NEW YORK—For all the hoopla about whether Duke’s defense would continue to be so bad that the team would nearly lose games despite sporting arguably the nation’s most efficient offense, the Blue Devils hit just one field goal in the first 8:45 of play. But after two games in which Eastern Carolina and Vermont’s offenses scored at will against Duke, the defense upped the ante.
Limiting Alabama to 22 first-half points as Jabari Parker scored more than 20 points for the seventh time in as many collegiate games, the No. 6 Blue Devils beat the Crimson Tide 74-64 at Madison Square Garden to advance to the NIT Season Tip-off title game. Duke will play No. 4 Arizona, which squeaked past Drexel 66-62, in the championship Friday at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s about fighting for the program,” Rodney Hood said. “Since Kansas, we haven’t been playing like a Duke team defensively. We wanted to get off to a really good defensive start this game, and we did.”
Defense and communication were focal points for the Blue Devils, with head coach Mike Krzyzewski starting senior captains Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton in place of Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon. Thornton led the team with a career-high five steals, while Hairston was one of four Blue Devils to draw a charge—something that has been a rare sight with the new rules this season. The Crimson Tide entered the game shooting 52.4 percent from the field and was held to a season-low 40.4 percent.
Although Duke was markedly more cohesive defensively, the offense failed to generate any rhythm early on until freshman Matt Jones hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the team’s second and third field goals of the game. Jones’ 13 points were a career high.
“I just came out and let it fly,” Jones said. “When the first one, I was like, ‘Alright if you’re going to leave me open again, I’ll shoot the second one.'”
Jones’ 3-pointers sparked a 28-10 run that left Duke with a 33-22 halftime lead, with the entire burst coming as Hood sat on the bench after the sophomore captain picked up two early fouls. The Blue Devils stretched the lead to as much as 18 in the second half but allowed the Crimson Tide to creep back as their full-court press caused turnovers and missed shots.
Duke finished the game with 19 turnovers, and Alabama coughed it up 17 times, 11 of which came in the first half. When the lead peaked at 18, Alabama went on a 12-0 run that brought the game back within six, but a Parker layup stopped the rally and the Crimson Tide never got closer than five. Twenty-two of Alabama’s points came off turnovers, compared to 16 for the Blue Devils.
“Our halfcourt defense gave up 42 points,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s the best that we’ve played halfcourt defense.”
Parker contributed to Duke’s early struggles, missing back-to-back shots on the first two possessions and turning it over on the Blue Devils’ fourth time down the court. After a short stint on the bench, he quickly began to take over, finishing the game with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
“I have a long way to go—need to stay sharp and be sharp at the beginning of the game. I lacked that the first couple of minutes,” Parker said. “Whenever they look at Rodney or look at [Quinn Cook], I try to get the opportunities as much as possible.”
With the effort, Parker became the first freshman since Kevin Durant in 2006 to begin a season with seven consecutive 20-point games.
Sulaimon was relegated to a reserve role and came off the bench only after Jones and Andre Dawkins had already seen the floor. Sulaimon scored only one point but led Duke with five assists. Thornton added four assists, and Cook had two while also scoring 15 points.
After Thanksgiving in New York, the Blue Devils turn their focus to a highly-touted Arizona squad that has yet to lose this season, slipping past Drexel in their semifinal matchup.
“Arizona is probably ahead of some other teams… because they have guys who have played prominent roles, back,” Krzyzewski said. “Arizona is older, and they are really big for us.”
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