SOUTH BEND, Ind.—In a battle of two of the top five most efficient offenses in college basketball, there has been no shortage of excitement in the opening 20 minutes.
No. 4 Duke holds a slim 39-36 edge against No. 8 Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion.
After pounding the ball inside early on, Cook started to hurt the Fighting Irish from behind the arc. The senior captain drilled two triples—one from each corner—to stake the Blue Devils to a 16-13 edge and finished the frame with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
But Notre Dame reeled off 12 of the next 14 points, including a couple of deep 3-pointers from star guard Jerian Grant over the outstretched arm of Amile Jefferson. The Fighting Irish entered the game shooting 40 percent from long range, and have been on target through the first 20 minutes, knocking down 4-of-11 3-pointers. Grant racked up 13 points, six assists and three steals in the first half.
The Blue Devils have created a lot of easy scoring opportunities for Notre Dame with self-inflicted wounds. Several Duke giveaways led to transition baskets for the Fighting Irish, with junior forward Zach Auguste the primary beneficiary. A defensive breakdown in communication early in the half also gave Auguste an uncontested lane to the basket, which he turned into an emphatic dunk.
After falling behind 25-17, Duke used a 17-6 run of its own to reclaim the lead, punctuated by a steal and dunk by junior Rasheed Sulaimon. The teams traded baskets in the final minutes to send the Blue Devils to the locker room ahead by three.
Okafor landed awkwardly after twirling baseline and was checked on the Duke sideline, but quickly re-entered and converted a nice baseline drive to briefly give the Blue Devils back a one-point lead. He finished the period with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds and has received a surprising amount of single coverage so far.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Duke made it a point of emphasis to get the ball inside early. Amile Jefferson scored the first four points for the Blue Devils, and Jahlil Okafor added the next four.
- After the unit closed out Krzyzewski’s 1,000th win Sunday at Madison Square Garden, Matt Jones and Marshall Plumlee were the first Blue Devils off the bench Wednesday, spelling Jefferson and Justise Winslow. After a few careless passes, Jefferson and Sulaimon—Duke’s regular sixth man—promptly entered.
- During that brief stretch with Okafor and Plumlee on the floor, Plumlee was forced to guard Notre Dame sharpshooter Pat Connaughton, but stuck with him well.
- After the big Fighting Irish run, Duke dropped back into the 2-3 zone it has shown in the last three games. The Blue Devils sliced four points off the seven-point deficit, but then surrendered a 3-point play to sophomore V.J. Beachem.
- Winslow—who has been struggling of late with both injuries and with his shot—knocked down a key triple to cut the Notre Dame lead to one. The Houston native finished the half with five points.
- Matt Jones was whistled for two fouls in less than 10 seconds late in the period, then immediately grabbed a loose ball and started a fast break. With 2:36 left, the DeSoto, Texas, native fouled Grant, and sat the rest of the half with his third personal.
- Both teams were too loose with the basketball in the first 20 minutes. Duke committed seven giveaways, and the Fighting Irish coughed it up eight times.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.