Freshman Frank Jackson showed he liked the big stage during Duke’s Champions Classic loss to Kansas earlier this season.
On Tuesday, he showed that performance was not an aberration.
The Alpine, Utah, native energized the Blue Devils during a key 11-0 run that broke a 48-48 tie and propelled No. 5 Duke to a 78-69 win against Michigan State Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Jackson had 11 points and was one of four Blue Devils in double figures—junior Grayson Allen led the way with 24 points thanks to a hot start to the second half.
Two Jackson drives gave Duke a 55-48 edge with 12:50 left in the game, and a Luke Kennard jumper and pair of Allen free throws capped the spurt to give the Blue Devils a lead they would not relinquish. Senior Matt Jones also forced a Spartan turnover in the middle of the run by deflecting the ball off Michigan State star Miles Bridges to send the crowd into a frenzy.
“Grayson started off with an and-one, and then we went to Frank three times in a row. You can feel Cameron start to come to life after each one,” graduate student Amile Jefferson said. “It seems like six points, but it’s more like 12, 14 points because of how much our crowd gets into it.”
The Spartans got within six before Jackson hit a corner 3-pointer with 9:48 left that had head coach Mike Krzyzewski flying off the bench to celebrate.
Although Duke (7-1) pulled away in the second half, the Blue Devils were unable to build a lead larger than five points for much of the game thanks to Michigan State’s stifling perimeter defense.
The Spartans (4-4) held Duke to 2-of-11 shooting from long range in the opening half to go into the locker room tied at 35, but had no answer for Allen and Jackson early in the second period.
After going 2-of-10 from the field in the first 20 minutes, Allen made four of his first seven attempts in the second—including a pair of 3-pointers—to spark the home team. His shot-making set the stage for Jackson’s consecutive drives, and the Blue Devils fed off the energy to take Michigan State out of its offense.
A preseason All-American, Allen is still battling through a toe injury, but he made 5-of-11 3-pointers to offset a 2-of-10 effort from two-point range.
“Grayson does not practice one second, so when he’s out on that court...it’s a gutty performance,” Krzyzewski said. “That kid has played unbelievably.”
The Spartans went inside for their offense early and often, but committed 18 turnovers in the game to fuel the Duke offense in the second half. As has been the case for much of the season, Michigan State struggled to initiate its offense once the Blue Devils increased their defensive pressure.
Spartan freshman star Bridges entered the contest averaging 17.4 points per contest, but went just 4-of-13 from the field for 11 points with Jones as his primary defender. Although Jones did not score until the 5:30 mark in the second half, his defensive effort was key against a Michigan State squad with few other consistent playmakers.
Despite the Spartans outshooting Duke from the field, 3-point range and the free throw line and outrebounding the Blue Devils, Duke’s nine extra shot attempts in the second half thanks to Michigan State turnovers proved to be the difference in the game.
“I definitely felt [Bridges’] frustration,” Jones said. “Obviously, I knew I couldn’t use that and fall asleep or anything like that, but I just wanted to make it hard for him, and that’s ultimately what happened.”
The Spartans used 11 players compared to the Blue Devils’ six, but had no answer for the Duke guards after halftime and frequently got outmuscled by Jefferson inside.
The graduate student posted his fourth double-double in his last five games with 17 points and 13 rebounds despite dealing with foul trouble, giving his team the flexibility to utilize both three- and four-guard lineups throughout the game.
Kennard also had another strong game with 20 points as the Blue Devils used a 16-2 edge in second-chance points to prevail, led by their veteran core despite the limited rotation.
“We know [Krzyzewski] has a lot of confidence in all of us,” Allen said. “His confidence in us never stops and he just tells us to keep going no matter how many shots you’re missing, and down the stretch, he knows that me, Matt and Amile have played with him for a while, Luke—this [is] his second season—so he has that confidence in us that in the game, we can bring it home.”
Duke will return to the court Saturday evening to host Maine before another high-profile game against Florida at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.
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