It didn't take long for the Blue Devils to make everyone forget about last season's disappointing finish against Mercer.
No. 4 Duke cruised to a 113-44 win against Presbyterian Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium behind a combined 67 points from its freshman class and 30 assists on 42 made baskets.
"I like the way we shared the ball, really got great shots," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We passed up some good shots for some great shots. That's a great way to start."
The Blue Devils (1-0) didn't let any doubts linger very long, opening the game with a flurry of hoops while the defense stifled any and all offensive attempts by the Blue Hose (0-1). It was almost four full minutes before Presbyterian connected on its first basket of the game—a Will Truss dunk. In that time, Duke had already opened up a double-digit lead.
It wasn't just a hot start for the Blue Devils however—they were in complete control for the entire first half. After freshman forward Ed Drew hit a mid-range jumper from the right side, the Blue Hose had a glimmer of hope, cutting Duke's lead to 14 with 11:47 left in the period. What ensued was a devastating 16-0 run during the next five and a half minutes. By the 1:47 mark in the first half, the Blue Devils had pulled off a 31-6 run that ended any doubt about the game's conclusion.
"We just really played well together," forward Justise Winslow said. "We played smart, we shared the ball, defensively we had each other's backs. I think that's what got the run going."
Duke's top-ranked recruiting class spearheaded the Blue Devils' blistering first half. Tyus Jones opened the game with a nifty layup and an open 3-pointer before Jahlil Okafor hit a pair of easy hoops in the paint. Winslow followed all that by canning a triple to force Presbyterian head coach Gregg Nibert into calling a timeout—something he had to do all too often, calling his final stoppage with 16:02 still to play in the game. Showing no signs of nerves, all four freshmen poured in double-digits Friday.
Okafor was the top scorer for the Blue Devils Friday, finishing with 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Allen caught fired late, netting 13 second-half points to finish with 18, and Jones and Winslow chipped in 15 apiece.
"These freshmen aren't freshmen," senior Quinn Cook said. "I'm not calling them freshmen anymore. They're too mature, too good to be called freshmen.... All four of them bring a different skill, or a different thing to the table. All four of them are very mature, and they pick up things well. I can't say enough about them. They're great, all four of them."
Presbyterian showed some fire to open up the second half, scoring the first three buckets of the period. When freshman forward DeSean Murray—who finished with a team-high 14 points—threw down a dunk in transition, the Blue Hose looked to have stolen back some of the momentum. But any hope of a monumental comeback would be short-lived, as Jones hit a deep 3-pointer and then lobbed up a beautiful alley-oop to Winslow to set the game back on course.
From the 69-point rout, it appears as though Duke's perimeter shooting will be just fine this season, despite losing top shooters Rodney Hood, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton from last year's team. The Blue Devils shot 51.6 percent from behind the arc Friday, knocking down 16 of their 31 attempts, led by Cook's four 3-pointers. Winslow, Jones, Allen and sophomore Matt Jones all hit multiple triples as well. Even Marshall Plumlee got into the act, drilling a 3-pointer in the game's final minute.
"In practice sometimes we get caught up in taking bad shots when the help defense comes. [Tonight] we shared the ball. Guys were ready to shoot, and we shot it with confidence," Cook said. "[Coach tells us to] take Duke shots, take open shots. And when you have a coach telling you to shoot the ball, your confidence is at an all-time high. The guys who normally shoot the ball are going to shoot open shots."
Okafor added six rebounds, four assists and no turnovers to complement his 19-point performance, and Tyus Jones dished out seven assists in his collegiate debut. Thanks to the flurry of 3-pointers and dazzling ball movement, six Blue Devils ended the contest in double-figures.
"Our teammates are very close," Jones said. "We trust and believe in one another, so we came out tonight and just did that—believed in each other, helped each other out, and got each other going."
Duke now faces a short turnaround, as the Blue Devils will host Fairfield Saturday at 8 p.m.
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