ANAHEIM, Calif.— Before Thursday’s matchup, Oregon expressed confidence it could slow down Duke freshman Brandon Ingram thanks to its defensive versatility and multiple defensive options for the 6-foot-9 freshman.
So far, none of those plans have really worked, but the Blue Devils are still behind on the scoreboard.
After 20 minutes of play at the Honda Center, Ingram leads all scorers with 14 points, but fourth-seeded Duke trails the top-seeded Ducks 36-31 in the Sweet 16. Ingram has hurt Oregon from both inside and out, connecting on a pair of triples and using his length to get some open looks inside against a rangy defense.
The Ducks dominated the inside in the early going, especially after Duke center Marshall Plumlee was forced to the bench with foul trouble. Plumlee picked up two fouls in less than six minutes, and Oregon scored its first 10 points in the paint—punctuated by a Jordan Bell alley-oop coming out of the first media timeout—as it jumped out to a lead that it held for most of the half.
The Blue Devils missed their first four attempts from beyond the arc and finished the half 2-for-10 from 3-point range, a poor showing for a team that came in averaging more than nine made treys per game.
Duke didn’t connect on a triple until Ingram splashed one home with more than 12 minutes gone by, and the Kinston, N.C., native hit another 3-pointer the next time down the floor, helping Duke to keep pace with an Oregon offense that was able to get quality looks against a series of different Blue Devil zone defenses.
Ingram’s hot streak was followed by layups from freshmen Derryck Thornton and Luke Kennard that put the Blue Devils up 27-26 for their first lead of the day. But Duck forward Dillon Brooks was determined to make that lead short-lived and drilled a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired on Oregon’s next possession to retake the lead. Brooks—the Ducks’ leading scorer at 16.8 points per game—lived up to his pedigree in the first half Thursday and led Oregon with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Although Oregon is known for its full-court defensive pressure, Duke applied a press of its own defensively to open the game.
- Plumlee picked up two fouls less than six minutes into the game, forcing Chase Jeter into a lot of early action. Jeter played strong interior defense, and finished the half with two points and three rebounds.
- Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski took his jacket off after just six minutes of play, calling a timeout to inject some life into his team that looked lackluster in the early going.
- Sophomore Jordan Bell came off the bench and provided a big spark for the Ducks, using his athletic 6-foot-8 frame effectively on defense and scoring nine points to finish the half as Oregon’s second-leading scorer.
- After a slow start, both sides found their rhythm offensively—the Blue Devils finished the half shooting 45 percent from the field, and the Ducks closed it at 46 percent.
- Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Apple CEO Tim Cook are in attendance in the Duke section of the crowd.
- The winner of this game will face second-seeded Oklahoma in the Elite Eight Saturday. The Sooners beat third-seeded Texas A&M 77-63 earlier at the Honda Center.
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