EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—A long break, a hostile environment and a storied program are not the best ingredients for a win against the reigning NCAA champs. Yet the Blue Devils faced exactly that gauntlet as they executed a 66-56 win Thursday night against Connecticut at the IZOD Center.
“That was a hard-fought game," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And we knew [Connecticut head coach] Kevin [Ollie]’s team was going to come at us hard, and they did.”
No. 2 Duke didn't look like the second-ranked team in the nation in the first half of Thursday's bout with the Huskies. The Blue Devils committed 12 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes—as many or more turnovers than the team had in the entirety of eight of its first nine games.
The team, which shoots 53.7 percent from the floor, hit just 32.0 percent of its attempts. And the club's top three scorers—Jahlil Okafor, Quinn Cook and Justise Winslow—combined to shoot just 2-for-11 in the opening period.
But who can blame them?
After all, the team is coming off a long layoff. Mind you, not a vacation—as, rest assured, nobody would describe finals week at a school like Duke as a vacation—but a layoff that resulted in an irregular practice schedule, impacting the team's ability continue to improve collectively. The rust showed against Elon Monday in the Blue Devils' first game since Dec. 3, and it showed again in the first half against Connecticut Thursday.
"Since we had that 12-day break…we haven’t been strong with the ball for these two games," Krzyzewski said. "And they took it from us, and that’s how they scored—off of turnovers—because our halfcourt defense was really good.”
As if rust wasn't enough of a problem, Duke also had to deal with the trouble of combatting a hostile crowd at the IZOD Center. The Northeast has long been friendly territory for the Blue Devils, who make a point of playing games in New York and New Jersey during the regular season, but that was not the case against the Huskies. Connecticut's students traveled well, and gave Duke grief all night. Although Krzyzewski may have thought the crowd was just as potent for his team as it was for Connecticut, and Cook said he thought the hostility was to be expected, that sentiment was not shared by the entirety of the team.
Now, having to deal with rust and hostility, Duke also had to deal with a program that knows how to win, with a trophy from last season's NCAA tournament as evidence.
"UConn, they’re a storied program, Duke is a storied program—really probably some of the best programs in the country," Winslow said. "So really this was a program game. This wasn’t really about us, it was about the programs and the history, and upholding that tradition, so in a way this game was a lot bigger than some of the other games we’ve played. The players on the court are very talented on both sides of the ball, the fans were really into it, great showing, the building was filled, and it was just high intensity.”
But even with all of these factors working against Duke, the Blue Devils still managed to pull off a double-digit win. The young team rose to the occasion in the second half, after a stern talking-to from its Hall of Fame head coach for being "out to lunch."
“Coach just got into us after that timeout [with the score tied 30-30], and that really just sparked us," Winslow said. "I think it was more collectively than individually we just all raised our games. And we just all tried to make plays.”
The team fed off of the pressure of having to combat the raucous Connecticut crowd, just as it did against Wisconsin earlier in December. After the Huskies tied the game, Duke rattled off a 15-2 run. Winslow scored 10 points in the second period, including a timely triple and a key tip-in off a missed free throw. The backcourt of Jones and Cook combined for 16 points in the second stanza and came up with three steals against the very talented Connecticut guards. Okafor and forward Amile Jefferson continued to control the glass—Duke outrebounded the Huskies 40-29—and kept foul trouble at the forefront of the Huskies' minds.
And that's what separates this team from the pack. When not at its best, Duke still manages to grind out wins against the top teams in college basketball. The Blue Devils won't look as strong as they did against the Badgers all the time, but if they can overcome all of the factors that were working against them Thursday night, then the future for Duke is a bright one.
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