The men's basketball team returned to familiar territory with Wednesday night's 71-57 victory over UNC-Greensboro.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski was back at the helm, the Crazies were out in mass and the team was back in the familiar confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium, poised to kick off the 1995-96 home schedule in stellar fashion. The stage was set for a grand Duke entrance.
The only problem was that it took the Blue Devils nearly 12 minutes to shake off the left-over Alaskan numbness in their fingers and catch on fire. Sparked by the hustle and strong play of junior center Greg Newton, and timely three pointers by sophomore guard Steve Wojciechowski and senior guard Chris Collins, Duke ambushed the Spartans in the final minutes of the first half to vault from a 17-13 deficit to a 33-24 halftime lead.
The run served as a wake-up call to both players and fans, since the game up to that point could have been described as a defensive standoff. Neither team seemed to be able to put the ball through the iron, as sloppy play turned into turnovers, and contested jumpers resulted numerous bricks.
"I admire their team," Krzyzewski said following the game. "I think they play really good defense. Their offense is difficult to defend, and that's why I'm pleased with our defense. We got them into foul trouble early and we just started driving. We were not hitting our shots and they were putting good pressure on our shooters. I think we were accustomed up in Alaska to getting more open looks."
As a result of the stingy first-half defense, Duke was able to put up perhaps the most revealing statistic of the game. In the first 20 minutes of play, the Blue Devils traveled to the free-throw line a total of 13 times, compared to UNC-G's five, and converted all 13 attempts. The team finished the night with 27 trips to the charity stripe and made more than the Spartans attempted. It was a classic example of the aggressive, offensive Duke teams of old.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime, it appeared Krzyzewski and his team had reemphasized the importance of a patient offensive attack. Quickly the Blue Devils went inside to Newton, who had only scored five points in the first half. Following a Collins layup and drawn charge, Newton again found himself open on the interior and the recipient of an assist from junior guard Jeff Capel. In only two minutes, Duke changed the game from a close contest at halftime to a 15-point lead.
It seemed, however, that it was a case of too much, too early. Coming out of a time out, the Spartans were able to put on a little show of their own, cutting the Duke lead down to seven at 39-32. Their game plan of a controlled, spread-out attack seemed to be working against the Blue Devil defense.
"We threw every screen in America at them to try and get an open shot," UNC-G head coach Randy Peele said. "We also knew that Duke was good at creating their shots off the dribble, so we focused on stopping that."
By this time Krzyzewski had seen enough, and the Duke bench was whistled for a technical foul with 15:25 remaining in the game. It turned out to be the spark that the team needed heading into the final minutes.
"I thought our kids really responded well to that," Krzyzewski said. "I didn't expect it. It put us in a hole. It could have turned the whole game around... They bailed me out."
The Blue Devils cruised past the Spartans in the remaining minutes, as they never allowed the outcome to be in jeopardy. Down the stretch, strong play by Newton and key foul shooting kept UNC-G out of reach, as Duke was able to clear the bench with just under a minute left to play.
The final game statistics show a Duke team that is getting back to its old ways. The defense created 19 Spartan turnovers, and limited them to only 20 field goals on 49 attempts. The Blue Devils outrebounded UNC-G 33 to 29, and had five more assists than their opponents. Even though some of the players are struggling with their shots, it appears that this year's team will be able to weather the storm better with hard-nosed defense and intensity.
"There are just some nights when the shots won't go," Capel said. "But the reason why we won this game is because of defense. Defense doesn't have a night off, not this year. We had all of last year off defensively."
Another impressive aspect of the game was Duke's much-improved inside game. Newton finished the evening with career highs in points and rebounds, with 22 and 11, respectively. Even though senior Tony Moore got into early foul trouble, the Blue Devils were able to compete with the athletic front line of the Spartans by bringing in reserve freshman Taymon Domzalski.
"I'm pleased with my team," Krzyzewski said. "I thought that Tony Moore played much better. We need him to play better. I thought that Newton played well. Our big guys did a better job tonight."
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