Beyond the arc: Duke basketball vs. Fairfield

Coming off of a win Friday night, the No. 4 Blue Devils (2-0) showed up again Saturday for their second game—and second win—of the season against the Fairfield Stags (1-1). At the end of its second game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, Duke left Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 109-59 win.

Revisiting the three keys of the game:

• Rely on depth to maintain high energy: Although the starters of the game scored most of the points, the players off the bench for Duke showed tremendous promise once again. Sophomore guard Matt Jones and freshman guard Grayson Allen each had nine points, and Jones added five boards against the Stags. Marshall Plumlee and Semi Ojeleye combined for 15 points and Rasheed Sulaimon had four assists and a steal, impacting the game without taking a single shot. It is imperative for Tuesday’s game against No. 18 Michigan State that Duke has reliable subs who can continue to play well on both ends of the court and it will be interesting to see how the Blue Devil rotation unfolds.
  
• Control the Gilbert brothers: The Stags managed to stay within striking distance during the first half, which ended 44-30 in favor of Duke, led by Marcus Gilbert, who had 10 points, four rebounds and an assist in the period. He went on to finish with a solid performance with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and his brother, big man Malcolm Gilbert, added six points and two rebounds off the bench. Although the Gilbert brothers made a significant impact, the duo was held in check enough to allow the Blue Devils to blow the game open in the second half.
• Practice the press to create for freshmen: Duke put on another defensive show Saturday night. The Blue Devils held the Stags to just 41.5 percent shooting. With 27 defensive rebounds, Duke also displayed a huge presence in the paint. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski used the full-court press for most of the game with great success, as it forced 18 turnovers from Fairfield and sped up the tempo of the game. The defensive effort was also one of the reasons that the leading scorer for the Stags, Marcus Gilbert, fouled out by the end of the game.

Three Key Plays:

• 16:27, first half: Freshman Tyus Jones passes the ball to fellow freshman Justise Winslow for a huge 3-pointer early in the game. The shot energized the crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium and put the Blue Devils into double digits early in the game with a 10-4 lead.
• 00:04.5, first half: With seconds left in the first half, senior Quinn Cook passes the ball with a high pass to Winslow on an out-of-bounds play. Winslow leaps into the air and finishes with a smooth left-handed lay up. The play was a great way for Duke to walk off the court with momentum and a 14-point lead at halftime.
• 15:11, second half: Cook nails a deep 3-pointer off of a pass from Tyus Jones. The shot landed Cook his 1,000th point as a Blue Devil and gave Duke a 60-36 lead against the Stags. With the shot, the Washington, D.C., native became the 64th Blue Devil to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Three key stats:

• Four players in double figures: Winslow led the team with 18 points. Freshman center Jahlil Okafor and team captain Cook each added 17, and junior captain Amile Jefferson quietly scored 15. This bodes well for the team as it looks to play three ranked teams before the end of December. This is also a good sign that the team has moved on from last year’s dependence on individuals Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood to generate the bulk of the scoring.
• 12 steals once again: Both Friday and Saturday, the Blue Devils recorded 12 steals. This is evidence of Duke’s defensive success both nights. Most of the steals came as a result of the Blue Devils making a concerted to get into their man-to-man defense with focus and passion to try to wreak havoc.
• 64.5 percent shooting: With 40 made field goals on 62 attempts, the Blue Devils made nearly two-thirds of the shots they took. In order to have a successful season, Duke needs to continue this offensive trend and continue sharing the ball. The Blue Devils have combined for more than 50 assists in their first two games and need to keep sharing the ball if they want to shoot well again Tuesday,

And the Duke game ball goes to…Quinn Cook