Duke routs Gardner-Webb 92-52

Duke put together its best performance of the season, routing Gardner-Webb 92-52.

Photo courtesy of Duke Athletics

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke got off to a slow start Tuesday, but flipped the switch deep in the first half and eventually cruised to a 92-52 victory over Gardner-Webb. 

Neither team appeared to be in rhythm through the first 10 minutes of action, combining for just 30 points. With 7:57 to go in the opening 20 minutes momentum quickly began to shift in Duke’s favor when freshman Trevor Keels connected on his third 3-pointer of the game. 

Though it took a full 1:48 before another basket was made by either team — a baby hook from Theo John — Duke’s defense began swarming, and the results soon followed. At that point in the game, Duke held a 28-17 advantage. By the end of the half that lead ballooned to 47-27. 

“I think we scored in the first half better off of our defense than off our offense,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We got those runs and guys were unselfish in passing when we got the runs and were really strong in finishing. 

“It’s kind of like an explosion there really — even I looked up and said, ‘whoa, we’re up by 23’ and we fouled on the last play to go up by 20 in the half. It was a closer game than that. Then for that minute, two minutes - probably couple minutes there it just went kind of crazy for us. It was really good to see.”

The Blue Devils’ most impressive stretch of the night might have come in the final 2:21 when they used a 10-3 run to blow things open. 

Keels was the star of the opening half, alongside sophomore Mark Williams, who had his best performance of the young season. Senior co-captain Joey Baker, also gave Duke a big lift in the opening 20 minutes. 

Duke never let up the rest of the night. 

The second half was all about continuing to put pressure on Gardner-Webb, and it was once again all about defense that helped lead the charge. 

After holding GWU to 34.8% from the floor and 7.1% from 3-point range in the first half, the Blue Devils continued to lock the visitors down keeping them to just 37.9% in the second half and 16% from long range. 

It was an absolute clinic with Duke turning the Bulldogs over 17 times, turning the miscues into 16 points. The turnovers allowed the Blue Devils to run, creating 15 fast break points. 

Wendell Moore Jr., was one of the stars in the second half, scoring 12 points for the Blue Devils. Banchero and A.J. Griffin also put together aa stout second half.

TREVOR KEELS CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

For the third game in a row, Keels started off Duke’s scoring with a 3-pointer. Tonight, he torched the nets, connecting on 4-of-6 from long range, while hitting 6-of-9 from the field. In addition to his offensive prowess, the freshman concluded the game as Duke’s second leading rebounder with seven. He also finished the night second on the team with four assists. 

“The team gives me a lot of confidence,” Keels said. “Coach gives me a lot of confidence. So when I’m open he says let it fly, so I let it fly. I feel good after the first three. I didn’t really notice that I hit the three every time to start the game.

“I’m feeling real confident in the game. It starts with preparation, working with Coach Scheyer before games. Work on it last night — working on my shot. Little stuff in my mechanics. I felt good today.”

Keels has set the tone for Duke on both ends of the floor continuously through four games, and there’s no reason to believe that characteristic is going to fade. 

Though he scored just two points in the second half, his offense was not needed. 

He ended the night with 18 points.  

Photo courtesy of Duke Athletics

BALL MOVEMENT 

Duke’s ball movement hasn’t exactly been anything to write home about this season so far, but it was certainly on point against Gardner-Webb. 

The Blue Devils handed out 24 assists on 36 made buckets. While some of that can be attributed to Duke’s ability to run and get fast break opportunities, the half-court offense was also much more fluid.

In the process, Duke owned the paint, scoring 52 points around the basket.  

Rather than passing the ball around the horn with little to no movement, like we’ve seen at times in the previous three games, the Blue Devils were moving constantly. The drive and kick was present. Screens were a big part of their success. 

“We want to come down and move the ball,” Moore said. “We don’t want to come down and just stand. We want to make a lot of passes, get the defense moving so we can open up drives. We open up drives, we get in the lane and force the defense to collapse and we make open shots.”

Overall, it was just much more fundamentally sound than we’ve seen to this point in the season. 

JOEY BAKER’S IMPACT

Baker gave Duke a shot in the arm when he entered the game in the opening half. That’s not to say Duke wasn’t playing with energy, because they were, but what they weren’t doing is playing with fluidity. 

It was in many ways disjointed. 

Baker changed all of that — or at the very least, played a major role in it. His energy changed the tone of the game in many ways, and along with Keels, helped pull Duke out of its early funk. 

The senior scored seven of his 12 points in the opening half, with not one of them coming from beyond the arc. Instead, Baker attacked the basket and found his way to the free throw line twice. 

“That’s something I’ve always known he’s had,” Moore said of Baker’s ability to get to the hoop. “I’ve known Joey since we were 12, 13 years old. He’s always been doing that. He’s a lot more confident now doing it and when he’s shooting it the way he does, you’re going to get a lot of open lanes. It’s not just about being aggressive, it’s taking advantage of everything.”

It wasn’t just his offense, though. He also recorded two steals in the opening half. Though just one of those resulted in points, it was how he lifted the team that was most impactful. 

He continued his strong play in the second half, ultimately finishing the night with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, three steals and two assists. 

Photo courtesy of Duke Athletics.

MARK WILLIAMS ARRIVAL 

We talked about it all preseason long — Mark Williams is poised for a huge year. Until tonight, we haven’t seen anything to back up all of our summer hype. 

And while it’s just one game — against Gardner-Webb — there are a lot of reasons to feel good about what the sophomore brought to the table. 

And for his sake, he’s probably leaving the night with a lot of confidence - as he should. 

“For Mark to not get down and look at [Saturday’s game] bad - he’s really worked hard with C-Well (assistant coach Chris Carrawell) and Amile (Jefferson),” Krzyzewski said. “The six blocks — he’s just got to learn about the physicality and initiate contact a little bit more. Tonight he did that a little bit more and it proved to be very good for him.”

Williams finally found some success on offense, scoring 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. As good as his offense was, though, it was his defense that changed the game. 

GWU’s plan was to work through the paint, and while Duke’s previous outings in the paint might have led to that approach, it didn’t workout for the visitors. 

Williams was a primary reason for that. He blocked six shots on the night, four of which came in the first 20 minutes. Aside from the blocks themselves, he altered shot after shot, ultimately wrecking Gardner-Webb’s game plan. 

This will likely be the Williams fans should expect to see more of as the season moves forward. 

JEREMY ROACH’S DEFENSE 

GWU’s head coach Tim Craft said following the game that Duke’s ball pressure was the difference maker for the night. He singled out Jeremy Roach, stating he “rattled” his point guards. 

Roach was clearly a factor in disrupting his opponents’ ability to find cohesion on offense and create easy opportunities. 

“He did a good job pressuring the ball all night,” Mark Williams said. “Then offensively I think he had 10 points, six assists. Bringing that on both sides of the ball is huge for us. He’s making those plays, making everybody better.”

PAOLO BANCHERO UPDATE 

News broke early Tuesday morning about reserve guard Michael Savarino — Krzyzewski’s grandson — being charged with a DWI just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning. The report also placed freshman star Paolo Banchero at the scene, where he was charged with aiding and abetting a DWI after Savarino was pulled over in his car while he sat in the backseat. 

Banchero was released at the scene, while Savarino was arrested after blowing a .08 on the breathalyzer test. 

“We had a violation of our standards,” Krzyzewski said. “And we’ll handle that internally. We’re already handling it. Violation of our standards and that’s it.”

In spite of the incident, Banchero was in the starting lineup against Gardner-Webb. 

Krzyzewski was asked what went into the decision to start the freshman, while Savarino was suspended from the team. 

“Two different situations,” he said. “Two entirely different situations. Headlines might make it look the same - it’s not. The decisions we made are in conjunction with our authorities - my superiors. We took action and will continue to take action.”