All season long, Duke has succeeded despite its lack of size in the frontcourt. Stumbling off the block Saturday against Michigan and with freshman Kyle Singler in foul trouble, the Blue Devils countered conventional wisdom again by going even smaller.
At the 7:22 mark of the first half, Duke led the Wolverines by just four, 18-14. The Blue Devils then came out of a media timeout with both Greg Paulus and Nolan Smith in the backcourt and 6-foot-6 Taylor King at center. Three minutes and two Michigan timeouts later, the game was effectively over.
Duke's small lineup scored 14 unanswered points on six consecutive possessions, pushing a tender four-point lead out to a robust 18-point cushion. Smith, King, and Jon Scheyer-the three bench players on the court-scored all 14 points and set the tone on a day when the Blue Devils were carried by their reserves.
"They gave us a big boost," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the smaller lineup. "There were some scrappy exchanges, multiple plays in an exchange down the court, and it resulted in either a big defensive stop for us or a real momentum basket. That broke it open."
For the game's first 12 minutes, both teams missed open looks and struggled to put points on the board. Duke's explosive offense-which entered the game averaging more than 85 points per contest this season-had mustered a meager 18 against the Wolverines' predominantly zone defense.
But Scheyer drained a three out of the media timeout, and Smith followed with seven points sandwiched around a King perimeter jumper. Smith's three from the wing culminated the 14-0 run, during which the Blue Devils were 5-of-5 from the field. Michigan head coach John Beilein was forced to call his second timeout in 90 seconds with his young Wolverines on the Cameron Indoor ropes.
"When we went on the court, we said, 'This is where we can blow the game open,'" Scheyer said. "We knew it was a crucial point. They had a lot of confidence, especially if we let them linger around, so that's something we talked about in the huddle."
The bench provided the difference all day, outscoring the Wolverines' reserves by 28 in Duke's win by as many points. King and Smith led the Blue Devils in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Smith did most of his damage in the first half, in which he scored 11 points in nine minutes, but he saved his best moves for after the intermission. The freshman guard showcased a swift first step, agile spin move and crisp crossover to beat Michigan defenders and get into the lane for open looks at the basket.
"Nolan did a fantastic job," King said. "He dribble-drived, and when people weren't available on the kick, he did a great job finishing.. He played a hell of a game."
King wasn't too bad himself, knocking down 7-of-12 from the field for a game-high 18 points. Krzyzewski was particularly pleased with how the freshmen responded from subpar games against Davidson last week, when the two combined for just three points.
Scheyer contributed his usual effort off the bench, scoring 10 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers. Despite not starting a single game this season, Scheyer is second on the team in minutes behind Nelson.
"Our bench players, like Coach says, can be starters," Smith said. "That's how we play. When we come off the bench, we just try to kick the energy level and intensity up another notch."
Scheyer's transition to being a role player after starting all but one game his freshman year is symbolic of Duke's season to date. Krzyzewski. who has historically played with a short bench, has extended his rotation to nine, sometimes 10 players. One season after having four players average over 30 minutes per game, no Blue Devil has surpassed that mark, and six players average nine points or more per contest.
"I don't think one of those guys at Duke has ever been a role player in his life," Beilein said. "And now they're all doing that, and they're just terrific at it."
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