Duke 80, Georgia Tech 71

Officials at Duke University announced Tuesday that Mike Krzyzewski would not coach in Tuesday night’s game.

Duke (15-6, 4-4 ACC) has lost four of their last five games and is unranked for the first time in eight seasons. With two games against Louisville, two games against North Carolina and a game against Virginia still remaining on their ACC schedule, that’s another game the Blue Devils can ill afford to lose.

Both the Irish and the Devils kept the game neck and neck as the Blue Devils tried to keep the hyped momentum roaring in Cameron, while the Fighting Irish fought to get back in sync.

It all has led to Duke being a shell of what they once were. Center Marshall Plumlee had a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Grayson Allen led the Blue Devils with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The Duke team that started the run featured five double-figure scorers DeMarcus Nelson, Kyle Singler, Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer, Greg Paulus and finished 28-6, losing to West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski will not be coaching the team tonight at Georgia Tech”. The Blue Devils will no doubt have to make some serious adjustments, as they haven’t looked good this season and have had some bad losses.

The Blue Devils also got 15 points from guard Derryck Thornton and 14 points and nine rebounds from forward Brandon Ingram. The school did not disclose Krzyzewski’s illness or provide any timetable for his return…

Adam Smith and Nick Jacobs led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points apiece. The biggest development though might have been the play of Derryck Thornton.

The inside game: Georgia Tech’s four big men shot a combined 10-for-12 in the first half and the team shot 58.1 percent and had a 40-36 lead at intermission. He scored 10 of the Wildcats’ first 14 points of the second half. Georgia Tech shot 37.5% from the field and 37.8% (5-18) from beyond the arc.

Krzyzewski coached the team in Monday morning’s practice and spoke on the ACC teleconference at noon before getting sick later in the day.