Over the past two weeks, The Blue Zone has been counting down the top five performances from each of Duke’s graduating seniors during their collegiate careers. This week, we conclude with forward Mason Plumlee.
No. 5: Plumlee double-doubles as Duke defeats Kansas for Maui Invitational title
The date: November 23, 2011
The game: Duke 68, Kansas 61
Plumlee statline: 17 points, including 7-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, with 12 rebounds and two blocks.
The breakdown: This game will always be remembered for Tyler Thornton's awkward, off-balanced 3-pointer that helped Duke seal the 2011 Maui Invitational tournament, but Mason Plumlee enjoyed a very impressive game in his own right.
Plumlee and the No. 6 Blue Devils were trailing by four at halftime against the No. 14 Jayhawks, in a place where Duke had never lost before. What's more, behind the strength of Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey, Kansas had a seven board advantage in the rebounding department.
Plumlee saved his best performance in the tournament for the second half of the championship game. The junior forward poured in 11 of his 17 points in that half, all while helping harass Robinson into 6-for-15 shooting from the floor. Behind Plumlee's nine second half rebounds, Duke out-rebounded the Jayhawks by three in the second period.
The quote: “We got outrebounded heavily in the first half," Plumlee said. "Whenever you play teams with good bigs, one of the biggest things is winning the boards.”
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