NEW YORK—As many expected, Duke and Kansas are locked in a tight battle after a half of play at Madison Square Garden, but the level of play on both sides has not lived up to the hype with long stretches defined by turnovers and fouls.
The top-ranked Blue Devils lead the Jayhawks 34-29 at halftime in Tuesday's Champions Classic nightcap, with the two teams combining for 19 turnovers and 26 fouls through 20 minutes. Amile Jefferson leads Duke with 11 points, and each Blue Devil starter had at least five in the opening period.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 15-6 lead, but the opening minutes also brought some bad news for the Blue Devils. All five Duke starters had at least one foul before the under-16 timeout, and Chase Jeter and Luke Kennard both had at least two fouls soon after.
Kennard finished the half with three fouls, and Grayson Allen and Matt Jones both have two as well.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has only been comfortable using six players for almost the entire period with star freshmen Marques Bolden, Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum all injured and sitting on the end of the bench in suits, meaning Duke's players in foul trouble had to stay in the court and be careful on defense. This left the Blue Devils unable to be physical with the Jayhawks on drives into the paint, and Kansas quickly rattled off a 10-1 run to tie the game at 16 midway through the half.
The two teams went back and forth from there, trading turnovers and seeing an occasional shot go through the net before the offenses picked up late in the half.
With Duke and the Jayhawks deadlocked at 24 entering the final five minutes of the half, Jones and Kansas guard Devonte' Graham traded triples on back-to-back possessions. Allen put the Blue Devils back in front with a layup, but Frank Mason III attacked the basket on the other end to tie it up again.
The Jayhawks did not score for the last four minutes of the half, though, and Jefferson scored the last five points to take Duke into the locker room with the lead.
Allen had a rough first half, going 1-of-7 from the field for five points, and it got worse with less than two minutes left in the period when the All-American had a shot blocked and landed awkwardly on his right leg. Allen left the court early to go back to the locker room.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Neither team has shot very well from 3-point range, combining to go just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc.
- The Blue Devils have not played very fluidly on offense so far, with just four assists and 11 turnovers.
- Kansas is struggling with foul trouble even more than Duke. The Jayhawks were whistled for 15 fouls and have five players with at least two. Offensive rebounds have been a great equalizer for Kansas, which grabbed seven. The Blue Devils had none.
- Duke freshman Frank Jackson is looking like a non-factor after averaging 19.5 points through two games. He was scoreless in the first half.
- Jeter has looked more assertive on the floor for Duke, chasing down Mason III for an early fast-break block. He also has six points on the offensive end.
- Madison Square Garden has generally been a friendly environment for Duke in the past. Tonight, not so much. Kansas is getting much louder cheers than the Blue Devils, who were booed when they took the floor for the first time.
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