DURHAM, N.C. -- Nobody expected Vermont to give No. 6 Duke much of a scare. Yet the Catamounts found a way to score seemingly at will against a program built on defence, and they came perhaps a moment shy of pulling the biggest upset of the young season. Duke needed a free throw from Rodney Hood with 5 seconds left and one final defensive stand to hold off Vermonts upset bid and beat the Catamounts 91-90 on Sunday night. Hector Harold scored 24 points and Clancy Rugg finished with 20 for Vermont (1-5). The America East favourites lost their fourth straight, dressed only nine healthy players but gave Duke all it could handle with by far its best shooting performance of the season. They "came into Duke with no pressure on us, and we played like there was no pressure on us," coach John Becker said. "Maybe this is a lesson learned for our guys." Vermont shot 64.8 per cent -- by far, its best performance of the season and the worst defensive showing by Duke. "We compete and play defence every game and every day at practice," Becker said. "Tonight, the ball went through the basket, and we were able to hang around with a really good team." Candon Rusins four-point play with 10.4 seconds left for Vermont tied it at 90. Hood brought the ball downcourt, drove the lane and drew contact from Rugg. Hood bounced his first free throw off the rim, then swished the second. Sandro Carissimo hurried the Catamounts downcourt and found Rusin in the corner, but he couldnt get a shot off before the buzzer. "We didnt win this game," Hood said. "We kind of deserved to lose the game, and we got lucky." Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the Catamounts "were terrific." "And we were awful," he added. Jabari Parker scored 26 points in his sixth straight 20-point performance. Hood finished with 22 for Duke (5-1), which extended its nonconference winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 106 games. Barely. "We played like a team that thought we would just show up and win," Krzyzewski said. "Thats how you get beat." Andre Dawkins scored 16 points and Quinn Cook added 14 for the Blue Devils. Cook broke a tie with a 3-pointer with just under 2 minutes left that made it 86-83. They stretched their lead to 88-84 on Rasheed Sulaimons free throw with 40.8 seconds to play before Carissimo made it a two-point game with his tip-in with 29 seconds remaining. Cook seemingly gave Duke a cushion when his two free throws with 19.4 seconds left made it 90-86 -- but when Sulaimon fouled Rusin on his deep 3-pointer, the Catamounts had another chance. Carissimo finished with 16 points and Luke Apfeld had 10 for Vermont, which fell to 3-17 against ACC schools and is winless against all of them except for Boston College. Yet the Catamounts looked plenty capable of taking advantage of a ripe Duke team that struggled all night to stop them. "Were not connected on the defensive end," Hood said. When the Blue Devils built a 61-49 lead on Parkers steal and fast-break dunk with 15 1/2 minutes left, that looked like the spark that would get the sluggish Duke defence going. Instead, Vermont reeled off 10 straight points after that as part of a 13-2 run. Harolds three-point play pulled the Catamounts to 63-62 with just over 11 minutes left. Carissimos free throw with 7:50 left tied it at 71. Harolds 3 from the key about a minute later put Vermont up 74-73 -- its first lead since early in the first half -- and neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way. Fake Oilers Jerseys .Y. - Referee Ed Hochuli referred to replay official Tom Sifferman by his nickname Jungle Boy, which was heard on the in-stadium microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers NFC wild-card game Saturday. Oilers Jerseys China . Calgarys Bo Levi Mitchell and Montreals Troy Smith will be the starting quarterbacks in a CFL season-opener for the first time in their careers. Both want to reinforce their No. 1 status. You can watch the game live in the first half of a doubleheader on TSN and TSN GO at 3:00pm et/Noon pt. https://www.cheapoilers.com/. The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Stitched Oilers Jerseys . 1 and reigning champion Caroline Wozniacki was among Thursdays third-round winners, while second- seeded Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the draw at the $4. Wholesale Oilers Jerseys . -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has a broken bone below his right eye after being struck by a bad-hop grounder, sidelining the star slugger for at least a week with opening day on deck.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Congratulations, NBA fans. I dont think you did a terrible job in voting for the NBA All-Star Game starters. That was a compliment. With 10 choices, you did brilliantly for nine of them. The fans chose Golden States Steph Curry and the Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant in the backcourt, alongside New Orleans Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin and Memphis Marc Gasol. In the East, itll be John Wall of the Washington Wizards with Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors in the backcourt. Some guy named LeBron, Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks will be the frontcourt. Bryant shouldnt start. We all know this. But, fans vote and thats what we get. For a while, I championed an idea of voting spectators being forced to pass a written exam to earn the privilege of All-Star selecting, but it seemed snobby. I had no problem with Anthony, namely because I dont know an Eastern Conference frontcourt player who was disrespected by not getting the job over Melo, who, by the way, is playing in his home arena for the All-Star game. With Kobe starting, it takes away the gig from James Harden, who rightfully deserves it. Thats not the case with Melo, plus the Bryant injustice will be righted since he tore his rotator cuff and will most likely miss the game on Feb. 15. The shocker was Lowry getting in ahead of Dwyane Wade. A late push sent the Raptors point guard to his first All-Star game and hell start, nonetheless. That makes the Eastern Conference reserves a little trickier. Does Wade still get in or does this open the door for a fourth Atlanta Hawks player, namely, Kyle Korver? (Late spoiler alert - I have three Hawks.) The other question in the Western Conference is how many old-guard players get the vote? In other words, do the coaches even bother to pay attention or just select Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki out of habit? Both are having good seasons on good teams, but are there are better candidates? With that, here is who I would vote for if I was a head coach in the NBA. I need two backcourt players, three frontcourt players and two wild-cards. Some were harder than others, feelings will always be hurt, but heres my picks. And remember, this isnt necessarily who I believe will get the nods, although I dont actually think its going to be far off. WESTERN CONFERENCE BACKCOURT JAMES HARDEN, Houston Rockets; RUSSELL WESTBROOK, Oklahoma City Thunder Harden is the MVP of the league, so lets save time and not detail why he should go to New York. Westbrook has played 28 games and its enough for me. Hes averaging a staggering 25.1 points per game at the point guard position, but hes also posting 7.4 assists per game, which is a half an assist higher than last season. Westbrook is dominating games for the Thunder, while still allowing Kevin Durant to be himself. Plus, Westbrook is a premiere defender who can wreak havoc on a game from that side of the floor. He leads the NBA in steals and has done enough to get the call. WESTERN CONFERENCE FRONTCOURT LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE, Portland Trail Blazers; DEMARCUS COUSINS, Sacramento Kings; TIM DUNCAN, San Antonio Spurs Aldridge is a no-brainer and the Blazers are having a fantastic season. They deserve representation and Aldridge is having another amazing campaign. Hes averaging 23.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.2 percent from 3-point range, although the sample size is small. Hes out for the next 6-8 weeks, so hell need a replacement, but should get a unanimous nod. Cousins ranks fourth in the league in scoring and third in rebounding. Those are strong positions and the knock on Cousins will be the Kings record, which is 16-26. However, Cousins missed 11 games, mostly because of a serious illness, and Sacramentos record with him in the lineup is 14-17. Thats respectable and his numbers are outstanding enough to warrant inclusion. Duncan was the toughest choice in the West. Durant only played 19 games to this point and its just not enough. Plus, are we comfortable having two OKC players in the game when it isnt even a postseason team? Duncan has missed only five games and hes playing the most minutes a night since the 2009-10 season. Duncan is averaging 14.7 ppg, which is down from seasons past, but hes also getting 10.0 rpg and is a legitimate NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Normally, I frown on lifetime achievement awards in All-Star selections, but hes anchoring a San Antonio team still entrenched in the postseason. WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD-CARDS DAMIAN LILLARD, Portland Trail Blazers; KLAY THOMPSON, Golden State Warriors Lillards scoring is up. His assists are up. His rebounding is up. His steals are up. His field-goal percentage is up. And all those numbers are up after a season in which he made the All-Star team. Portland is great, so its pretty simple to pencil Lillard into the game. Thompson is the second-best player on the best team in the conference. Simply put, the Warriors deserve two All-Stars and Thompson deserves to be the other one. Hes averaging 21.9 ppg and every other statistical category shows significant increases from last season. Thompson is fifth in 3-point shooting percentage and has become an elite wing defender. BONUS WESTERN CONFERENCE INJURY REPLACEMENTS FOR KOBE BRYANT AND LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE KEVIN DURANT, Oklahoma City Thunder; MONTA ELLIS, Dallas Mavericks I feel much better putting Durant in as a replacement. The 19 games is not enough, but his impact on the Thunder is undeniable. Plus, hes the second- best player in the league, thus, a case can be made for his inclusion automatically (plus, I think the ccoaches are putting him in, no matter what).dddddddddddd You may have noticed there are no Dallas Mavericks previously listed. They are the best team without representation to this point and Ellis, not Nowitzki, is the most deserving Dallas player. Ellis averages 20.0 ppg, 4.5 apg and shoots 33 percent from long range. Hes been ignored for All-Star games in the past because of the perception hes just a scorer, but his season and a half in Dallas proved hes more. OTHERS UNDER CONSIDERATION: DIRK NOWITZKI, Dallas Mavericks; CHRIS PAUL, Los Angeles Clippers; MIKE CONLEY, Memphis Grizzlies EASTERN CONFERENCE BACKCOURT JIMMY BUTLER, Chicago Bulls; JEFF TEAGUE, Atlanta Hawks Butler is an obvious choice. In just a minute more per game, Butlers scoring is up 7.4 ppg, his assists are up 0.6 a night and his rebounding is 1.1 better. His shooting percentages are 46 from the floor, 35 from 3-point range and 83 from the foul line. Butler is a stout defender, plays the most minutes in the league and has been the best thing about a Bulls team that is in line to host a first-round playoff series. Career highs in scoring, assists, rebounding and field-goal percentage make Teague an attractive option. The fact his team is six games ahead in the Eastern Conference helps. Atlantas dominance is going to send a lot of Hawks to New York and Teague is the most undisputed of them all. Hes also a solid defender. EASTERN CONFERENCE FRONTCOURT AL HORFORD, Atlanta Hawks; PAUL MILLSAP, Atlanta Hawks; CHRIS BOSH, Miami Heat This group is admittedly thin. Preseason, we all assumed Kevin Love would be in this mix, if not starting, but the Cavs have underachieved, and, despite very solid numbers (17.7 ppg/10.4 rpg), Love cant be voted in here. Theres no rational justification for having three Cleveland players on the roster. Damn. Spoiler alert for the wild cards. Horford missed most of last season and it was easy to forget hes a two-time All-Star. Upon his return, Horfords numbers are down from seasons prior, but thats because head coach Mike Budenholzer employs a more passing-friendly offense than previous Hawks head coaches. Horford has very good scoring and field-goal percentage stats; however, his rebounding is down considerably from prior campaigns. Still, Horford is the defensive anchor for a team that is first in opponents scoring. Millsap is more-polished than Horford offensively and his 3-point shooting has become a legitimate weapon. Hes the second-best player on the best team in the conference and thats enough. The Hawks deserve massive representation because they are clearly better than all. Millsap is a guy whose numbers dont jump out at you, but watch him and youll know hes one of the six best frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference. Bosh actually emerged as the most obvious candidate. His scoring is up over five ppg since LeBron took his talents home. Rebounding has improved. Assists are better. Three-point shooting is surprisingly strong. Miami still passes for a playoff team in the 2014-15 version of the Eastern Conference. EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD-CARD KYRIE IRVING, Cleveland Cavaliers; EH ... I NEED MORE TIME TO THINK I dont know what to make of Irvings season. With James and Love in town, youd expect Irvings scoring to go down and his assists would go up. Thats false. Irvings scoring is up from last season to 21 ppg and his assists sank from 6.1 per game in 2013-14 to 5.3 in 2014-15. Uncle Drews field-goal and 3- point percentages are both ahead of last season. Its been a strange campaign in Cleveland, but Irvings numbers and impact are enough to get him into the show, where he won MVP last year. Oh man. Wade or Korver? Its a classic philosophical All-Star debate: Do you reward winning over all else or do you reward better individual achievement, coupled with name recognition? Heres the case for Wade. Hes averaging 21.8 ppg, which ranks 12th. His assists are at 5.5 per game and his rebounding is at 4.0 and those are really impressive posts for a shooting guard. Wade has played 32 games and has Miami in the mix in the Eastern Conference. However, the Heat are six games under .500. Can we justify having two Miami players with a losing record? Now, for Korvers case. The Hawks are six games clear of everyone. Theyve done it in Budenholzers style, which is Gregg Popovichs style of teamwork and passing. Individually, Korvers scoring is at its highest since the 2006-07 season at 13.1 ppg. His 3-point shooting is an astronomical 53.5 percent, his field-goal percentage is at 51.8 and his free-throw percentage is 92.2. If that continues, Korver will become the second player in NBA history to have a season of 50/50/90 and the other was Steve Kerr, who is, coincidentally the coach of the Western Conference All-Stars. Kerr did it as a bench player. Korver is doing it as a starter. Korver is also the most clutch shooter in the NBA with eye-opening numbers in the fourth quarter and overtime. Part of me wanted to hedge my bet and get a second Washington player like Marcin Gortat or Bradley Beal in there. Or, maybe Jonas Valanciunas from the Toronto Raptors could justify their strong season with a second selection. All right, a man has to make tough decisions. Im going with KYLE KORVER, Atlanta Hawks. I cant justify two Heat All-Star players with the team six games under .500, especially in the Eastern Conference. The other factor is Korvers clutch factor in the fourth quarter and overtime. Korver is a better all-around player than he gets credit for, so Ill take four Hawks. OTHERS UNDER CONSDIDERATION: DWYANE WADE, Miami Heat; MARCIN GORTAT and BRADLEY BEAL, Washington Wizards ' ' '