Duke 69, Winston-Salem State 43 (0:45, in the second half): If Duke had been able to hit from outside, the score might have been very different. As it was, the Blue Devils missed a lot of open shots and made a blowout feel a lot closer than it needed to. The second half did not feature any of the killer runs that the first half did. The bright spots from the game were the performances of Amile Jefferson and Mason Plumlee. The lowlights: poor rebounding and poor outside shooting. Check tomorrow's Chronicle for more coverage.
Duke 62, Winston-Salem State 39 (3:27, in the second half): Whatever semblance of rhythm this game once had has been disrupted by nearly constant fouls. Both teams are in the double-bonus with 6:41 left. Sulaimon left the game with four fouls with 6:35 left. Like many other Blue Devils, he has had a somewhat frustrating game, shooting 5-for-11 and going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Seth Curry made his first shot of the game on a nifty driving layup with just a little more than 6:00 left. Duke's defense, while not poor, has been nowhere near as strong as it was in the first half, as the Rams have already doubled their first half output.
Duke 55, Winston-Salem State 32 (7:45, in the second half): After consecutive scores by the Rams, it is Jefferson (again) who shifts the momentum back in the Blue Devils favor with a three-point play. Winston-Salem State could actually be much closer to Duke, but they have been shooting abysmally from the free throw line. Duke, by contrast, has been hitting its free throws but missing from behind the arc. The Blue Devils are 1-14 from long range, and some of those have been good looks for good shooters.
Duke 49, Winston-Salem State 25 (11:31, in the second half): The Blue Devils seem to be missing the intensity that carried them through the first half. The crowd energy has been mostly absent as well. Mason Plumlee is playing exceptionally well, with 17 points on 7-7 shooting and eight rebounds. The team has got to be concerned about its rebounding as a whole, though. Jefferson is clearly the "energy guy" on this team. After missing a contested layup, he grabbed the rebound and scored with the extra opportunity. His enthusiasm is absolutely infectious.
Duke 42, Winston-Salem State 17 (15:45, in the second half): Duke opened the second half by committing some of the same sins that hurt them in the first, allowing an offensive rebound and playing somewhat sloppy offense. The game has become somewhat chippy, and each team has three fouls already.
Duke 36, Winston-Salem State 13 (Halftime): With the game seemingly already out of reach, Duke began to get a little sloppy offensively, with Murphy attempting to out-dribble opponents a couple of times instead of waiting for teammates. The defensive intensity, however, has only increased. Amile Jefferson is leading the charge in that department, coming up with a block, and drawing an offensive foul on consecutive possessions. After each play he implored the already-enthusiastic crowd to dig deep and get just a little bit louder. He is quickly becoming a fan favorite.
Some statistics of note from the first half: Duke held Winston-Salem State to 17% shooting and forced 13 turnovers. The Blue Devils held only a 25-24 rebounding edge, though, and surrendered 12 offensive boards.
Duke 30, Winston-Salem State 10 (3:57, in the first half): Given the difference in athletic ability, it isn't surprising, but Duke is absolutely suffocating Winston-Salem State defensively. The Rams cracked double digits with 5:12 left on the clock. On the other side of the spectrum for Duke, Curry is having what can only be described as an incredibly frustrating performance. He is 0-4 and committed an offensive foul after stealing the ball with a chance for a breakaway layup. He took a hard fall on the play and left the game, though he did not appear to be receiving medical treatment on the bench. Duke's freshmen have been showing outstanding hustle.
Duke 23, Winston-Salem State 9 (7:31, in the first half): Duke has found its rhythm when it runs. The Blue Devils are clearly superior athletes and it shows in transition and in their suffocating defense. Murphy had perhaps his best sequence as a Blue Devil with about 11:00 left. First he dived on the floor for a loose ball and made a pass to set up a fast break. He followed that by anticipating a pass near half court. He then cruised in for a breakaway dunk, forcing Winston-Salem State to take a timeout. Over the next few minutes Duke continued its offensive explosion, giving them an 11-2 run.
Duke 12, Winston-Salem State 7 (11:27, in the first half): Neither team has built up much of a rhythm offensively, with neither team scoring for a full two minutes after action resumed. Krzyzewski continued to experiment with different lineups against the Rams but none seems to be finding much success. Still, the Blue Devil faithful have to be pleased that Duke has a 16-8 rebounding edge, even if the extra opportunities haven't been converted into points yet.
Duke 10, Winston-Salem State 5 (14:52, in the first half): After missing Countdown to Craziness and the team's first exhibition with a lower leg injury, Curry checked into the game with the score tied 4-4 and 16:26 left on the clock. Duke had come out somewhat flat to start the game. Over the next minute and a half, the Blue Devils made a concerted effort to run the ball down the floor and got rewarded with several layups for their efforts. Duke has substituted liberally, with Thornton and Curry entering the game for Murphy and Cook and then Hairston and Jefferson entering for Kelly and Sulaimon.
Starters:
Winston-Salem State: F/C Stephon Platt, F WyKevin Bazemore, G/F Kimani Hunt, G Justin Glover, G Marcus Wells
Duke: F Mason Plumlee, F Ryan Kelly, F Alex Murphy, G Quinn Cook, G Rasheed Sulaimon
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