It didn’t look pretty—especially in the first half—but the No. 2 Blue Devils were able to escape with a 66-56 victory against a scrappy Connecticut team Thursday night at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Despite having all five starters reach double figures—led by point guard Tyus Jones with 21—Duke was unable to find a true rhythm offensively, shooting less than 40 percent for the game. The Blue Devils used a 15-2 run in the early minutes of the second half to pull away from the defending national champion Huskies, who had erased an early deficit and tied the game at 30.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Win the battle of the titans: Thursday’s 12-point, eight rebound performance from Jahlil Okafor was a far cry from Monday’s stellar 25-point, 20 rebound clinic, but other post players stepped up for Duke as Okafor faced constant double teams on the block. Aided by a strong effort from Amile Jefferson—who led all players with 13 rebounds and contributed 11 points—the Blue Devils outrebounded the Huskies 40-29. Most importantly, Amida Brimah—Connecticut’s lone 7-footer and primary post threat—was limited to 13 minutes of action due to foul trouble and did not score at all after he torched Coppin State for 40 points his last time out.
- Contain the superstar: Coming into the game, Duke placed an emphasis on stopping Husky guard Ryan Boatright, but the 6-foot senior showed why he is considered one of the best guards in the country despite his small size. Boatright displayed great ball-handling skills and an impressive array of crossovers and dribble-drives as he racked up 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. He gave the Blue Devils all they could handle on the perimeter—on both ends of the floor—and hit a few tough treys late in the game to keep Connecticut within striking distance. But Duke did force Boatright into committing five turnovers, and ultimately slowed him down enough to come away with a win.
- Focus on the fundamentals: This one was a mixed bag. At times, the Blue Devils played the same brand of sloppy basketball that they did Monday against Elon. 19 turnovers—which eclipsed Monday’s season-high of 17—is far too many for Duke if it hopes to remain undefeated, but it did correct some of its woes from the free throw line. The Blue Devils attempted 34 shots from the charity stripe—21 more than Connecticut—and connected on nearly 75 percent of those, including several key makes down the stretch from the likes of Jones and Jefferson that kept the Huskies from mounting a successful comeback.
Three key plays:
- 16:26, second half: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout less than a minute into the second half and lit into his team, looking visibly furious on the sideline. The Huskies had tied the game at 30, but this drive through the lane and finish in traffic by Justise Winslow capped a brief 6-0 run for the Blue Devils that put them up for good and began to shift the game’s momentum.
- 3:14, second half: Following back-to-back layups by Connecticut forward Kentan Facey, the Huskies had cut the Duke lead to six. Jones drew multiple defenders as he drove to the basket, so he dished to his fellow classmate Winslow, who sat wide open in the corner. The Houston native buried the 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 60-51 advantage.
- 1:20, second half: It seemed like Winslow’s 3-pointer was the dagger, but in fact it was a shot inches away from the rim that finally killed Connecticut’s comeback quest. A deep trey from Boatright brought the Huskies back to within six, and Okafor had just missed two free throws to give Connecticut another glimmer of hope. Fortunately for Duke, Winslow came through in crunch time—muscling his way to the rebound of Okafor’s second miss and tapping it back in to finally seal the deal.
Three Key Stats:
- Zero points from the Duke bench: For a squad that began the season with hockey-style, five-for-five substitutions, the list of capable reserves looked quite thin for Duke. The transfer of Semi Ojeleye left the Blue Devils with one less body on the bench, but none of the other subs who see regular minutes—Rasheed Sulaimon, Marhsall Plumlee and Matt Jones—made a noticeable contribution on either end of the floor. Sulaimon’s performance was particularly poor—the junior guard had four missed shots and five turnovers in 17 minutes—and worrisome, as he is the team’s only consistent go-to scoring option of the bench.
- Duke gets to the free throw line 34 times: When the shots aren’t falling from the field—as was the case Thursday—the best way to put points on the board is to rack up free throw attempts. And that’s exactly what the Blue Devils did, drawing 24 personal fouls from Connecticut and gaining an 18-point edge from the charity stripe. Okafor went 6-for-11 from the line, so there’s still room for improvement there. Jones attempted 10 free throws—a good indication of his offensive aggressiveness, which has come and gone at times—and hit nine of them, including a cool 4-for-4 when trying to ice the game.
- Only 5 assists for Connecticut on 23 field goals: As individually talented as Boatright is, it’s tough to beat an athletic team like Duke without moving the ball around and forcing them to make quality rotations on defense. Too often, the ball would remain in the hands of just one Huskie for the majority of the possession, allowing the Blue Devils to set their defense and trap ball-handlers.
And the Duke game ball goes to…Amile Jefferson
The Huskies made a concerted effort to ensure that Okafor was not going to beat them, confronting him with constant double-teams and pushing him way off the block. Jefferson picked up the slack, recording 11 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocks for his second double-double of the season. The junior forward picked up four of those boards on the offensive glass, creating easy buckets for himself without demanding the ball on offense.
Jefferson also knocked down 5-of-7 free throws after entering the game shooting at just better than a 50 percent clip from the line and was indeed the x-factor Thursday night.
And the Connecticut game ball goes to…Ryan Boatright
Facing a Duke roster filled with high school All-Americans, there were many times when it looked like Boatright was actually the most talented player on the floor. The Blue Devils tried to guard Boatright with a rotation of defenders, but they all had trouble staying in front of him as he darted and slashed into the paint with relative ease. The senior guard finished well at the rim, tallying 22 points on just 13 shots—already his fifth 20-point outing of the season.
As Duke started to pull away in the second half, Boatright continued to hit shots in a valiant attempt to keep his team within striking distance. He knocked down three treys—all difficult, well-contested shots—late in the second half, but was never able to bring the Huskies closer than six, as the Blue Devils proved to be too much for the defending national champions.
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