Duke’s offense came out firing on all cylinders and never took its foot off the gas in a 113-75 rout Saturday against Bryant. Grayson Allen and Matt Jones both surpassed their career highs in scoring with an impressive display of outside shooting, and Amile Jefferson finished with his second straight double-double to start the season. The contest was part of the 2K Classic—benefiting Wounded Warrior Project—which Duke will attempt to win next weekend in New York.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Find the best defensive scheme to contain Dan Garvin: The 6-foot-6 Bulldog forward could not handle Duke’s size in the post and was not much of a factor in Bryant’s offense. He tallied a quiet eight points and eight boards on just 3-for-9 shooting and only played 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Garvin picked up his third foul with 7:35 remaining in the first half and had to watch from the bench as the Blue Devils turned a 31-19 advantage into a commanding 59-32 halftime lead.
- Take advantage of talent: Duke was far more talented than its opponent, and sometimes it seemed impossible to guard. The Blue Devils were most clearly able to exploit mismatches when freshman Brandon Ingram had the ball. The 6-foot-9 wing was taller than everybody on the Bulldogs’ roster, and they had nobody athletic enough to contain him. Ingram seemingly drove to the basket and sank short pull-up jumpers at will to finish with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
- Rotate well and stay fresh: Allen was the only Blue Devil to play more than 30 minutes Saturday, and Duke was able to give Matt Jones some rest in the second half after he scored all 19 of his points before the break. Frontcourt depth continues to be an issue, though, as Sean Obi never came off the bench and does not seem to be trusted to see any meaningful minutes this season. Antonio Vrankovic played four minutes in garbage time, but freshman Chase Jeter may be the only real substitute for the starting frontcourt of Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee.
Three key plays:
- 12:09, first half: After Jeter rejected Marcel Pettway on the defensive end, nobody picked up freshman Luke Kennard in transition, as the freshman guard fired an open 3-pointer from the top of the key. The shot missed off the back of the rim, but the rebound bounced straight to Jones on the perimeter for his first of five treys in the half to give the Blue Devils a 17-9 lead.
- 0:41, first half: Allen hauled in a rebound with 49 seconds remaining in the half and then pushed the ball down the floor to give Duke a chance at a two-for-one opportunity. He quickly drove down the middle and dished it to Jones for another 3-pointer, and the fast possession also gave the Blue Devils the last shot of the half, which they capitalized on with a driving layup by Allen.
- 14:07, second half: Kennard stole the ball from Garvin in traffic and found Ingram up the floor on the fast break. The freshman forward slammed it home to make the score 75-43, eliciting one of the biggest cheers of the night from the Cameron Crazies and forcing Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea to call a timeout.
Three key stats:
- 13-for-26 on 3-pointers for both teams: After a cold night from beyond the arc Friday against Siena, Duke’s perimeter shooters found their strokes in this contest. Jones, Allen and Ingram combined to drain 12 long-range shots at very efficient clips, while Kennard did not have his best shooting night but still knocked one down. Coincidentally, the Bulldogs had identical team three-point shooting numbers as the Blue Devils continued to struggle with perimeter defense, but fans were treated to an impressive barrage from downtown Saturday night.
- 43-27 rebounding advantage for Duke: Duke exploited its major size advantage in this contest by dominating the boards, coming down with 20 offensive rebounds and outscoring Bryant 27-12 on second chance points. Bryant’s tallest player is 6-foot-8 Andrew Scocca, and he was limited in this game with four fouls in just 13 minutes, leaving the Bulldogs with no size at all to compete with Plumlee and Jefferson for rebounds.
- Six turnovers for Duke: For a young team with no true point guard except freshman Derryck Thornton, the Blue Devils took care of the ball very well. Allen was not known as a facilitator during his freshman campaign, but he showed that he can play some point guard with six assists and just two turnovers. Thornton also looked comfortable coming off the bench and bringing the ball up, finishing with four dimes and one turnover.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Grayson Allen.
It is hard to pick against Matt Jones for attaining his career high in one half or Brandon Ingram after his dominant, efficient performance, but Allen was Duke’s leading scorer for the second straight night and has emerged as its most consistent playmaker. The sophomore guard scored 28 points with three three-pointers, a few strong drives to the basket, a thunderous dunk and an excellent 9-of-10 mark from the charity stripe. He also got his teammates involved throughout the game to make the Blue Devils’ offense look like a well-oiled machine.
And the Bryant game ball goes to… Hunter Ware.
Ware—another sophomore guard who is adapting to a much bigger role this season—nearly matched Allen’s scoring output with 24 points and shot 6-for-11 from downtown. His most impressive play came with the shot clock running out about midway through the second half, when he sank a contested shot from downtown as he was drifting to his left. The Powder Springs, Ga., native combined with his new backcourt mate, freshman Nisre Zouzoua, to score 40 of Bryant’s 75 points in its season opener.
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