Sometimes, an early double-digit lead can be too much of a good thing.
The Blue Devils looked poised to coast past Toledo Monday night, but the Rockets exploited Duke's defense for much of the first half to keep things close at Cameron Indoor Stadium. When the young Blue Devils ratcheted up the defensive intensity after halftime, they were able to put to rest any qualms of an upset bid in a way last year's team never did.
The first 20 minutes of Monday's game certainly brought back memories of last season's Duke defense, which repeatedly faltered down the stretch in games the Blue Devils had once led by double-digits. Jahlil Okafor and Quinn Cook put Toledo in an early 18-4 hole, but the Rockets immediately responded with a 9-0 run to close to within five.
Toledo made 10 of its last 12 shots in the first half, finding success by putting point guard Julius Brown in ball-screen action to allow the Rockets' leading scorer to penetrate. Brown had four baskets around the paint in the final 5:30, including a floater over the outstretched arm of Okafor at the buzzer to cut Duke's halftime lead to four.
"We didn't defend the ball-screen real well. [Brown] doesn't run it just to drive—he runs it to shoot behind the screen," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "When a guard can do that...that's a damn good guard. He was just better than we were during that time."
Brown carved through the Blue Devil defense with limited resistance—the Rockets scored on eight consecutive possessions at one point—enabling Toledo to have success in the paint in a way no mid-major opponent has so far this season against Duke. Thirty-eight of Toledo's 69 points came in the key; Duke—largely due to Okafor's dominance—had 40.
Last season, Duke's toughest game against a mid-major opponent came against Vermont, when the Blue Devils needed Rodney Hood's free throw in the final seconds to escape with a 91-90 win. The Catamounts dominated the Blue Devils in the paint in that game, 50-24, carving up a porous interior that would plague Duke the rest of the season.
But where last year's team did not—or could not—make the necessary adjustments, the Blue Devils came out of the locker room Monday with a renewed purpose on the defensive end.
"In the second half we did a good job of pressuring up more, making them make more passes, getting our hands on some balls, got some steals," captain Amile Jefferson said. "That's what gave us a chance to build on that lead."
The Blue Devils forced eight second-half turnovers and turned that defense into offense. Early in the frame, Jefferson ignited the crowd with a steal and pass ahead to a streaking Okafor for his second dunk in the span of 20 seconds, putting Duke ahead by eight.
Toledo would get no closer the rest of the way.
"Last year that Vermont team came here and it was their day—they played us really, really hard that day and we escaped with a win," Jefferson said. "Today, that wasn't the case. Maybe [it was] in the first half, but in the second half I think our guys fought. That's something we didn't do last year. We're over that, and I think it's evident, especially today. They made a run...and we stopped it. I was really proud of our guys for that."
Relying on three freshman starters against a Toledo team comprised of veterans and returning from a long break, the Blue Devils didn't do the little things on defense in the first half: switching and communication were poor; rim protection was lacking.
After intermission, those areas improved, after Krzyzewski implored his team to get more excited in the locker room. The head coach carried that mantra back with him to the sidelines, dropping down for a trademark Duke floor slap in the second half to spur on his team.
Message received.
"He has the most fire, the most energy, and if we just follow that, we'll be fine," Jefferson said.
After the Vermont game last season, Krzyzewski didn't mince words: "They were terrific, and we were awful."
Duke's second-half performance Monday against a potential NCAA tournament team had him in a much different mood. The Blue Devils shook off the rust from an 11-day hiatus and outscored Toledo by 13 in the final 20 minutes.
"We hit them hard and they hit us hard in those first four minutes [of the second half], and then our defense kind of took over. I thought our defense was outstanding and we took better care of the ball," Krzyzewski said. "Since the Wisconsin game, that was the best 20 minutes that we've played. We had spurts against Connecticut and spurts against Elon, but you weren't going to win by having a spurt against this team."
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