This week, The Blue Zone will be counting down the top five Duke basketball individual performances of the year. Checking in at No. 5: Rasheed Sulaimon against Creighton in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32.
The game: Duke 66, Creighton 50 on March 24
The player: Rasheed Sulaimon
The statline: 21 points on 5-for-9 shooting, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 8-of-10 free throws, five rebounds
The headline: THAT 'SHEED CREIGH, AIN'T IT JAYS?
The story: In an ugly game in which Duke and Creighton combined to shoot 34.3% and rack up 46 fouls, 'Sheed stepped up to lead the Blue Devils to victory.
Sulaimon had demonstrated the abilities to be Duke's best scorer at points this season, but was also inconsistent. In the Round of 64 against Albany, 'Sheed took just two shots and scored seven points.
But he was the lone bright spot offensively in the first half for the Blue Devils, scoring 11 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Duke's three seniors—Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee—combined for just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the first period.
Curry helped out in the second half, adding 13 more points, and Tyler Thornton added a surprising eight points off the bench, but this game belonged to 'Sheed.
Sulaimon followed up this memorable performance with another strong game in the Sweet 16, scoring 16 points against Michigan State.
The quote: “The coaches always tell me to stay aggressive,” Sulaimon said. “Look for my openings when they’re there, not to force anything but just to make reads, and if I have the shot to take it with confidence.”
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