CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - In the eight games preceding last night's contest against Virginia, Duke's bench averaged 17 points and 10.25 rebounds per game. There was some concern (hey, when your team is 24-1, you have to find something to be concerned about) that the team was becoming too reliant on its starting five.
Though coach Mike Krzyzewski continued to insist that it wasn't a problem, the 13-point, eight-rebound combined bench performance against North Carolina on Jan. 27 had highlighted what could have become a potential Achilles' heel for Duke as the season hits high gear.
Enter the Cavaliers. Exit your worries.
Highlighted by double-doubles from both Corey Maggette and Nate James, the Duke bench provided inspiration throughout last night's 100-54 drubbing of Virginia, giving the team a spark that holds real promise for the immediate future of this team.
In the first half, Maggette was simply everywhere. He first entered the game at the 15:01 mark with his team up 9-4.
Maggette from three-point land. Maggette slam dunk on a fast break. 14-4, Blue Devils. Ball game.
Elton Brand, who had a double-double of his own, knocked down two free throws. and then Maggette took over again. Transition layup. Free throw. Three minutes later, another three-pointer.
At that point, Maggette had been in the game for exactly four minutes and 48 seconds. He had 11 points. By the time the half ended, he had also collected four boards, in addition to playing suffocating defense on the ACC's leading scorer, Chris Williams of Virginia.
"Maggette was sensational tonight," Krzyzewski said. "I hate to single one guy out when the whole team played so well, but right from the beginning he played hard."
Add in the contributions by James and sophomore Chris Burgess, and the Duke bench totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. The Cavalier bench? No points, three rebounds, no contest.
With the outcome of the game no longer in question by halftime, the Blue Devil bench continued to pour it on in the second half. James upped his game totals to 11 points and 10 boards, recording his first career double-double and dominating the glass on both ends of the court.
"I just wanted to go out there and do anything I could," said James, whose previous career high in rebounds was six. "I told myself going into this game, 'I think I can get 10 boards,' so I went out and focused on that."
Against the Cavaliers, James hard-nosed play earned him 19 minutes on the court, and his production and minutes will be keys to the Blue Devils' success the remainder of this season.
"My last couple of games, my points had been coming off the offensive glass," said James, who was second on the team (behind Maggette) with three offensive rebounds. "I feel I can help the team most with my defense and rebounding."
Maggette finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
"We love Corey," Krzyzewski said. "He has an unbelievable attitude. He certainly could start for a lot of teams in this league, including ours. But he's coming off the bench, and he's fine with that role."
Burgess didn't put up incredible numbers, but his seven minutes off the bench in the first half added strong defense and an interior presence to the Blue Devils, in addition to giving Brand some breathing time.
"We have a lot more depth [than Virginia]," Krzyzewski said. "And if you play that well, it wears the other team out.... Chris in the first half played especially well."
Senior Taymon Domzalski, despite not playing in the first half, contributed nine points on 3-of-3 shooting and two rebounds in six minutes.
The total numbers for the Duke bench: 41 points (on 56-percent shooting) and 25 rebounds, both season highs for the Blue Devils in meaningful games. The bench could not have picked a better time to step up, since Duke will have less than 48 hours before its next game, at home against Wake Forest on Saturday.
"We're trying to implement the bench more," Brand said. "Corey in the first half was spectacular, and Nate the whole game was scoring and rebounding. That's important for us. The first five can't do it the whole game."
As each game becomes more and more important, the bench will have to be counted on to contribute like it did last night in order to improve Duke's chances of playing the really meaningful games at the end of March.
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