Duke cruises past The Citadel 107-81
Duke used a strong second half effort behind near triple-doubles from Wendell Moore Jr. and Paolo Banchero to rout The Citadel.
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke finished its final primer Monday for No. 1 Gonzaga with a blowout victory over The Citadel 107-81.
While the Blue Devils ran away with the game in the second half, the scoreboard was much tighter in the first 20 minutes of play thanks to a 10-of-19 effort from 3-point range by the Bulldogs. The three-ball accounted for 30 of The Citadel’s 42 first half points.
In spite of the 3-pointer, The Citadel saw Duke stretch out its lead over the course of the half after keeping things close when the focus was geared more toward ball movement and scoring inside the arc. In fact, the Bulldogs started the game 5-of-6 from the floor before turning its attention to the 3.
Though it’s difficult to question a team’s approach when it knocks down nine of its last 12 shots from deep in the half, the threes did nothing more than keeping Duke at arms length. The visitors made just 1-of-8 the rest of the half.
The point is, The Citadel was playing a more fluid, consistent game without as many empty possessions when ball movement was a point of emphasis. The three served its purpose, but the one dimensional approach ultimately cost them despite making 18 of 34 shots from the perimeter.
“A lot of threes tonight,” Mike Krzyzewski said. “I didn’t think our defense was horrible on the three, they just knocked them down. In the first half they had four that they took a shot - the ball was loose. We didn’t have five guys do the umbrella for defensive rebounding and it went to them and they hit their shot four times, I think.
“Instead of having like an 11 point lead and the ball, it’s eight points. Instead of having a 12 point lead and the ball, it’s nine. To their credit. They got the ball and knocked it down.”
As one would expect, Krzyzewski made adjustments at halftime in how Duke defended against the perimeter.
His message to the team had nothing to do with Xs and Os, however. Instead, it was about being aggressive in going after 50-50 balls and rebounding better on the defensive end of the floor.
Ultimately, their improved efforts in that regard proved to be successful.
Though The Citadel shot a high percentage in the second half from long range as well, Duke held them to fewer attempts leading to 8-of-15 in the second half. While 15 3-point attempts is certainly a high number, 10 of those tries came in the final seven minutes of the game.
“Really, at that point, the main point of emphasis for us — they hit a lot of threes off of loose balls,” Wendell Moore Jr. said. “Long rebounds, balls flying around and we couldn’t really get our hands on it. It turned out to be maybe four or five threes for them.
“Really, we just had to get the first rebound. Couldn’t really allow second shots. Get after them more defensively with the ball pressure on the perimeter so their passes couldn’t be so easy. I felt like once we turned that around we ran them off the three-point line. That helped us get out in transition and get some easy buckets.”
While Duke was preventing The Citadel from getting open looks from the perimeter for most of the final half, they blew the doors open in the process thanks to a huge effort from Moore and Paolo Banchero, both of whom took over in the final 20 minutes.
The duo combined for 50 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists.
Simply put, they were nearly untouchable in the final half. They weren’t alone, however, as the Blue Devils put together a really complete effort in the second half in particular.
Five Blue Devils scored in double figures with Trevor Keels, Jeremy Roach and Mark Williams joining Banchero and Moore. Theo John and Joey Baker also gave Duke strong minutes off the bench.
BANCHERO DOMINATES IN THE SECOND HALF
The legend continues. Just when you feel as if you’ve got a grasp of Banchero’s skill-set, he shows us there’s much more for us all to see.
Monday night, he put his guard skills on full display. Banchero has said frequently that everyone always wants to put him in a box — he’s a big with skills. We have talked about it ad nauseam. And while we’re certainly repeating ourselves over and over when talking about the freshman’s game, it’s difficult not to acknowledge all that he brings to the table.
On this night, he put his ability to see the floor, initiate the offense and lead the break all on full display. And it was a thing of beauty.
“When Paolo is playing like that, we’re a very hard team to beat,“ Moore said. “He gives us so much offensively. He played really well defensively guarding their best player. He kind of limited him in the second half, which led to easy buckets for all of us. When he’s playing like that, we’re one tough team to stop.”
The freshman shot 10-of-19 from the field, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range for a game-high 28 points. As impressive as his scoring was, it was everything else that made him stand above the rest.
His eight rebounds and six assists made him practically unstoppable, and along with Moore proved to be the deciding factor in this game. Additionally, Banchero added two steals and one block to his stat sheet, while not turning the ball over a single time.
“Paolo was really strong with the ball tonight, it’s something he’s working on,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re a different team when he’s like that.
“The way Paolo played tonight, if he can play that way, then you get accustomed and different things open up for you.”
MORE FROM MOORE
As good as Banchero was — and he was special tonight — Moore might have been even better.
The junior was one assist and two rebounds shy of his second triple-double of the season. Moore finished the game with 22 points (13 in the second half) on 8-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds, nine assists and zero turnovers.
He has been stuffing the stat sheet all season long, but what is not noticed quite as much is how he is going about it. Moore simply goes about his business and controls the game without a lot of fanfare or flare.
Moore has played with an impressive composure, and focus all season long. And Monday night, he was once again dictating everything, notably on the offensive end of the floor. His decision-making and court vision helped lead Duke to an impressive 25 assists on 36 made baskets.
That high level of ball movement is a significant improvement from Duke’s first two games of the season, when it appeared to be a concern. Moore has seemingly taken it upon himself to change Duke’s look on offense, as most everything appears to run through the junior.
“We put the ball in his hands,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s not the point guard — he, Jeremy and Trevor can alternate. But by having the ball, he’s not just getting it and having to do something with it. He gets it - and if he’s on the wing and has to do something — no, he has it so he’s more familiar with the ball. And I think that’s helped. He’s our best communicator on the court.”
NOTEWORTHY
— Duke was outstanding from the free throw line, making 27-of-29 (93.1%). Keels and Moore each missed one. Joey Baker was a perfect 7-of-7, while Banchero was 6-of-6.
— The Blue Devils turned the ball over just three times, all coming in the first half.
“Wendell had nine (assists) and zero (turnovers), Paolo six and zero,” Krzyzewski said. “I mentioned to my staff, we talk during the game, I said we’re really being strong with the ball. But I would not have guessed that we only had three turnovers. We shared the ball beautifully in the second half. Twenty-five and three is very, very good. Our efficiency was off the charts.”
— Duke’s size advantage proved to be a problem for The Citadel, with the Blue Devils out-rebounding the visitors 46-29. Duke posted 18 offensive rebounds, converting them into 27 points. Moore and Banchero each had eight rebounds, while Mark Williams had seven, including four on the offensive glass. Williams also finished with 14 points.