No. 13 Duke drums N.C. Central 121-56

Duke's highly touted freshmen had the 13th-ranked Blue Devils off to a fast start Friday night.

Taylor King scored 20 points while fellow rookie Kyle Singler added 15 to lead Duke past North Carolina Central 121-56, the Blue Devils' eighth straight season-opening victory.

Nolan Smith, a third freshman, added 16 points for the Blue Devils, who improved to 26-2 in openers under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. Gerald Henderson scored 15 points as Duke (1-0) finished with seven players in double figures.

Bryan Ayala scored 18 points for the Eagles (0-1), who were playing their first game as a Division I independent.

The teams had played exhibitions in each of the past three seasons, with Duke winning all three by an average of 42 points against the crosstown program. And while the Eagles had moved up from Division II, there was little they could do to keep this one from looking any different.

Duke's size, speed and athleticism overwhelmed the Eagles from the start, helping the Blue Devils build a 26-5 lead in the first 7 1/2 minutes and increase it to 33 points by halftime.

The 121 points were tied for sixth most in program history, while the 65-point victory margin was tied for fourth. Duke shot 57 percent and had 16 3-pointers for the game.

The Blue Devils are coming off a season in which they finished 22-11 and reached the NCAA tournament for the 12th straight year, yet struggled to live up to the program's lofty standard of past success. Duke lost eight of 12 games and closed the season with a first-round upset loss to Virginia Commonwealth.

The freshman class of Singler, King and Smith figures to offer a big boost to a group that Krzyzewski has said simply wore down late last year.

The 6-foot-6 King provided the early offensive spark, going 5-for-6 from the field and hitting three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes — including 3s on consecutive possessions just before halftime to make it 54-21.

The 6-8 Singler, the preseason pick for Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year, had a solid all-around game with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks in the half. He demonstrated his versatility on one play in which he ripped down a rebound with his right hand, dribbled the length of the floor and hit a layup while drawing a foul.

Along the way, all three provided plenty of energy, whether it was King falling over press row and into the "Cameron Crazies" while trying to deflect a pass or Smith's transition dunk to crack the 100-point mark with about six minutes left.

Smith, a 6-2 guard, finished 5-for-8 with four assists as part of the Blue Devils' withering perimeter pressure.

N.C. Central shot 35 percent for the game and committed 26 turnovers.