Blue Devils flex in 88-73 win over NCSU
Duke put together an impressive team showing Saturday to drop NC State at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
The youthful Duke Blue Devils learned a valuable lesson earlier this season against Ohio State. Put opponents away when given the opportunity.
For the second time this week, Duke did exactly that by finishing off NC State 88-73 on Saturday inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The message following the Blue Devils win over Wake Forest earlier in the week was to finish the first half strong, and come out even more aggressively in the second. That same approach was present Saturday, and Mike Krzyzewski’s squad mastered it yet again.
The first half was being run at a torrid pace, as both the Blue Devils and Wolfpack were determined to push the basketball and look to limit the need for half-court sets. This seemed to be particularly true for NC State, who was overmatched in size by Duke.
It appeared in many ways the Wolfpack wanted to avoid having to go at Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero as much as possible. If that was there mindset, Duke made it clear why that was important.
We will get to that point in a moment, but back to our original programming here. This was all about finishing the first half and opening the second in dominating fashion.
For the most part, this game was setting up to be a close battle. The Wolfpack even led early by as many as seven points before Duke ultimately closed the gap and tied the game up with just over 13 minutes to go in the opening half.
Even then, though, the Wolfpack did not falter at the Blue Devils pressure. Instead they kept Krzyzewski’s squad within arms reach, timing it up twice more and even regaining the lead with 9:44 left in the half.
But things quickly changed. That whole them of finishing the half with an unyielding aggression emerged in a big way. Duke held a nine point lead with 4:37 to go in the opening half. Though NC State did cut the lead briefly to four points, the Blue Devils began laying the foundation of a decisive victory.
By the end of the first half, Duke had turned a four point lead with 2:28 to go into a nine point advantage.
Then came the beginning of the second half. NC State scored the first bucket, but Duke quickly rattled off six points to extend its lead to 51-38 just 1:38 into the half. By the time the clock hit the 12 minute mark, Duke had pushed its lead to 19 points and that was that.
The Wolfpack did manage to cut Duke’s lead to nine points twice late in the game, but by that point, the Blue Devils already had everything under control.
And it was the way they ended the first half and began the second that led them to the decisive victory. Simply put, the Blue Devils put them away when the opportunity was there.
For a young team, that trait is hard to come by. And while it’s just two games, Duke has put that instinct of being being able to finish teams on display in back-to-back ACC contests.
That’s a product of the team listening to the coaches, but also learning from their own mistakes and allowing its team captains, Wendell Moore Jr. and Joey Baker to lead them.
Sure there was much more to this game than those four minutes of action, but they were defining minutes.
So, beyond the proper mindset, what provided the Blue Devils to match their play with the mentality?
Lets break it down:
POINTS IN THE PAINT
If there was ever a moment where a team desperately needed a specific player, Saturday was it for NC State, as their one key post presence, Manny Bates, is on the sidelines with an injury suffered at the beginning of the season.
And boy did Duke exploit it.
The Duke frontcourt, comprised of Williams, Banchero and Theo John, combined for 50 points (21-of-27 shooting), 21 rebounds, 10 blocks and six assists. The only negative was the 8 of 15 they shot from the free throw line.
That trio helped the Blue Devils post 58 points in the paint compared to the Wolfpack’s 38.
Of those 58 points, 56 came off of layups (38) and dunks (18).
Williams was just two blocks shy of a triple-double, finishing the game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and two assists. He was simply outstanding, and quite frankly unstoppable on either end of the floor.
He erased shot after shot, particularly in the second half when he swatted six of his eight blocks. Offensively, he was in position to get lobs, offensive boards, and he ran the floor like a gazelle for most of the game. It’s exactly the kind of showing Duke fans have been waiting on all season long. And it was special to watch.
Banchero was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and one block. He scored 13 of his 21 in the second half, while also grabbing six of his eight boards in the final 20 minutes. Once again, he faced an opponent that had no answer for him.
John was outstanding for Duke off the bench, finishing the day with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, while pulling down two rebounds and blocking one shot of his own. It was in many ways his best showing of the season.
The effort of these three players alone made the difference in the game.
That said, there is much more to note.
BALANCE
It wouldn’t be fair to simply speak of the frontcourt and not acknowledge how complete of a game — particularly offensively — that this team played.
Trevor Keels was phenomenal and he contributed in various ways from half to half. The freshman tied Williams for the team lead in scoring with 10 points in the first half, while also dishing out five assists, grabbing three rebounds and posting two steals.
In the second half, his shot was not quite there, as he posted just two more points to finish the day with 12. But, it didn’t impact the rest of his game. In fact, he added four more assists to end with a career high nine. He also posted three more steals, giving him five for the day.
As impressive as Williams’ showing was, Keels’ was equally noteworthy. His final stat-line read, 12 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals.
The thing for Duke is it didn’t stop with him.
Moore was also very impactful. Against Wake Forest his impact came more in the way of leadership. Today, it was leadership and on-court production in the form of another strong statistical game. He posted 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, grabbed four rebounds, handed out one assist and registered one steal. Nine of those points and all of those rebounds came in the second half.
AJ Griffin, who was fresh off a career night against Wake Forest, did not have quite the statistical showing, finishing with just three points, two rebounds and two assists. He did, however, impact the game with his strength and defensive presence.
Then there was Jeremy Roach and Joey Baker, who made impacts as well.
BENCH PLAY
If Duke wants to reach its ultimate abilities and goals, then the bench has to consistently play the way it did against the Wolfpack.
Roach, Baker and John combined for 46 huge minutes. As a whole, the Duke bench scored 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting, and 5 of 10 free throws. Yes, the latter number needs to be better, but this trio was outstanding.
In addition to the 18 points, they contributed five rebounds, five assists and one block. But they also gave Duke max effort, smart play and energy that influenced their teammates in an extremely positive manner.
It was their play off the bench that allowed Duke to maintain their tempo and pressure on the Wolfpack in the second half — thus finishing off the opponent.
All in all, Duke’s showing was as complete an effort as Mike Krzyzewski could have asked for coming into the game. Were there things that could be better? Certainly. But this team is trending upward and its doing it quickly.