After losing their first meeting this season at Notre Dame, Duke was out to prove that they were new and improved this time around. Duke has faced doubts about their status as a championship contender, thanks to a bipolar start to ACC play. Saturday, Duke proved that when they are at their best, there are few better teams in the country.
Despite two early fouls on Jahlil Okafor, the Blue Devils came out red hot both offensively and defensively.
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Their defense was particularly impressive, and unexpected. Duke has been a subpar man-to-man team this season, as Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones have struggled to keep quicker guards out of the paint. Mike Krzyzewski has even implemented a zone defense (something he rarely does) to make up for their struggles.
After briefly fooling with the zone against the three-point heavy Irish offense, Duke unleashed a vintage performance reminiscent of Duke teams in the past that were known for playing stifling man-to-man defense. In the first half, Cook absolutely hounded Jerian Grant every time Grant had the ball in his hands. Grant missed all three of his shots in the first half, and scored only 1 point.
Marshall Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor were protecting the rim while Amile Jefferson played his usual, reliable defense. Crisp rotations and closeouts on the perimeter rarely gave the Fighting Irish a chance to breathe and limited open looks from three-point range.
They held Notre Dame to 36.4 percent shooting for the half, and a 5-for-10 effort from outside was the only thing keeping the game from becoming an even bloodier massacre.
It was a defensive effort Duke had not yet shown this season. The effort was there, the intensity was high, and most importantly, the fundamentals were solid.
But quite honestly, it didn’t matter how well Duke was defending, their offense was flat-out incendiary. As a team, the Blue Devils shot 81 percent (17-for-21) from the field, and 7-for-8 from three-point range. Somehow, they managed to miss three free-throws, but I’ll let that slide.
After the smoke cleared, Duke held a 50-24 halftime lead, with most of the damage coming after Okafor exited at the 11:57 mark due to foul trouble. It was a dominant performance, and undoubtedly the best the Devils have looked against an ACC opponent.
They could not quite sustain that high of a level of play in the second half, because shooting 81 percent is ridiculous, yet they still extended their lead. Their shooting percentage would dip down to a still great 60.8 percent, while Notre Dame’s would creep up to only 39.7 percent. Duke would finish off the Irish 90-60.
Justise Winslow was fantastic. The freshman swingman has busted through the “freshman wall” and regained the form he showed during the early part of the season. He was aggressive on offense, attacking Notre Dame’s slower guards off the dribble and finishing at the rim.
Winslow finished the game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and a pair of blocks. It was his fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures after failing to score in 10 minutes of action against St. Johns. If Duke keeps getting this version of Winslow moving forward, then the rest of the ACC should be very concerned.
Just in case the impressive first half sans Jahlil Okafor made anyone think Duke doesn’t need him, he quickly extinguished those ideas. Okafor returned in the second half to post his eighth double-double of the season. The big fella finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals on 9-for-11 from the floor.
Matt Jones scored 13 of his career-high 17 points in the first half, knocking down 3 three-pointers in the process. Tyus Jones was his cool, calm, and collected self, providing 12 points, seven assists, and five boards, without committing a single turnover.
It was an all-out domination, and a complete team-effort by the Blue Devils.
Losses to Miami and NC State appear to have been just a blip on the radar. Those losses came due to poor perimeter defense, and for now they seem to be in the process of solving those problems.
This Duke team can still play at an elite level if they defend. Virginia has the inside track to win the ACC regular season title, but Duke is still the most talented team in the conference. The Cavaliers have the better record, but with both teams playing at their best, I still think Duke is superior.
They have proven they can beat elite teams, having already beaten Wisconsin, Louisville, Virginia, and now Notre Dame so far this season.
Now it’s just a matter of finding the consistency to their defensive identity. If they can learn to mix-in their effective zone against poor shooting teams, and their newfound suffocating man-to-man against teams like Notre Dame, then they will be able to handle any matchup.
If this type of performance becomes the norm for Duke, they could wind up cutting down the nets in Greensboro, and perhaps even Indianapolis.
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