In a contest featuring two coaches recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Duke raced out to a 29-12 lead against an undermanned Temple squad Wednesday night, and never looked back, coasting to a 82-57 victory.
Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy led the top-ranked Blue Devils, scoring 26 and 24 points respectively, along with pulling down 10 rebounds each.
The Owls' Lynn Greer, who lit up Wisconsin Monday night for 47 points, tallied 22 points in a losing effort. However, with Temple missing two offensive starters (Kevin Lyde was out with an ankle injury and David Hawkins is ineligible until next semester), its offensive leader struggled. Averaging over 28 points entering Wednesday night's contest, Greer connected on only eight of his 23 shots.
"I think Greer's one of the top players in the country," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's got great endurance. He played 50 minutes Monday night, and he played every minute tonight except right at the end, those last couple minutes. That kid's good."
Temple coach John Chaney bemoaned the loss of two of his side's main contributors, and questioned the remaining talent on his team's roster.
"Our whole season depends on Kevin Lyde and David Hawkins," Chaney said. "If Lyde sprains his ankle again, you won't see Temple at all, not in postseason play. He is our chance, and David Hawkins is our chance."
Cognizant of Temple's shortage of offensive weaponry, the Blue Devils attacked the Owls with reckless abandon, utilizing full-court defensive pressure and an aggressive transition offense.
"We wanted to get going up-and-down," Dunleavy said. "With their tempo deliberate and slowed down, we wanted to play a fast-paced game."
Duke exploded out of the box, as Temple responded poorly to the Blue Devils' defensive tenacity, frequently turning the ball over.
"I thought we played outstanding defense tonight," Krzyzewski said. "I thought it was the first full forty minutes of defense that we've played."
In contrast to the Owls' struggles, Duke began the game on a blistering pace, as Williams and Dunleavy were on fire from three-point range. The duo combined for 23 points in game's first 12 minutes, twenty-one of which came off long distance field goals.
"I thought we came out and did a great job right away," Dunleavy said. "Defensive pressure, pushing the ball, hitting the open threes, that's what we like to do."
Although pleased with his team's shooting performance, Krzyzewski was most impressed that Duke continued to play with intensity, even though Temple never mounted a threatening run.
"Overall we played with more aggression and it showed up in our rebounding," Krzyzewski said. "In the second half I thought we were much better, and that's how we got that twenty-point lead, our defense got us going."
The Blue Devils finished with 39-31 rebounding edge, which included a 14-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. Dunleavy credited his team's success on the glass to Temple's inability to hurt Duke in transition.
"We realized that this was a team that doesn't like to run, so we could send four guys to the glass," he said. "If we miss our threes, then maybe that's not such a bad thing, because we can get the rebound."
Against Temple's well-respected match-up zone defense Duke hoisted 33 three-point shots, including 20 in the first half. After making 7 of its first 13 attempts, Duke suddenly went cold, which Krzyzewski attributed to offensive complacency.
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