ATLANTA – When it was suggested to Mason Plumlee that Duke looked a bit fragile during stretches of Saturday’s 81-74 win over Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils’ junior forward didn’t disagree.

“I would just say it’s part of having a young team,” Plumlee said. “I wish I wasn’t still saying this now, but the more we’re in these situations and close games, the better we’ll get at it. We’re getting better.”

Easy to overlook after Duke’s 78-73 loss to Temple on Wednesday is the fact that this Blue Devil team is still a relatively young, inexperienced team. In addition to the underclassmen who are playing key minutes, juniors such as Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee have all taken on more expanded roles than in years past.

Updated 4:52 p.m.

ATLANTA – The most public of the consequences from Duke’s dreary effort against Temple on Wednesday night fell on junior forward Ryan Kelly.

While the entire Blue Devils team shared in the loss, Kelly was one of two players to be benched for Duke’s ACC opener against Georgia Tech, replaced in the starting lineup by Miles Plumlee. The other lineup change – Quinn Cook for Tyler Thornton at point guard – had as much to do with Cook’s ascension as anything Thornton did or did not do.

So while it might be convenient to say Kelly used his sudden status as a reserve as the impetus for his career-high 21 points in fifth-ranked Duke’s 81-74 victory over the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, Kelly said his motivation came from within.

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Duke is heading to Atlanta this afternoon for Saturday’s ACC opener against Georgia Tech (ESPNU, noon).

While the Yellow Jackets have been underwhelming so far this season – Georgia Tech has lost three games in a row, falling to Mercer (ouch), Fordham (double ouch) and Alabama by 25 points – the game will be an intriguing one for the fifth-ranked Blue Devils (12-2) after Wednesday's loss at Temple.

Derrick Favors, the top-ranked high school basketball player in the country, announced Wednesday night that he will sign with Georgia Tech, according the Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution-Journal web site.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/

Favors is a 6-foot-9 forward with great rebounding and shot blocking ability.The South Atlanta High star choose Georgia Tech over his other two finalists, N.C. State and Georgia.

The News & Observer has a reporter at Favors' press conference in Atlanta and will update with more details.

Top-ranked prep player to pick from among N.C. State, Georgia and Georgia Tech