DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke can finally take a breather. Rodney Hood scored 21 points to help the sixth-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech 66-48 on Tuesday night, a game that followed a demanding stretch that included games against their fiercest rival and the nations top-ranked team in a span of about 48 hours. Duke (23-6, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) completed a stretch of five games in 11 days by beating the last-place Hokies (9-18, 2-13). "We need to get away a little bit," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We need to review our stuff instead of always planning for someone elses stuff." The Blue Devils fought to the final second to hold off Maryland on Feb. 15, then travelled to Georgia Tech before losing the weather-delayed rivalry game at North Carolina. Two nights later, they held off then-No. 1 Syracuse at home, then returned once more to Cameron Indoor Stadium to beat Virginia Tech in what Krzyzewski called "a grueling stretch." "Its kind of like -- I dont know if you do this -- getting that last bit out," Krzyzewski said. "Even though youve got two full containers, youre going to get that last little bit. Today was kind of, lets get it out there." Duke doesnt play again until next Wednesdays trip to Wake Forest, followed by the regular-season finale against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 8. The Blue Devils have won 32 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. "Probably everybody in the back of their minds was looking forward to (the break)," sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon said, "but at the same time we knew we had to take care of business." Hood said the coaches didnt let the players ease into this one, jumping on them about a sluggish pregame shootaround. The Blue Devils responded by running out to a 24-4 lead midway through the first half, though they struggled to land a game-finishing blow. "We started to warm up and we came back in and they got us pretty good because we didnt look like we were ready to go out there and fight," Hood said. "I mean, weve got to be prepared for that. The ACC tournament, you can play three or four games in three or four days so theres no excuse for us. I think its taxing on us, but weve got to be ready and get rejuvenated for next week." The win, along with Clemsons loss at Wake Forest, helped secure some extra rest for the Blue Devils. They are assured a top-four seed in Greensboro and the double-round bye that comes with it. Sulaimon scored 15 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 39 per cent and went 10 for 33 from 3-point range -- well below their ACC-leading 40.7 per cent from behind the arc. Freshman Trevor Thompson matched his season-high with 15 points for Virginia Tech, which has won once since the start of the calendar year. The injury-depleted Hokies have failed to reach 60 points in 10 of those 14 games. Still, Virginia Tech shot 48 per cent after halftime to keep the Blue Devils from running away with it. Virginia Tech finished with 15 turnovers, six from freshman Devin Wilson, that led to 22 points for the Blue Devils. The Hokies also went 8 minutes without a basket in the second half as Duke crept further ahead. "They do what bothers us, that pressure defence bothers us," Hokies coach James Johnson said. "And they did a good job with that. And at that time (in the second half), were probably running out of gas a little bit." Duke ran out to a 15-2 lead on Sulaimons first 3-pointer, then pushed ahead by 20 points when Sulaimon knocked down another 3 at the 9:50 mark. Virginia Tech closed the gap to 32-20 by halftime thanks to a spark from C.J. Barksdale, who had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting, and got within 34-27 on Jarell Eddies driving score with 17:59 left. But Sulaimon knocked down two 3s then reserve big man Marshall Plumlee slammed home a miss to push the lead to 51-36. The Hokies never got the lead to single digits again. Virginia Tech was short-handed once again for this game. Second-leading scorer Adam Smith (11 points) missed his 10th straight game with a left calf injury, third-leading scorer Ben Emelogu (10.8) missed his second straight with a left ankle injury while reserve forward Cadarian Raines played just 1 minute after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Mart... Mcsorley Kings Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Tige... Williams Kings Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. http:/... . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. [url=http://www.lakingsauthenticjersey.com/]Los Angeles Kings Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Wayne Gretzky Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends.The most under-rated team in the FBS resides in the great state of Michigan. To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Head Coach Mark Dantonio leads a capable offence, and one of the best defences the Big 10 has ever seen. Outside of a loss to Notre Dame back in September, the Spartans have been perfect, working their way up the BCS rankings where they currently sit 16th. With Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota and potentially Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship game still on the schedule, Michigan State has a chance to crack the Top 10 and wind up in the Rose Bowl. For a team you have heard very little about, the upside for the Spartans is incredibly high. And its well deserved. In their nine games, eight wins and one loss, the Spartans have given up more than 17 points just once. In their last three games theyve combined to give up just nine points total. They have allowed 11.6 points per game which is third-best in the FBS. Now paired with their daunting defence is an offence that has provided capable of keeping pace. Sophomore Connor Cook has taken over as the starting quarterback and has tossed 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Jeremy Langford has done a respectable job replacing Leveon Bell with 11 total touchdowns out of the backfield. The fact of the matter is the Spartans have been dismissed because of all the talk that the Big 10 is "down" and the conference is well behind the likes of the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12. The truth is while the depth in the conference is down; the top end could compete with all of those other conferences. The three-headed monster of Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin is capable of hanging with the other powers. Currently Michigan State sits behind Northern Illinois, Fresno State, and two-loss teams in UCLA and South Carolina in the BCS standings. On a neutral field the Spartans would win gamess against all four of those teams - a few of them handily.dddddddddddd Depending on how they perform the rest of the season, it may take until the bowl season for Michigan State to prove that their ranking has been a sham all along, and the Spartans should have been considered elite long ago. Teams dont need to score 60 points to be exciting or successful, and the Spartans are the number one team at proving that point. They have work left to be done, starting with the Cornhuskers this weekend, but keep an eye out for Michigan State as they take a run at the Big 10 Title and a berth in a BCS bowl game. Other notes from around the NCAA: -Michigan lost their first game at home under Brady Hoke, falling to Nebraska. Theyve combined for minus-69 rushing yards the last two games. -Tyler Gaffney ran the ball 45 times in Stanfords upset win over Oregon, good for the new Cardinal school record. -Auburn scored 55 points against Tennessee despite attempting only seven passes. Theyve won two straight games without attempting 10 passes in either contest. -92 points and 1,092 yards in the Texas A&M win over Mississippi State. In likely his last game at Kyle Field Johnny Manziel tossed five touchdowns and three interceptions. -Tyler Cameron completed five passes and threw three interceptions against FSU. Amazingly, he wasnt even the teams worst QB on the day – that title goes to Tanner Price who had three picks and only one completion. The six INTs by Florida State were a school record. -Pitt upset Notre Dame 28-21. In the fourth quarter Ray Vinopal had interceptions on back-to-back passes by Fighting Irish QB Tommy Rees. -The 38 points Alabama scored against LSU were the most since they put up 41 back in 1947. -UCF RB Storm Johnson had his third 100-yard rushing game of the year and the Knights are tops in the American Conference. The stat may not be that impressive, but the name Storm Johnson sure is. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '