HALFTIME: Duke 50, Notre Dame 24

In its first home game against a ranked team this season, No. 4 Duke (19-3, 6-3) fed off the energy inside Cameron Indoor Stadium to build a 50-24 lead against No. 10 Notre Dame (21-3, 9-2) in the first 20 minutes Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils were on fire offensively, shooting 81 percent and going 7-of-8 from 3-point range to put together one of their best halves of basketball of the season. Duke assisted on 11 of its 17 made shots in the period.

Matt Jones came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and knock down three triples, continuing his recent stretch of strong play. Justise Winslow was also in attack mode after notching the first two double-doubles of his career, scoring 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

After the Fighting Irish opened the game by canning two triples, the Blue Devils responded by exploding for a 14-0 run in the next five minutes. Duke’s momentum continued, and the Blue Devils eventually made it a 43-7 run to take complete control of the game in the early going.

With senior captain Quinn Cook hounding Notre Dame star Jerian Grant—who had 23 points and 12 assists when the Fighting Irish upset Duke last Wednesday—Grant was held without a field goal in the opening 20 minutes. With its star struggling, the most efficient offense in the nation also suffered for much of the period. Notre Dame shot just 36 percent and had the same number of field goals as turnovers—eight.

Observations from the first half:

• Sharpshooters Pat Connaughton and Steve Vasturia got Notre Dame off to a good start by knocking down two triples in the first minute of action, but the Fighting Irish went scoreless for the next 5:40 until Vasturia made another triple.
• Winslow started Duke’s monster 43-7 run and scored his team’s first four points on hard drives to the hoop.
• Tyus Jones continuing excelling as a floor general, facilitating the Blue Devils' offensive outburst with six points, six assists and three rebounds.
• Okafor looked as aggressive and emotional as he has all season, trapping frequently off pick-and-rolls and attacking the paint hard. The Chicago native got a bit too assertive, though, and picked up two fouls in 16 seconds at the 12-minute mark and had to go to the bench after scoring four early points. His absence was not felt much, as the Blue Devils continued rolling by going on an 28-4 run after he exited.
• Notre Dame did not make a two-point field goal until reserve Bonzie Colson made a hook shot at the 11:13 mark to end Duke’s 19-3 run.
• Grayson Allen and Marshall Plumlee also gave the Blue Devils good minutes off the bench as Duke extended the lead, combining for four points and two boards and playing suffocating defense along with their teammates.
• The Fighting Irish gained some traction late in the period, closing the half on an 11-7 run, but still have a long way to go on the comeback trail.