Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs Siena

The fifth-ranked Blue Devils defeated Siena 92-74 Friday to win their 34th consecutive home opener in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Grayson Allen came one point shy of matching his career high of 27 points, and Amile Jefferson notched a double-double just one week after leaving Duke’s exhibition contest against Livingstone early with a sprained ankle. The Blue Devils struggled from distance Friday—finishing just 6-for-25 from beyond the arc—but won the battle by outscoring the Saints in the paint. The meeting was the first ever matchup between the two squads and was part of the 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Play strong defense for 40 minutes: Duke was able to keep the Saints off balance for much of the contest by alternating between zone and man-to-man defense. Siena is a team that loves to play an up-tempo style and run the ball down the floor. The Saints saw success in the early minutes of the game against Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s man-to-man set up, but stumbled after the Blue Devils switched to a 2-3 zone and stopped the dribble penetration of the Saints' guards.
• Win the paint: Jefferson proved to be the key for Duke in the battle of the paint. The Philadelphia native posted 19 points and 12 rebounds in the lopsided victory. Jefferson and Blue Devil center Marshall Plumlee ran up against sizeable competition in the Saints’ front court duo of Javion Ogunyemi and Lavon Long—who combined for 30 points on the night. But Duke held a big enough of a margin in the rebounding battle and secured crucial offensive rebounds that gave the team an extra possession. 
• Get out on the break: The Blue Devils’ transition offense lacked the eye-catching production that graced the inside game, but when Duke did make a play on the fastbreak it did so with emphasis. As a team, the Blue Devils managed only six fastbreak points against the Saints as opposed to the eight points Siena tallied in transition against Krzyzewski’s defense. But Duke began rocking and rolling with a number of high-flying plays down the stretch, fueling a raucous home crowd that had waited months for this night.

Three key plays:

• 13:33, first half: Freshman Derryck Thornton finished the game 1-of-8 from the floor, but the one shot he did make might have been the most important basket of the game. After the Saints had captured their first lead of the with a 6-0 run in the first half, Thornton squared up behind the three-point line to make his first shot attempt of the night. The shot spurred a 13-point run by the Blue Devils that broke the game open. 
• 19:33, second half: If there was any question as to what tone Duke would set coming out of the half, Matt Jones provided the answer with a steal and score to put up the first points after the intermission. Jones completed the play through contact, sinking the free throw afterwards to put his team ahead by 20. 
• 18:01, second half: With less than two minutes shaved off the clock in the second half, Siena was forced to sideline its captain, Brett Bisping, due to foul trouble. The redshirt junior forward was already nursing three fouls when he made contact with Plumlee. The center made the layup despite the foul and then sunk the and-one before sending Bisping jogging to the sideline. The Peoria, Ill, native would not rejoin his team on the floor again until after the under-12 media timeout.

Three key stats:

• Duke wins the battle of the paint 44-32: The Blue Devils prevented the Saints from getting to the basket and Siena was unable to make up its deficit on the inside with three-point shooting. The Saints were able to compete with the Duke frontcourt for most of the first half, but the Blue Devils were able to shut down their dribble penetration and cut off paths to the rim down the stretch.
• The Blue Devils score 21 points off Siena turnovers: The Saints committed 17 turnovers in their season opener, which Duke converted into 21 points. Siena pressured the Blue Devils’ ball handlers as well and forced Duke to cough up 10 turnovers of its own, but did not come close to erasing the extra points the Blue Devils earned off Siena mistakes.
• Grayson Allen finishes 8-of-13 from the field: The Jacksonville, Fla., native had many drawing comparisons to his 27-point performance against Wake Forest last season when he outscored the Demon Deacons 19-15 in the first half. Allen put up 20 points in the first 20 minutes in this contest—a statement performance from possibly the next face of Duke basketball.

And the Duke game ball goes to… Amile Jefferson.