BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - When Indiana capped off an 11-0 run with Marco Killingsworth's thunderous dunk that gave the No. 17 Hoosiers (3-1) a 59-58 lead-their first of the game-Assembly Hall was sent into a frenzy, and momentum was squarely on Indiana's side.
The No. 1 Blue Devils (6-0), however, got a combined nine points from their two All-Americans during a three-minute stretch that put them back in control, and Duke shook off the raucous crowd to escape with a 75-67 win over Indiana.
"I think during that time period a lot of teams would just lose," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I'm very proud of my team because you cannot simulate that type of a situation."
Senior captain J.J. Redick led Duke with 29 points, including a three-point play that put the Blue Devils up five with 2:20 remaining.
"J.J. just refuses to lose," Krzyzewski said. "He's one of the amazing players to play at Duke, and if he's one of them, he's one of the most amazing players to play [college basketball]. That kid is just really, really tough."
The Blue Devils looked in total control to start the game, scoring the game's first 10 points and exploding to a 16-2 lead just four minutes into the game. Duke hit nine of its first 10 shots as both teams started sloppy-the two squads combined for seven turnovers before the first media timeout.
The Hoosiers chipped away, however, and cut Duke's advantage to four late in the first half behind the strong play of Killingsworth, who scored 16 points in the period. The Blue Devils had no answer for Killingsworth, who scored at will down low. The senior sank 15-of-20 shots from the field for a career-high 34 points.
"I was trying to face-guard him, trying to get around him a little bit,"said forward Shelden Williams, who guarded Killingsworth for the majority of the game. "A lot of times in the first half, when I was cutting off one way, he would spin the other way, and the guards did a good job of getting him the ball in the right spot."
Despite Killingsworth's dominance in the post, Duke held a Hoosiers squad that was averaging 14 threes per game to just 2-for-10 from behind the arc.
"We were playing a good team, and when you play a team at this level you have to pick your poison," Redick said. "We chose to stop their three-point attack and its pretty incredible that they've been averaging 14 makes a game, and they only attempted 10 tonight. Killingsworth got his points, he hit some tough shots, but his buckets were worth two."
Beyond the strong play of Redick, Krzyzewski commented that he was impressed with the play of freshman Greg Paulus, who ran the point and played all but one minute. Paulus directed the Duke offense for the majority of the game while senior Sean Dockery played largely off the ball, and the freshman contributed 13 points and six assists.
"Thirty-five plus minutes-for a freshman point guard in his first road game-we know we can count on that guy," Redick said. "He's put together five straight halves where he's been really good, and we can count on him."
Paulus' strong play took the attention away from fellow freshman Josh McRoberts, an Indiana native, who was playing in his first game in his home state since high school. McRoberts immediately quieted jeers from Hoosier fans by scoring the first basket of the game and helped seal the win for the Blue Devils with a key block in the final minute.
"They weren't too bad," McRoberts said of the Indiana faithful. "I expected a little worse, and I was ready for it."
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