HALFTIME: Duke 36, Temple 26

NEW YORK—It was a sloppy first half for both teams Friday night at the Barclays Center, but the Blue Devils' persistence on the boards allowed No. 4 Duke to take a 36-26 lead into the locker room.

The Blue Devils struggled mightily from the floor, shooting 30.8 percent and 27.3 percent from beyond the arc. Luckily for Duke, the Owls had equal trouble getting the ball in the hole, making just 10 of their 29 field goals in the half.

Duke utilized a very balanced scoring effort in the first half. Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor led the way with eight points, and three other Blue Devils had at least four points. Temple was led by Quenton DeCosey, who scored six in the period.

Here are some observations from the first half:

• Jahlil Okafor had trouble scoring early. After hitting his first attempt of the night the big man proceeded to miss his next five shots—as many as he'd missed all season coming into the day. The big man finished the half just 3-of-13 from the field.
• Although his shot wasn't falling, Okafor was getting after it on the glass, recording seven rebounds—all offensive—in the first half.
• After playing just one minute Tuesday against Michigan State, Grayson Allen came off the bench and immediately scored four points to provide a spark for Duke's second unit.
• Duke went 3:31 without a field goal, but was able to limit the Temple offense to maintain the lead throughout the cold spell.
• Once the cold streak was snapped, the Blue Devils rattled off a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 20-8.
• Tyus Jones' wizardry moving the ball was apparent throughout the first half, as the freshman from Apple Valley, Minn., racked up five assists in the period.
• Although he didn't shoot particularly well from the field, Winslow was aggressive late in the first half, getting to the charity stripe and putting points on the board for the Blue Devils.