College basketball notes: Duke gains more than a win

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By Andy Johnston

For the AJC

Duke took away more than a victory and a firm grip on first place in the ACC from its win over North Carolina. The Blue Devils also discovered another weapon.

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Duke's Seth Curry (30) reacts after Duke secured a lead over North Carolina in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. Duke pulled out a 79-73 triumph.

Robert Willett, MCT Duke's Seth Curry (30) reacts after Duke secured a lead over North Carolina in the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. Duke pulled out a 79-73 triumph.

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Seth Curry had shown only glimpses of his offensive abilities this season, but his season-high 22 points helped Duke rally from a 16-point deficit to stun the Tar Heels 79-73 on Wednesday night.

Curry, who sat out 2009-10 after transferring from Liberty, helped the Blue Devils (22-2, 9-1) outscore North Carolina 50-30 in the second half.

He showed that he’s more than the younger brother of Stephen Curry, the hot-shooting guard who led Davidson to the 2008 Elite Eight and now plays for the Golden State Warriors, and the son of Dell Curry, a former NBA player.

“At times during the season I do stand around and watch Nolan [Smith] and Kyle [Singler],” Seth Curry said on Duke’s website. “But coming into [Wednesday night], I knew I had to be another punch out there for us. Nolan and I got going in the second half, and it felt like we were turning everything around. It was good to get that comeback.”

Curry scored 20 against Boston College on Jan. 27, but his production had been more sporadic than steady before Wednesday. He entered the game averaging 8.2 points after averaging 20.2 his freshman season at Liberty in 2008-09.

Curry will provide the defending national champs with much needed depth in the absence of freshman point guard Kyrie Irving, whose injured toe might keep him from playing again this season.

“Seth knows he’s a very good player, and he knows he can play in this league,” Smith said. “And he showed that -- on the biggest stage. He showed up and he played the way we know he can.”

On a roll

Wake Forest’s Travis McKie, who averages 12.4 points per game, leads all ACC freshmen with 18 games of 10 or more points. He also leads ACC freshmen with nine games in which he has either led or tied for the team lead in scoring.
Chandler Parsons had 14 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high eight assists in Florida’s victory over South Carolina on Wednesday, continuing an ultra-productive streak. He has double-doubles in three consecutive games and in four of his past six games. He averaged 12 rebounds per game in the past six games, reaching double figures in boards in every game of that streak. The Gators are 8-1 this season when Parsons attempts at least 10 shots from the field.
Joe Trapani averaged 18.8 points and 11 rebounds in Boston College’s past five games. He has reached double figures in 21 of the Eagles’ 24 games and had a career-high 15 rebounds Feb. 1.

Hot shot

Mississippi’s Chris Warren continues to lead the NCAA in free-throw shooting. He’s shooting 94.9 percent from the line (112-of-118) after going 9-for-9 in the Rebels’ 66-60 win over LSU on Wednesday and has made 70 of his past 72 attempts.

Have not

Tennessee (15-9, 5-4) is scuffling despite the return of coach Bruce Pearl, who was suspended for the first eight games of the SEC schedule, and leading scorer Scotty Hopson, who missed two games with a left ankle injury. The Volunteers have lost two consecutive games and must play at East-leading Florida (19-5, 8-2), which has won three consecutive, on Saturday.

News and notes

There have been 14 triple-doubles in Division I this season -- two by ACC players (Florida State’s Chris Singleton, who played at Cherokee and Dunwoody, and Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert) and two by SEC players (South Carolina’s Sam Muldrow and Vanderbilt’s Brad Tinsley). ... Malcolm White, who started 27 games at Mississippi in 2008-09 before transferring to LSU, scored eight points and had 11 rebounds in his first return visit to Oxford on Wednesday. White sat out last season because of NCAA transfer rules. ... North Carolina’s Kendall Marshall had 16 assists in Sunday’s 89-69 win over Florida State, the most by a Tar Heel in 948 ACC games and the third-best single-game mark by a freshman in conference history. ... Wake Forest freshman Melvin Tabb was cut by coach Jeff Bzdelik for “conduct detrimental to the team.” He averaged 1.6 points and had not played since Jan. 22.

Cross-country hops

Vermont (20-5) has reached the 20-win mark for the eighth time in the past 10 years after not accomplishing it in the program’s first 87 years. The Catamounts have won eight consecutive games and have matched the 2004-05 team for the program’s best start. ... A pair of Georgians -- Delwan Graham (Dunwoody) and Russell Powell (Newnan) -- have helped Jacksonville remain in the hunt in the Atlantic Sun. Graham averages 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds and Powell averages 8.4 points for the Dolphins (16-7, 10-4), who are 3 1/2 games behind first-place Belmont. ... Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried, who is 6 feet 8, leads the NCAA in rebounding at 14.2 per game. He also averages 17 points. Siena’s Ryan Rossiter is second at 12.8 rebounds. ... Northwestern’s JerShon Cobb (Columbia) averages 8.3 points in 21 games as a freshman. ... Butler’s Matt Howard needed eight stitches to close a cut above his eye that left his face bloody in Monday’s game against Illinois-Chicago. The Bulldogs’ top scorer and rebounder was expected to miss at least one game with a mild concussion. ... Shorter ranks 22nd in this week’s NAIA Division I poll.