NEW YORK — On the court that junior Nolan Smith and some of his teammates call “Cameron North,” No. 7 Duke secured its ninth victory of the season in a rout of No. 15 Gonzaga (8-3). The Blue Devils (9-1) trounced the Bulldogs 76-41 in Madison Square Garden, holding all of Gonzaga’s players to single-digit scoring.
Smith and senior Jon Scheyer shouldered the majority of the offensive load for Duke, contributing 24 and 20 points, respectively. Smith was perfect from long range on his three attempts, and Scheyer followed up with another strong game just days after his 36-point, nine-assist, eight-rebound effort against Gardner-Webb. The guard continued to play the role of set-up man and dished out eight assists.
“Jon is playing tremendously. He’s a great player,” Smith said. “He’s so poised out there. He hardly ever mistakes…. He’s a senior, you know, he’s been here and done that. He’s played in big games, taken the big shots and he’s running the show.”
Forward Kyle Singler had a quiet night on the offensive end—tallying nine points—but made his presence felt on the boards and finished with 11 rebounds. Eleven Blue Devils in all made it onto the court.
Despite a slow start in the first half in which Duke failed to connect on any of its 3-point attempts and shot 35.5 percent from the field, the Blue Devils took a 14-point lead through 20 minutes of play. Duke finished the half with a 22-7 run, fueled by free throws and fast breaks. But perhaps the Blue Devils’ most impressive feat was their stifling defense—Gonzaga scored just 17 points during the first half and never seemed entirely comfortable on the offensive end.
After the break, Duke extended its lead after finding its shooting touch and converted on 6-of-12 long balls, including all three of Smith’s 3-point shots. And as the Blue Devils’ shooting flourished, Duke continued its commitment totough defense within 15feet of the basket. By holding the Bulldogs to 24 points in the second half, the Blue Devils opened up their lead and were ahead by as many as 38 points with less than two minutes to play.
“You can't let offense dictate defense,” Krzyzewski said. “Because we have veteran players, they understand defense. This is the first team in seven or eight years that really understands our defense so well, not individually, but together.”
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga’s leading scorer, struggled to find his shot and went just 1-for-7 from the field. The guard was coming off an injury after colliding into a player from Augustana College Dec. 9, but Duke’s coordinated effort on the defensive end seemed to only further frustrate the senior.
The defensive performance by the Blue Devils, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said after the game, made finding looks on the offensive end difficult. Though the Bulldogs have played a competitive schedule so far this season—including contests against No. 12 Michigan State and Wisconsin—Few said that Duke played as well on defense as any unit his squad has faced this season.
"Their pressure defense was good and their concepts were good,” Few said. “They really came to take us out of some things and Option A wasn't there and we didn't do a great job exploring other options and that had a lot to do with Duke's defense. It was as good as we've played against this year, by far."
Duke is comfortable in New York, where crowds vocally support its play. The majority of the 14,554 fans in attendance loudly demonstrated their allegiance to the Blue Devils, groaning at every foul and cheering with delight on each converted bucket. Krzyzewski is now 21-6 all-time in Madison Square Garden including 3-0 this year with a pair of wins over No. 14 Connecticut and Arizona State during the NIT Season Tip-Off.
“It’s like a home game for us,” Smith said. “The last time we were here, someone had a poster that said [“Cameron North”]. It feels like it when we walk in here and see all the Duke fans early for the game and everything all blue. It feels like Cameron Indoor Stadium.”
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