PHILADELPHIA—Like much of this season, the trio of seniors led the way Friday afternoon for second-seeded Duke in its 73-61 NCAA Tournament second-round victory against 15th-seeded Albany.
Seth Curry scored a game-high 26 points and Mason Plumlee added 23 points and nine rebounds in a game in which Duke never trailed. Fellow senior Ryan Kelly contributed eight points and six rebounds of his own, and the Blue Devils rarely led by fewer than 10 for most of second half against the America East Conference champion Great Danes.
“We almost always get an opponent’s best shot where people are not afraid to lose,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They’re going to gain something if they win against us, but they’re not going to lose anything if they lose to us…. And as a result, teams are never going to quit, and this team wouldn’t, because they’re so well coached and they’re champions.”
Duke came out in the first half playing like a team with something to prove. After last year’s lost to 15th-seeded Lehigh in the Round of, Duke looked ready to compete early on against the Great Danes.
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Curry started off the scoring by knocking down an open three. The Blue Devils played aggressive defense and went to the boards hard from the opening whistle.
After extending the lead to double digits midway through the period, Duke failed to deliver a knockout punch before heading into the locker room. Sulaimon knocked down 3-of-4 free throws right before halftime to give the Blue Devils a nine-point halftime edge, but Albany managed to keep itself in the game by battling with Duke on the boards and knocking down a couple 3-pointers.
In the opening half, Quinn Cook's passing, Plumlee’s paint presence and Curry’s scoring—as well as solid play on both ends of the floor by Kelly—carried the Blue Devils. The three seniors poured in a combined 25 points in the first half, thanks in large part to Cook’s five assists.
Returning to his normal starting spot after being replaced by junior Tyler Thornton the past two games, Rasheed Sulaimon looked like his old self in the first half. The Houston, Tex. native scored seven points and pulled down a pair of rebounds in the opening period. The freshman’s ability to drive to the basket and create off the bonce also helped Duke space out the Great Danes’ defense.
Albany failed to find much offensive production from its starting five to start the game. Sharpshooter Jacob Iati and second-string forward Luke Devlin led the way for the Great Danes with seven points apiece, scoring more than half of Albany’s points in the opening period.
Duke and Albany went back and forth trading baskets to start the second half, but it did not take the Blue Devils long to regain the double-digit lead they surrendered midway through the first half. Early in the period the Great Danes could not find an answer for Curry’s outside shooting and penetration ability.
“He’s a great player,” Albany guard Mike Black said. “He’s at Duke for a reason. He made a lot of tough plays. The game plan was to stop him. Obviously we didn’t do too good of a job, so credit to him.”
Duke held its double-digit lead for most of the second half but let Albany chip away slowly from the foul line until Peter Hooley’s three with 6:12 left to play made it a 10-point ball game at 62-52.
After both teams traded baskets, Cook missed a layup and then fouled Iati, who knocked down both his free throws to bring the Blue Devils’ lead to single digits. On Duke’s ensuing possession, however, Curry scooped up a loose ball offensive rebound and converted an easy layup to bring the lead back to 10 and help the Blue Devils secure the victory.
“In close games, especially in the tournament, those are the types of things that win or lose your games,” Curry said. “I was trying to be alert on the offensive glass, somebody tipped it and I was just trying to get to it first.”
With 1:26 left to play, Hooley started off the long process of fouling and sending Blue Devils to the line by hacking Plumlee, who proceeded to knock down both his free throws and seal the deal against Albany.
The Great Danes prevented Duke from ever pulling away for good until the closing seconds of the game, as the former hit 9-of-15 shots from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils—normally averaging 7.8 3-pointers a game—were only able to connect on 4-of-11 shooting from downtown.
“Well you have to pick you poison,” Albany head coach Will Brown said. “They shoot the three so well, and after watching that game against Miami where Kelly had 40, I had some bad migraines, and I’m like, you know what, if they’re going to beat us, they’re going to beat us with twos, they’re not going to beat us with threes.”
Cook—despite scoring only four points—dished out 11 assists on the day, continually finding Plumlee on the inside and Curry on the outside for open looks and easy buckets. The 11 assists were Cook’s most since dishing out nine against Maryland Jan. 26.
“When Quinn is playing like that, we’re just a better basketball team.” Krzyzewski said. “I thought he played a great game, and we needed it.”
Duke’s first tournament victory since 2011 brings the school’s total win count up to 1,999. The Blue Devils will have the chance on Sunday to become just the fourth team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000 win mark.
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