drove past Nolan Smith and was fouled at the rim by Zoubek. Miller’s first free throw hit the front rim and bounced through, but his second attempt was pure, making it a one-possession game for the first time since it was 2-0.

2nd Half 1:48 - Duke 60 Georgia Tech 57

Duke beat the full court pressure to cross halfcourt with a second to spare, but was unable to get anything on their initial action, so Coach K took a timeout. Nolan Smith was swarmed as he drove into the lane - he was able to get a shot off in traffic, but it grazed the front of the rim and was rebounded by Favors. Moe Miller used a ball screen going left and launched a three that rattled in and came out. Favors was able to tap the rebound out to Glen Rice, while commentator Mike Gminski exclaimed “How did that not stay in?”

2nd Half 0:56 - Duke 60 Georgia Tech 57

Paul Hewitt went screen-and-roll with Shumpert and Favors in the middle of the floor. Shumpert probed the screen and used a right-to-left crossover to drive the lane, before dropping a dime to Favors who finished with a two-handed slam (1:19:47).

2nd Half 0:47 - Duke 60 Georgia Tech 59

Nolan Smith dribbled patiently just across halfcourt, Thomas and Zoubek occupied the left and right blocks, with Singler at the free throw line and Scheyer in the left corner. Our seats were on the opposite end of the floor and I stood, as did everyone else in the coliseum. Singler slid down the lane to screen for Scheyer, who then used a second screen from Zoubek and curled to the right wing. Smith delivered an on-time, on-target pass and Jon Scheyer hit his second three of the game when Duke needed it most.

2nd Half 0:18 - Duke 63 Georgia Tech 59

Knowing Duke would not want to foul, Iman Shumpert pushed the ball up the floor, scoring in just six seconds with a scoop layup off the glass. Nolan Smith was trapped in the corner after receiving the inbound pass, but found Singler who was fouled immediately. Kyle made both free throws to remain a perfect 13 for 13 from the line in the second half.

2nd Half 0:09 - Duke 65 Georgia Tech 61

This time, Duke was able to corral Shumpert, forcing him to briefly lose control of the ball before launching a shot from mid-court. It missed off the backboard and found Lance Thomas as the horn sounded. Duke had captured the ACC Tournament Championship for the 9th time in the past 12 years.

Final Score - Duke 65 Georgia Tech 61

Postgame

After the win, Coach K remarked “I know a lot of people say the tournament maybe doesn't mean that much, but certainly it meant a lot to the two teams that were playing today. That was one of the best games we've played in this year, and in the last couple of years.” Kyle Singler won the Everett Case Award as tournament MVP. Jon Scheyer was MVP of the 2009 ACC Tournament, and Nolan Smith would win the award in 2011 - pretty cool for those guys to each win the Case Award in three consecutive tournaments. The win was Duke’s 18th ACC Tournament title and 12th for Coach K. The 2010 team was so fun, and there are a couple of short videos down at the bottom from that weekend in Greensboro.

The Stats

Derrick Favors led the way for Georgia Tech with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Iman Shumpert added 12 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. Despite shooting just 35% from the field (27% in the second half), Duke forced 17 turnovers and pounded the glass for 13 offensive rebounds. The big three of Scheyer, Singler, and Smith combined for 52 of Duke’s 65 points. It was a performance that was vintage 2010 Duke Basketball - defend, rebound, hunt second chance threes, make a play, find a way to win.

Big Picture

Georgia Tech would go on to defeat Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before falling to Ohio State and soon-to-be National Player of the Year Evan Turner. Derrick Favors was selected 3rd overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, and Iman Shumpert was selected 17th the following year. Duke finished the season winning 18 of their last 19 games, on the way to capturing their fourth National Championship with an epic 61-59 win over Butler. Returning as seniors the following year, Smith and Singler would lead Duke to a 32-5 record, while being ranked no lower than fifth throughout the season (including 11 weeks at #1). Back in the Greensboro Coliseum 13 years later, head coach Jon Scheyer would lead Duke to the ACC Tournament crown with a 59-49 victory over Virginia, becoming the first person to win the tournament as both a player and a coach.

Trivia Answer

Duke - 1986, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2010
North Carolina - 1982, 2007, 2008, 2016
Virginia - 2014, 2018
Georgia Tech - 1985
Wake Forest - 1995
Miami - 2013

*I did not include 2020 since the ACC Tournament was cancelled after two days - my apologies to Florida State.

Full Game