EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - There was no stopping J.J. Redick Saturday.
Scoring a career-high 41 points, the senior cruised past Texas' guards one by one. Kenton Paulino, P.J. Tucker, Daniel Gibson and J.D. Lewis each tried their hands at guarding the shooter but found little success, as No. 1 Duke (9-0) routed No. 2 Texas, 97-66, at Continental Airlines Arena.
Six minutes into the game, Redick glanced at the scoreboard to see he had scored a quick 10 points. He said he realized then that he might be in for one of those days-one of those days when more than half of his shots would drop, when he would sink threes on the run or with a hand in his face. If his first few minutes were any indication of what was to come, he knew he'd have a special day.
And his teammates knew it too.
"When he's shooting like that, just get him the ball and be ready," freshman Greg Paulus said of Redick, who went 13-for-24 from the field.
Redick's hot shot gave the Blue Devils a commanding lead early in the game-one the Longhorns (8-1) could not overcome, even though they tried.
Paulino began the game chasing after Redick, but after about 10 minutes, Texas' head coach Rick Barnes reassigned Gibson to cover Duke's All-American guard, who showed no signs of stopping.
After Redick dismissed the efforts of three Longhorn guards, Lewis entered the game in the second half to try and quiet Redick but instead immediately committed two quick fouls. Then as if that weren't enough, Redick received an inbounds pass just inside the arc moments later and pump-faked. Lewis went flying past him as he tried to block his shot. Redick stepped back behind the line, set himself and sank an easy three-pointer, one of his career-high nine in the game.
"J.J. Redick is such a great player that he can create space to get his shot off," Barnes said.
Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge, who was quieted by Shelden Williams and Josh McRoberts in the paint, scored just eight points in the first half but came back in the second half and led the Longhorns with 21 points. Tucker and Paulino each contributed 14 points, which was a season high for Paulino. Forward Brad Buckman, who entered the game averaging 13.5 points per game, injured his right calf in the seventh minute and did not return.
Williams and McRoberts combined for 11 rebounds, and the senior added 23 points for the Blue Devils. Although his performance was somewhat overshadowed by Redick's, Williams held his own under the basket against one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the nation, Krzyzewski said. Along with his 23 points, Williams tallied five blocks and four assists.
Trailing by 12 at the half, Texas made its last-ditch effort shortly after the break. Gibson came out and demanded the ball, making a quick layup and a jumper, while leading a 9-2 Longhorn rally. But Krzyzewski called a timeout to regroup, and Redick's ensuing three and the team's strong defense stopped any hope of a Texas comeback. From there, the Blue Devil's lead only grew, and grew.
"They're overall physical nature on defense dominated us in the beginning of the game and the ending part of the second half," Tucker said. "Duke is the kind of team that plays hard for the entire game."
Both Redick and senior guard Sean Dockery said the Duke coaching staff had emphasized the importance of staying motivated and focused on both sides of the court throughout the game, no matter the opponent. Their defense kept most of Texas' players under their season averages in points and virtually silenced the Longhorn bench.
Although Saturday's 31-point win was the largest ever for a No. 1 team over No. 2, Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils are not harping on rankings. After all, he has coached more than 100 games at No. 1.
"We had a really good team performance," Krzyzewski said. "I thought we had a chance to win, but to win by a significant margin is not what I expected."
And with strong performances all around, Krzyzewski and his team are hoping the win will only motivate them further.
"Today was just about us getting better as a team," Redick said. "It's still a young season, and we want to establish ourselves and start playing to our full potential. This can either be a burst of energy or we can get complacent."
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