Beyond the arc: Duke basketball vs Michigan State

In Duke’s first true test of the season, the No. 4 Blue Devils held off No. 19 Michigan State 81-71 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in the fourth annual Champions Classic. Duke got off to a quick start and was 7-of-7 from the field in the first five minutes, but the Spartans kept up by doing the little things, preventing the Blue Devils from pulling away until late in the game.

But once again,Duke's freshmen stole the show, demonstrating they intend to live up to the preseason hype. Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, and Justise Winslow combined for 48 of the team's points. The Spartans stayed in the game by dominating on the glass, outrebounding Duke 13 to five on the offensive glass, but could not get enough big plays down the stretch..

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Use the size advantage: Duke certainly benefited from Okafor’s size, as he successfully evaded double teams and recorded 17 points, five rebounds and one assist. In what seemed to be a theme of the night, Okafor also found himself in foul trouble and spent a total of ten minutes on the bench. Yet for a young player in his first major college game, Okafor performed extremely well under the pressure and was able to capitalize on the Spartan’s inability to match his size. As the season progresses, expect the Duke coaching staff to try to find a balance between aggression and staying on the court with its dominant big man.
• Stay hot from the perimeter: Having begun the season shooting 47.2 percent from the perimeter, Duke only improved against Michigan State, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range. Senior guard Quinn Cook knocked down three of his four attempts and Winslow, Tyus Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon all contributed from beyond the arc as well. As a team, the Blue Devils were 7-of-14 from downtown.
• Contain Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine: Containing Trice and Valentine proved to be less of an issue for Duke as both saw reduced minutes due to early foul trouble. Yet, even with reduced minutes, Trice and Valentine recorded 15 and 13 points, respectively, illustrating that the Blue Devils were not as effective in shutting down their opponent offensively as in their previous two match ups. As the quality of competition increases, look for defense to continue to be a point of focus for Duke, but also for the Blue Devils to continue to wear talented players down by getting them into foul trouble.

· Three key plays:

• 0:19, first half: After a Michigan State dominated ten minutes, Jones finds Sulaimon off a defensive rebound and sets up a 3-pointer from the junior guard to close out the scoring for Duke in the first half. The Blue Devils took a 40-33 lead into the locker room.
• 15:19, second half: Winslow gets his usual fastbreak highlight, converting a nifty steal into a coast-to-coast layup to put Duke up eight. The Houston native is a highlight waiting to happen and made sure he got another one Tuesday night.
• 7:58, second half: After Okafor exits the game with his fourth foul, Tyus Jones hits a dagger 3-pointer while getting fouled. After converting the free throw, the Apple Valley, Minn., native gave his team a crucial 64-51 lead with the play and took over the game late, scoring all 17 of his points in the second half.

Three key stats:

• Duke records only 14 assists: In the first two games of the season, the Blue Devils played selflessly, resulting in dominant wins with 30 and 22 total assists, respectively. Tyus Jones led the team in assists in both games, excelling at finding and creating opportunities for his teammates. Against Michigan State however, Duke recorded only 14 total assists, four of which came from the freshman Jones. The Spartans shut down the Blue Devil bench, holding the reserves to just seven points.
• Duke shoots 50% from three point range: Duke once again excelled from beyond the arc, shooting 50 percent from three as a team. 21 of the team’s final 81 points came from the perimeter and the Blue Devils will have to keep knocking down treys to keep the floor spaced around Okafor,
• Four personal fouls from Spartans Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine: A key in the win against Michigan State was the reduced minutes from Spartan stars Trice and Valentine. Head coach Tom Izzo's squad, which lost a majority of its scoring with the departures of Gary Harris, Adreian Payne and Keith Appling, was unable to create much else offensively from the bench.