The men’s basketball team was swinging the ball around the perimeter, nailing threes and exerting unrelenting defensive pressure, and it all added up to a 98-44 win Saturday night.
But the win came against the Southern Conference’s UNC-Greensboro, and the No. 9 Blue Devils will have to wait until Tuesday night for their first true test against No. 10 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
“We’re trying to get better,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We played with energy, played hard, to start off this week. It’s a big week for us.”
The Blue Devils (3-0) held UNC-G (2-1) to 29.5 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers—and Duke was not even whistled for a foul until six and a half minutes remained in the first half, when the home Blue Devils were already leading 41-16.
Duke nailed 15 three-pointers on the night, five of which came during a first-half stretch when the team broke the contest open.
“Coming into the game, we were more afraid of the post than we were the perimeter, and that’s what happens when you play Duke—you sort of pick your poison and they’re going to get you one way or the other,” UNC-G head coach Fran McCaffery said.
The Blue Devils capitalized on open perimeter looks as the Spartans elected to double-team Shelden Williams on the block, allowing Duke to pass the ball freely around the three-point line.
Along with Williams, the defense keyed in on J.J. Redick, who distributed the ball to his open teammates. Duke’s top shooter hit just 2-of-7 three-pointers but dished out a career-high eight assists, mostly feeding the ball to other perimeter players.
“J.J. should get assists because people will fly at him,” Krzyzewski said. “He and Shelden are the two guys on our team that defenses gravitate to.”
The change in rhythm and Redick’s altered role resulted from an increased focus on the motion offense, which Krzyzewski said he employed to encourage more of his players to take advantage of scoring chances.
Sean Dockery, who started for the first time this season and the third time in his career, and Lee Melchionni hit three and four shots from behind the arc, respectively. Both Blue Devils appeared to gain confidence in their shots and overall play during the second half.
Although starting big men Williams and Shavilk Randolph, who contributed a combined 27 points, were overshadowed by the team’s outside shooting, Krzyzewski highlighted the performance of his starting post players.
“Our team’s going to be running on our veterans, and seeing our two big guys playing like they did tonight was really encouraging. I thought they played with great energy,” he said.
Reggie Love came off the bench to score an uncharacteristic 10 points, hitting every shot he attempted. Love scored most of his points in the second half, when Krzyzewski used the rout to experiment with combinations from his inexperienced bench.
“We got what we wanted in the first half, and in the second half we tried to get as much out of it as we could because we knew they wouldn’t quit and they’d keep going on the boards, so we tried some different lineups in there after the first four minutes,” Krzyzewski said after the game.
Even in the second half, when Duke rested its starters for large stretches, the Spartans appeared to be a step behind the Blue Devils. Duke players were able to weave passes through a sluggish UNC-G defense, finishing with 22 assists to the Spartans’ 6.
During Saturday’s first half, the Blue Devils were more cohesive than they had been all season. Against Davidson Nov. 22 the Duke attack lacked consistency and the team’s concentration waned at points during the game.
“We wanted to come out tonight and attack and play with a ton of energy, and I think we did that,” Redick said. “We really want to use this game as momentum for the rest of the way.”
NOTES
DeMarcus Nelson continued to wear a thumb splint and went 2-for-6 from the field.... After shooting 31.7 percent during the first half against Tennessee-Martin and 37.5 percent in the opening period at Davidson, Duke shot 61.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes Saturday.... Six Blue Devils scored in double digits and every player on the Duke roster registered time on the court.... Williams recorded his second double-double of the season and 20th of his career. He leads active ACC players in double-doubles.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.