CHARLOTTE -- Survive and move on.
Cliché? Sure.
But Duke did just that Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, beating Delaware State in an ugly 57-46 win.
The Blue Devils entered the tournament on an emotional high, having won last weekend's ACC Tournament and enjoying Sean Dockery's return to their lineup. The Hornets took them out of their rhythm, however, and made Duke look vulnerable.
After witnessing North Carolina put on an offensive execution clinic earlier in the day against Oakland, watching the Blue Devils score just 16 field goals the entire game was rather disgusting.
Yet give credit to the Hornets.
Delaware State's defense also held ACC Player of the Year J.J. Redick to his worst offensive output of the season, just seven points on 1-for-7 shooting from the field. Possibly more surprisingly, the Blue Devils were held without a three-pointer in the second half.
Duke wanted to speed the game up early, but Delaware State quickly proved they were not going to let that happen.
The Hornets slowed the game to a crawl, waiting until under 10 seconds on the shot clock on nearly every possession before isolating one of their players for drives to the basket.
Shelden Williams said Delaware State's offense resembled N.C. State's, which focuses on spreading the floor. The Hornets' tactic worked early as the game was knotted at 28 with five minutes left in the opening period.
But Duke's defense in the second half was nothing short of superb as the Hornets scored just one field goal in the first 11 minutes of the period.
This lackluster performance, however, begets an obvious question: How can Duke build on this before facing Mississippi State Sunday?
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski admitted his team did not play well, but it's hard to identify a single reason why other than the Hornets were better than what is expected from a 16 seed.
A look at the box score reveals just that. The Blue Devils were held to 41 percent shooting, but moved the ball moderately well, assisting on nine of the 16 baskets. Their defense was ripped apart at times in the first half, but it clamped down in the second.
Clearly if it plays like it did Friday, Duke has no shot at winning a national title. But leave it to Krzyzewski, who tied Dean Smith for the most NCAA Tournament wins Friday, to mastermind a game plan so the Blue Devils don't end to their season prematurely.
"We have to play better to get to where we want to be," Dockery said. "We need to work on our weaknesses tomorrow in practice and get humble again."
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