It took them a while to get their bearings straight, but the Blue Devils eventually started playing like the bigger, faster and stronger team they are as they cruised to a 95-42 victory over Division-II Lenoir-Rhyne in Wednesday's exhibition in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Just more than six minutes into the game, the two teams were locked at 13-13. But another six minutes later, Duke was wrapping up a 22-2 run, which was capped off by a tomahawk dunk from freshman Elliot Williams.
"From about the middle 10 minutes of the first half and most of the second half... we played really well defensively," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
In that short stretch, the Blue Devils showcased their speed and defensive prowess, scoring eight points off of seven turnovers. Duke continued to use the Bears' sloppy ball-handling to its advantage throughout the contest, converting their 20 turnovers into 27 points on the night. Four players recorded multiple takeaways, executing Krzyzewski's man-to-man scheme to near-perfection.
The bench provided the boost that was needed, and Dave McClure, in particular, chipped in 10 solid minutes-his limited time was a result of a head injury suffered in the second half-which keyed the defensive effort. During Duke's early run, the senior forward exhibited impressive ball-hawking skills on a coast-to-coast lay-up, coming off one of his three steals.
"Our defense really picked up when McClure came in," Krzyzewski said. "That's the kind of thing a veteran, good player can do.... We just started talking together."
After the break, the Blue Devils clamped down, holding Lenoir-Rhyne to just 13 points on 6-of-34 shooting. And Duke dominated the Bears offensively, as well-demonstrating keen communication on several highlight reel alley-oops and well-played fast breaks. But where the Blue Devils really shined was just where they were supposed to: in the paint.
With Lenoir-Rhyne's tallest player listed at 6-foot-8, Kyle Singler and Brian Zoubek were both dominant inside, putting up 37 points and grabbing 16 boards collectively.
Zoubek looked especially effective in the second half, picking up seven of his eight rebounds in 13 minutes. He attributed his agility down low in part to removing a metal cast from his shoe two weeks ago, which has allowed him to play with a higher degree of mobility.
"My footwork is a lot better," Zoubek said. "I had a cast in my shoe last year, and it's kind of hard to run on that, especially at 270 [pounds]. But I think having more mobility on the court has really helped me improve.
"I'll keep improving every week and start stringing better games together."
As for Singler, the sophomore looked comfortable at power forward and center. He led the team in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting. But Singler, who put on 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, still showed the versatility that made him such a threat a year ago, mixing in two 3-pointers with some crowd-pleasing dunks.
"I feel good right now," Singler said. "I think I'm playing a lot stronger. Throughout the game I feel more energized.... I don't feel like I'm slow by any means. Yeah, I gained weight, but it was good weight."
Although the big men carried the Blue Devil offense, Duke struggled from behind the arc. The team shot at a subpar 23.5-percent clip, much lower than the 33-percent average the squad registered last season.
It could have had something to do with the readjusted 3-point line, which was moved back one foot this season, but Krzyzewski maintained that his team won't be affected.
Aside from their outside shooting woes, though, the Blue Devils took care of business just as expected.
"We have bigger players, they're more talented, so we should win," Krzyzewski said. "And our guys did."
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