Despite trailing by three at halftime, the fourth-seeded Blue Devils rallied in the second half to come away with a 93-85 win against No. 13 seed UNC Wilmington. With the win, Duke will advance to take on Yale Saturday in Providence, R.I.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Take advantage of the foul line: Knowing that UNC Wilmington committed the second-most fouls per possession in the nation, the Blue Devils dialed up their aggressiveness and drove to the basket at will. The Seahawks struggled staying in front of Duke's ball-handlers and gave up 43 attempts from the foul-line, 31 of which were converted by the Blue Devils. Sophomore Grayson Allen was the main benefactor of the foul-fest, as he went 15-of-17 from the charity stripe to pace his team in the second half and give Duke much-needed offense down the stretch.
- Break the press: Duke struggled with the press in the first half, shooting just 44 percent from the field and rushing on multiple occasions in search of good looks en route to a 43-40 halftime deficit. But the second half was a complete reversal for the Blue Devils who found receivers in the backcourt and used outlet passes to get down the floor. The emphasis on pushing the ball up the court led to numerous easy scores on finishes by center Marshall Plumlee. With the Seahawks continuing to press on every made shot, Duke was able to find driving lanes and draw fouls in bunches in the final 20 minutes of play.
- Force outside shooting: Although the Blue Devils were successful and kept UNC Wilmington out of the paint for much of the game, the Seahawks spread the floor and hit perimeter jumpers better than they have for much of the season. UNC Wilmington shot 42 percent from beyond the arc for the game and nailed 11 triples—its second-highest mark this season.
Three key plays
- 0:02 remaining, first half: With Duke down six and seeking to avoid yet another first-round upset, Brandon Ingram pulls up from deep with the clock running down and nails a triple to give the Blue Devils a bit of momentum heading into halftime. The deep ball was Ingram's only three of the game.
- 16:26 remaining, second half: In a sequence beginning with a missed 3-pointer by the Seahawks, freshman Luke Kennard bricks a 3-point attempt of his own. But freshman Chase Jeter finds himself in the right place at the right time and collects the rebound, while drawing a foul. The forward connected on his two ensuing free throws and pushed the Duke lead to four as part of a 14-0 scoring run.
- 1:35 remaining, second half: Up six and trying to put the Seahawks away, freshman Derryck Thornton drives into the paint and finishes with a layup while being fouled. Thornton was unable to complete the and-one, but his basket put Duke up eight and effectively iced the game.
Three key stats:
- Duke finishes just 4-of-15 from deep: The Blue Devils have had two go-to options all year on offense—get to the free-throw line and use the 3-point line. Not only did UNC Wilmington have 11 more three-point attempts than Duke, but the Blue Devils were also ice cold from deep and hit just 27 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. Kennard finished just 1-of-4 from distance while Allen went 0-of-4. The four made triples were Duke's lowest total this season.
- The Blue Devils finish with a 40-34 rebounding advantage: One of Duke's biggest weaknesses this season has been its strength on the interior. But against UNC-Wilmington, the Blue Devil size showed up. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Seahawks and received contributions on the glass from every member of the starting five, in addition to the much-maligned Jeter off the bench.
- Three Blue Devils score at least 20 points: Given Duke’s depth issues, the team received big performances from multiple sources Thursday. The Blue Devils got 20 points from Ingram, 23 from Plumlee and another 23 from Allen. Ingram in particular carried Duke in the first half by getting to the basket at will and taking advantage of his size and length on the perimeter.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Marshall Plumlee
In his final tournament run, Plumlee stuffed the stat sheet after a slow start to the game. The Warsaw, Ind., native finished with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting and collected eight rebounds along with three blocks. Plumlee was a force on both ends of the floor in the second half, making his presence felt with blocks near the rim and living near the basket on offense for easy slams once Duke's ball-handlers broke the UNC Wilmington press. When the Blue Devils needed a spark, the mask-less Plumlee provided it for them.
And the UNCW game ball goes to… Craig Ponder
Despite being overmatched on paper, Ponder kept the Seahawks close the whole way, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. The guard tallied a team-high 22 points but fell victim to his team’s aggressive defense as he fouled out of the game with 12 seconds remaining. The senior guard also tallied four rebounds, four assists and two steals in the final game of his junior season.
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