Before the season, one of the main questions facing Duke was how a team with so many talented players would spread its offensive touches.
Wednesday, the Blue Devils showed that they know how to share.
In a play that made everyone in Cameron Indoor Stadium explode with a collective "Did you just see that?!," Sean Dockery picked up his dribble on the left wing and lofted a perfectly placed alley-oop to a soaring DeMarcus Nelson who seemed to float above the rim. The sophomore finished with a thunderous dunk, which put an exclamation point on a 15-0 Blue Devil run that spanned more than seven minutes.
"I knew Sean was going to throw me the pass," Nelson said. "That's something that we work on a lot. Actually we kind of kidded about it before the game, but we definitely knew it was going to happen eventually."
It was not just Duke's guards who were spreading the love though. Crisp passing down low helped to put Seton Hall in foul trouble immediately. Shelden Williams connected with Josh McRoberts on a slick give-and-go that resulted in the Pirates' second foul in just the first 30 seconds of the game.
Whether it was raining jumpers from the outside or working in the key, Duke's offense looked unstoppable.
The Blue Devils scored 93 points Wednesday night because Seton Hall had no answer for an offense that rapidly moved the ball and consistently found the open man.
After amassing just six assists in Monday's 64-47 win over Boston University, Duke exploded for 22 Wednesday. Of the 10 Blue Devils who saw significant action Wednesday, eight had at least one dime.
"We really shared the ball well offensively," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We only had six assists on Monday-tonight we had over 20, and we shot a great percentage as a result of taking great shots."
The Blue Devils were in constant motion and effective guard penetration freed up big men in the paint for easy layups and shooters for open looks outside. As a result, Duke shot 56 percent from behind the arc and 64 percent from the field on the night.
Early in the first half forward Josh McRoberts collected a rebound off a Williams block and quickly flipped a long outlet pass to Dockery beyond halfcourt. As Dockery drove down the lane and attracted a Seton Hall defender, the senior point guard immediately snapped a cross-court pass to a zeroed-in J.J. Redick for the senior All-American's first three-pointer of the season.
Duke's passing game would not have been nearly as successful, however, if not for the Blue Devils' stifling defensive pressure.
Duke held Seton Hall to just 13 points in the first half while the Pirates shot an embarrassing 13 percent from the field. The Blue Devils turned the Pirates' offensive woes into 19 transition points.
Dockery had a large part in the success on the break, passing for a career-high seven assists, while turning the ball over just once.
"I think we showed our capabilities on the defensive end and we just feed off of that," senior Lee Melchionni said. "I think we were hitting on all cylinders tonight."
With the offensive weapons Duke has at its disposal, few teams will be able to even hang with the Blue Devils if they continue to generate the type of ball movement they did Wednesday night.
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