Playing their second game in as many nights, the Blue Devils showed no signs of fatigue Saturday.
No. 4 Duke dispatched Fairfield 109-59 at Cameron Indoor Stadium behind another balanced effort. Four Blue Devils reached double-figures—led by 18 from freshman Justise Winslow—and Duke's pressure defense made life miserable for the Stags all night long.
Just as they did against Presbyterian in the season-opener, the Blue Devils jumped out to a big lead early against the Stags. After falling into a 2-0 hole—the only deficit it would face all night—Duke reeled off a 21-6 run, keyed by the play of Winslow. The Houston product scored seven straight for the Blue Devils in a variety of ways, converting a pair of free throws, finishing a lay-up and burying a 3-pointer.
"In that first five minutes, it’s about establishing what type of team we’re going to be [that night]," junior forward Amile Jefferson said. "Are we going to be a team that gives our opponent confidence, or are we going to knock them back from the beginning and make every pass an adventure, make their guards feel our pressure, make their bigs know that we’re not going to be able to rebound. By doing that in the first five minutes, it makes it much easier for other guys to sub in and do that same thing because they see what we’re doing."
Jefferson quietly tallied 15 points and nine rebounds Saturday, reaping the benefits of increased attention on Jahlil Okafor on the opposite block. The freshman from Chicago had a slow start but turned in another dazzling performance as well, finishing one board shy of his first collegiate double-double and scoring his 17 points in a variety of ways.
Okafor was joined in double-figures by Winslow, Jefferson, and senior Quinn Cook—who now has more than 1,000 points for his career. The balanced showing continued for Duke (2-0), as Grayson Allen and Matt Jones added nine points apiece and Marshall Plumlee and Semi Ojeleye scored 15 combined.
The Blue Devils shot a blistering 64.5 percent from the floor for the game, thanks in part to Okafor's 8-of-10 performance. The freshman said he takes pride in being efficient with his shots.
"I used to get really frustrated when I missed shots," Okafor said. "I remember as a child, I would stop playing if I missed a shot, [so] I enjoy shooting a high percentage."
Fairfield (1-1) attempted to make things interesting down the stretch in the first half, cutting into a 12-point lead, but Duke would respond to build a 14-point lead heading into the locker room. For the second consecutive night, Winslow turned in a highlight-reel-caliber out-of-bounds play, this time to beat the first-half buzzer.
Standing in front of the Fairfield bench, Cook sent a lob pass to the far side of the rim with 4.5 seconds on the clock, where Winslow leaped to catch it and lay it in off the glass in one motion.
"For about eight minutes in the first half we didn’t defend the ball-screen real well," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We didn’t talk. I was worried about that, the second game in two nights. It was a little bit of an edge, and we talked so well yesterday [against Presbyterian], so at halftime that was one of our keys—to talk—and they did, especially on defense."
The Blue Devils eclipsed the century mark for the second consecutive contest, the first time Duke has done so in its first two games since the 1991-92 season—a season that ended with Krzyzewski's squad cutting down the nets at the end of the year.
The attention given to Okafor—who drew double-teams at times and always commanded multiple sets of eyes from Fairfield defenders—enabled his teammates to move without the ball. Winslow made several well-timed cuts to the basket and was rewarded with on-point passes from his classmate, who was one of six Blue Devils with two or more assists.
With six guards able to run the floor, the Blue Devils pushed the pace Saturday, ignited in large part by their aggressive defense. Duke forced 18 Stag giveaways and turned them into 32 points.
A singular sequence in the second half perfectly illustrated the benefits of the Blue Devils' run-and-gun, high-pressure style.
Ahead by 29 with 12:10 to play, Krzyzewski continued to employ a full-court press, with Plumlee pressuring Fairfield big man Malcom Gilbert in the corner and forcing a panicked pass downcourt. Sophomore Matt Jones dropped back in coverage to pick off the prayer and pushed it ahead to start the fast break. The ball swung to freshman Grayson Allen in the corner, who buried a 3-pointer to increase the lead.
"We feel like we have tremendous on-the-ball and off-ball defenders. It’s kind of my job and Quinn’s job and Tyus’ job to pressure the ball and then Matt and Justise’s job to get in the passing lanes," junior Rasheed Sulaimon said. "When we do that, it can just cause a lot of havoc for the other team. We’re not going to get the steal all the time, but they start their offense farther out than they normally do, they get distracted and then the shot clock is lower when they initiate their offense."
Allen's bucket was part of a 10-0 Duke run in less than a minute, a quick spurt that the Blue Devils may rattle off frequently this year if they continue their effective ball pressure.
The Blue Devils will face their stiffest November test Tuesday in Indianapolis, when they meet No. 18 Michigan State in the fourth edition of the Champions Classic. The Spartans will present a formidable test, but two games into the season, Krzyzewksi likes what he sees from his unit.
"They have fun together," Krzyzewski said. "They just have to keep growing on the court."
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