While the Plumlee brothers set the tone early, Duke’s 87-45 dismantling of overmatched Hampton was dominated by one player—Kyrie Irving.
In his first game since Dec. 4, Irving led all scorers with 14 points to lead the Blue Devils in their first win of the NCAA Tournament.
One-seeded Duke jumped to a 7-0 lead at the onset of the game, and 16-seed Hampton struggled to keep up for the remaining 38 minutes. Pirates head coach Edward Joyner, Jr. admitted that his players weren’t able to compete with the size and athleticism of Miles and Mason Plumlee.
In the first half, Miles was unstoppable down low as he raked in 11 rebounds to go along with his six points, and Mason added seven points, including a ferocious two-handed reverse slam.
“I think it starts with the guards getting us the ball in good positions to score, as well as going after offensive rebounds,” Mason said. “We just have to play strong, and when you’re playing with good guards, they’re going to find you and hit you in the right spots.”
With 15:19 left to play in the first half, Irving entered the game to a standing ovation from the Duke faithful. He was cycled through the starting lineup, sometimes running the point and on other possessions playing the wing.
Irving struggled to find his rhythm as he was called for an offensive charge and then missed a floater, and his two first half points came from two made free throws.
The Duke defense, however, was absolutely suffocating, fluidly switching defenders and blocking the lane to prevent Hampton from gaining any momentum. The Blue Devils held the Pirates to 34.5 percent shooting for the game, and their top two scorers, Darrion Pellum and Kwame Morgan II, were limited to just nine and three points, respectively.
A balanced scoring attack helped Duke, as eight players scored before halftime to give the Blue Devils a 39-22 lead.
“The second half I was really pleased with our starters,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “You have a 17-point lead at halftime and held them to 22 points and you can get sloppy, and our guys played great in those first five minutes of the second half.”
Kyle Singler began the scoring with a quick jumper, followed by a Mason Plumlee 3-point play and two Seth Curry buckets from beyond the arc. After Singler added another 3-pointer and Nolan Smith threw down a powerful dunk, Krzyzewski had a comfortable enough lead to adjust his substitution rotations.
Duke switched between putting its entire starting lineup and all of its bench players on the floor. Smith ran the point for the starters while Irving was in control of the younger second team.
“The way the game went along, because we were playing very well, we were able to have him in with the unit that he has been practicing with,” Krzyzewski said. “So that gave him familiarity, [Irving] wasn’t worried about getting in Nolan’s way or anything like that. He could run a team.”
Irving exploded in the end of the game, reminding fans of why he was the most highly touted freshman in college basketball before his toe injury. He was quick and aggressive, scoring 12 points in the last six minutes behind two lightning-fast moves to the bucket and two 3-pointers.
“It felt a little bit natural toward the end of the game,” Irving said. “In the first half I wasn’t really being instinctive, I was thinking a little bit too much out there. But in the second half my rhythm came back.”
Irving’s 14 points were enough to lead Duke in scoring on a day when every player contributed to the offensive effort. 10 different Blue Devils scored, with Mason Plumlee finishing with 12 points and Andre Dawkins adding 13 to lead the pack.
While the substitution rotation in the second half gave many starters a chance to rest, Irving is focused on improving his conditioning for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament.
“The most important thing right now is staying on pace with our team and getting my conditioning up,” Irving said. “I haven’t been playing for three months, so it’s going to become better as we progress in the tournament…. Everything else will come. Being a basketball player out there, I play on instincts, so that will come.”
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