Playing in his hometown, just a day removed from his 19th birthday, freshman Justise Winslow carried the top-seeded Blue Devils to a 63-57 victory against No. 5 seed Utah in the Sweet Sixteen at NRG Stadium in Houston Friday night. The forward finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the game and made all the big plays when necessary to help Duke fight off the Utes' late rally. With the victory, the Blue Devils advanced to the Elite Eight, where they will take on second-seeded Gonzaga Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Play tight perimeter defense: The Blue Devils had perhaps their best defensive game of the season—holding the Utes to 35-percent shooting from the floor. Winslow and sophomore Matt Jones especially made their presence felt on the perimeter and prevented Utah from getting any open looks from beyond the arc. Duke did a tremendous job on the Utes’ superstar guard Delon Wright, who was held to 4-of-13 shooting and was a non-factor for much of the contest. At times, the Blue Devils compromised their superb perimeter defense by giving up offensive rebounds, but overall Duke’s defensive performance was a big reason they came away victorious.
- Feed the beast: After averaging 23.5 points per contest in the first weekend of the tournament, freshman Jahlil Okafor was held to a season-low six points by Utah’s big men and double teams. The Chicago native struggled on multiple occasions passing out of double-teams and finished the contest with four turnovers. The Utes refused to have the freshman beat them and doubled Okafor consistently throughout the contest with Dallin Bachynski and Jakob Poeltl providing the first-line of defense. Despite his struggles, Okafor’s ability to stay patient and pay within himself was extremely impressive. With Winslow having a great game, Okafor attempted only six shots and served as a facilitator on the floor.
- Stay patient on offense: Struggling to shoot inside NRG stadium, the Blue Devils hit only three three-pointers in the contest. Yet, Duke scored in a multitude of other ways such as attacking in transition and cutting hard to the basket in the halfcourt. With Utah placing an emphasis on containing Okafor, the Blue Devils were able to ride Winslow to victory along with contributions from senior Quinn Cook and freshman Matt Jones. Duke finished with only 63 points in the contest, but showed that it is more than capable of succeeding when it struggles on offense.
Three key plays:
- 4:57 remaining, first half: With the Utes looking to get back in the game, Utah’s Wright picked up a questionable third foul on a scramble for a loose ball. The foul prevented the guard from playing the aggressive basketball that made him on of the best players in the Pac-12.
- 12:28 remaining, second half: After knocking down a triple on the previous possession, Winslow connects once again from beyond the arc to put the Blue Devils up 51-42. The jumper reenergized Duke and head coach Mike Krzyzewski when it appeared that the Utes were about to get back in the game.
- 8:55 remaining, second half: Amile Jefferson finishes a two-handed slam to put the Blue Devils up 47-34. The dunk gave Duke its biggest lead of the game at the time and provided a boost of confidence for the junior from Philadelphia.
Three key stats:
- Delon Wright shoots just 1-of-8 from the floor when being defended by Quinn Cook
- Guards Tyus Jones and Cook ice the win, combine for 16-of-18 from the charity stripe
- Blue Devils not named Justise Winslow shoot just 1-of-11 on two-point baskets outside the paint
And the Duke game ball goes to... Justise Winslow
The versatile forward delivered a terrific performance on both sides of the ball and showed why he has risen on NBA Draft boards during the tournament. On offense, Winslow combined his size and physicality with his outside touch to cause matchup nightmares for the Utes. The Houston native also turned in his fair share of highlight-reel plays on the defensive end that ignited the squad and turned momentum in Duke's favor. Winslow became just the fifth freshman with at least 10 rebounds in each of the first three games of the NCAA Tournament and only the third player in school history to finish with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game.
And the Utah game ball goes to... Brandon Taylor
With the Utes struggling to get anything going offensively, Taylor's late three-point barrage loomed large as the team looked to get back into the game. The guard finished with 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor and helped cut the lead to as little as six with less than a minute left in the contest. Taylor also had a strong game on the defensive side of the ball and finished with three steals by disrupting Duke's passing lanes. The performance by Taylor was valiant, but simply not enough to overcome the struggles of Wright for a limited offensive team.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.