In a game marked by the debuts of freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden, Duke cruised past Maine 94-55 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Luke Kennard and Amile Jefferson both had career highs in points, combining for 55 to lead the Blue Devils.
Revisiting the three keys to the game:
- Convert from beyond the arc: Following the Blue Devils’ worst 3-point shooting performance of the year Tuesday against Michigan State, they had a strong resurgence against the Black Bears. Led by Kennard’s four three-pointers, the Blue Devils shot a sizzling 42.9 percent from deep. Duke's efficiency could have been even better had senior Matt Jones not thrown up a deep triple off one foot while he was trying to draw a foul. Nonetheless, the team looked confident from beyond the arc and broke out of its cold streak.
- Win the turnover battle: Duke lost the turnover battle 12-6, but all six of the Black Bears' turnovers were a result of steals. Maine finished with just five steals, as the Blue Devils gave the ball away several times on errant passes or traveling violations. Although Duke did not force as many turnovers as it has previously this year, its defense was still more cohesive than that of the Black Bears' and generated many more stops.
- Stay healthy: Following the return of Bolden and Tatum, Duke’s main priority against Maine was to avoid the injuries that have plagued the team so far this season. Tatum went down with a cramp in the second half, but the Blue Devils avoided serious injury and gave junior Grayson Allen a night of rest to recover from his nagging toe injury.
Three key stats:
- Average height of Duke players on the floor together taller than 6-foot-9: Late in the second half, head coach Mike Krzyzewski unleashed a big lineup to give Kennard and Jones some rest in the backcourt. With Jefferson running the point at 6-foot-9, the Blue Devils ran a 2-3 zone that included sophomores Chase Jeter and Antonio Vrankovic and freshmen Jack White and Javin DeLaurier. The lineup wreaked havoc on a Maine team whose tallest player is only 6-foot-8.
- The Blue Devils finish with a 44-18 advantage in the paint: Duke punished any attempts the Black Bears made at going inside with eight blocked shots. Jefferson led the team with two blocks, but six other Blue Devils registered a block and limited Maine to a shooting percentage of just 30.8 percent inside the three-point line.
- Zero minutes for Allen and Frank Jackson: Following a 37-minute performance against Michigan State, Allen was finally given some much-needed rest against Maine. The junior guard rested his injured toe while Kennard and Jones carried the backcourt burden. Jackson also sat the game out with a sore foot, but nine Blue Devils played at least 10 minutes.
Three key plays:
- 13:49 remaining, first half: In his first career appearance for Duke, Tatum got the ball inside and converted a layup off the glass for his first points as a Blue Devil. The layup put Duke up 14-7 and elicited a massive cheer from the raucous home crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- 0:00 remaining, first half: With time winding down in the first half, Kennard grabbed the ball following a block by Jefferson and dribbled past midcourt before pulling up and drilling a buzzer-beater from around 30 feet out, which he released with only about 0.2 seconds left on the clock.
- 0:15 remaining, second half: Although the Blue Devils led by 39 and the game was winding down, that did not stop White from playing hard on the game's final possession, leaping up and swatting away a layup attempt by Maine’s C.J. Ward to finish the night on a high note for Duke fans.
And the Duke game ball goes to… Luke Kennard:
Despite Tatum’s much-anticipated debut for Duke, Kennard was the one who stole the show. He shot a blistering 11-of-16 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line to contribute to his career-high 35 points. He also added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for good measure. With fellow guards Allen and Jackson sidelined, Kennard more than made up for their absence during his team-high 34 minutes of play.
And the Maine game ball goes to… Ilker Er:
The best player for the Black Bears on Friday night was Ilker Er, who led the team with 20 points. The 6-foot-6 guard from Istabul shot 8-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, scoring all of his points in the first half of play. Er was the only Black Bear to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor and had five rebounds in addition to his prolific scoring.
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