The stars were out at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday.
As head coach Mike Krzyzewski celebrated his 1,000th game on the sidelines at Duke, a number of former members of the program—from Art Heyman to J.J. Redick—came out to honor the man who has become synonymous with Duke Basketball.
But on a day that marked a momentous occasion for the Blue Devils’ biggest star, it was an under-the-radar senior who led No. 8 Duke to a 77-56 victory over the Terrapins (16-7, 6-3 in the ACC) in a game that gave the Blue Devils sole possession of first place in the conference. Brian Zoubek had the signature performance of his career, notching a double-double with 16 points and 17 rebounds in his first start of the season.
“Brian was spectacular,” Krzyzewski said. “He played a great game, and he was kind of the difference there because we weren’t hitting as well in other areas.”
With Lance Thomas still slowed by the right knee injury he sustained Wednesday against North Carolina, Krzyzewski looked to insert another veteran into the starting backcourt—and Zoubek did not disappoint.
Duke (21-4, 9-2) built up a 16-point lead in the first half on hot shooting, including a 5-of-10 performance from beyond the arc. But Zoubek made his presence felt in the second half when the Blue Devils shot only 37.1 percent, and the team still put up 37 points off of multiple second-shot opportunities.
“I think [starting] added a little extra motivation,” Zoubek said. “I wanted to secure my spot and make sure they know that when I’m in there, I’m going to be helping the team. I did that tonight.”
Zoubek grabbed seven offensive boards in the period to help the Blue Devils score 12 second-chance points. Although the center only averages 5.3 points per game, he had a number of putbacks over the smaller Terrapins, including some surprising plays above the rim.
The senior had the highlight of the game early in the second half. Junior Kyle Singler misfired on a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Zoubek cleaned up the miss with a powerful dunk, earning a raucous ovation from the bench and the entire stadium.
“The dunk shocked the world,” junior Nolan Smith said. “ESPN should make that top 10 right now.”
Despite the senior’s efforts, the Terrapins made a run to cut the lead to ten with just over nine minutes remaining, yet the Blue Devils continued to make plays on the boards to maintain a comfortable margin.
On one possession, freshman Andre Dawkins let it fly from 3-point range early in the shot clock, and Singler kept the possession alive and fed Dawkins again, who missed once more. Zoubek picked up the rebound and tipped the ball in on his second try, giving Duke a 19-point advantage.
“We’ve been able to rebound against the Florida States and Wake Forests, which are also big front lines, but we just couldn’t do it today,” Maryland head coach Gary Williams said. “I thought it was just in keeping with the way we moved, trying to run the offense, trying to play good man-to-man defense—I thought that we didn’t move very well in any of those areas, and that carried right over to the rebounding.”
The Terrapins particularly struggled in the opening period. Leading scorer Greivis Vasquez missed his first four shots and the team’s only meaningful offensive production came off the bench from forward Cliff Tucker, who chipped in with 12 points.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils got off to a fast start, highlighted by an alley-oop from Smith to Mason Plumlee at the 14-minute mark. Smith continued to move the ball well in the first half and finished with five assists, including three off of wide-open 3-pointers by Scheyer and Singler.
Scheyer led the team with 22 points and Singler and Smith added with 10 and 14 points, respectively.
But the story of the game was Zoubek and his ability to produce a breakout performance after a series of solid efforts in the ACC.
“He should be getting a lot of credit with what he’s done with himself as a basketball player from where he was as a freshman to where he is now,” Williams said. “He is a guy that really found a way to enjoy his college basketball career.”
On a day that was full of milestones, Zoubek gave the Blue Devils yet another reason to celebrate.
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