With 2:07 remaining in the game, senior Matt Jones stepped up to the free throw line with a Blue Devil victory well in hand.
The guard's shot was well off the mark and yet another bad miss on a night the Duke co-captain finished with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Judging by the box score, Tuesday night was Jones’ worst performance of the season.
But in reality, it was arguably his finest.
Tasked with guarding 6-foot-7 freshman superstar Miles Bridges, Jones rose to the occasion with a standout performance on defense in Duke’s 78-69 victory against the Spartans. Although the contest marked Jones’ first time scoring in single digits all season, head coach Mike Krzyzewski was all smiles when asked about the co-captain’s performance.
“He’s one of the best defenders in the country,” Krzyzewski said. “We put him on every outstanding player that we play against and no one ever notices that I guess. But he had a spectacular two-point performance tonight.”
Entering the game with graduate student Amile Jefferson and sophomore Chase Jeter as the team’s only post players, the Blue Devils faced a dilemma matching up man-to-man against the Spartans’ bigger frontline.
Bridges—who came into the game as a 40-percent 3-point shooter and also boasts an imposing 230-pound frame—figured to be a nightmare matchup for a Duke team that still relies on a guard-oriented rotation.
But Jones quelled those fears by matching Bridges’ physicality and holding the freshman to just 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting. The senior put to rest any possible thought of going to a zone scheme and proved that he could stand in for 40 minutes against a player many believe will be selected early in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.
“It’s kind of what I’ve been doing. Ever since the [2015 national] championship game, it kind of just gave me confidence,” Jones said. “I’m a senior now, and I take pride in guarding the best player and ultimately taking him out of the game.”
Although Jones’ toughness was key to keeping Bridges at bay, Jones also put his veteran savvy on display and appeared to be in the freshman’s head by the end of the night. As he struggled to find his shot and make the highlight-reel plays he had through seven games, Bridges was visibly frustrated on the court for much of the second half and eventually fouled out with 12 seconds remaining.
The result was yet another tense exchange between Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and his leading scorer—a familiar conversation that was visible on the sidelines from the opening tip.
In a role reversal from what has been normal in recent matchups between the two storied programs, it was the Spartans that faced growing pains with their youth and the Blue Devils that capitalized on experience.
“I didn’t think Miles played as hard as he’s been playing,” Izzo said. “He’s been playing very hard, but he just got caught standing around a lot. He played harder at some times and made some phenomenal plays and then he kind of drifted.”
Despite the struggles of its top scorer and more turnover problems, Michigan State made the Blue Devils work for the win. But Duke wrestled control of the game away from the Spartans to break a 48-48 tie, with Jones providing one of the many highlights in the game-defining 11-0 run.
After consecutive baskets by freshman Frank Jackson ignited the Blue Devils and sent Cameron Indoor Stadium into pandemonium, Jones added fuel to the fire as he snuck back into the play as Michigan State looked to inbound the ball. The result was one of the Spartans’ 18 turnovers on the night and another possession for the Blue Devils, which resulted in two more points on a jumper from sophomore guard Luke Kennard.
“The way that he plays defense, the way that he leads our team on the defensive end, it’s something special, and it’s something that not a lot of people—they don’t see that, and it’s really a big part of what we do as a group,” Kennard said.
Although Jones had a potential mismatch of his own on the other end of the floor with the slower Bridges looking to stick with the guard on the perimeter, the DeSoto, Texas, native was content letting the offense flow through junior Grayson Allen and Kennard.
In a year in which many wondered what role Jones would play with a highly-touted freshman class coming in, the captain is tied for the team lead with an average of more than 35 minutes per game. But despite not capturing headlines with his defensive-minded skillset, Jones’ presence on the court continues to prove his worth.
“A great example for people playing any game is that when you’re all about winning, you’re really important,” Krzyzewski said. “Matt Jones is only about winning. That kid is a beautiful kid and a great leader for us.”
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