SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Both of Duke's last two games have been close, high-scoring shootouts, and there was no reason to expect Monday would be any different with two of the highest-powered offenses in the ACC facing off.
But the Blue Devil defense has risen to the challenge, putting the team in position for its first win against a ranked team in almost two months.
No. 21 Duke leads No. 20 Notre Dame 37-25 at Purcell Pavilion, shooting 53.7 percent from the field despite being hurt early on by six turnovers against an opportunistic Fighting Irish defense. The Blue Devils have gotten a balanced offensive effort led by Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard. Allen had 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting as the visitors had nice rhythm from the perimeter, and Kennard added eight points coming off a 30-point second half.
All five Duke starters scored at least five points, and the Blue Devils held Notre Dame to 26.9 percent shooting with arguably their best defensive half of the year.
After Duke rattled off six points in a row to take an early 6-2 lead, both teams went scoreless for more than two minutes before Notre Dame point guard Matt Farrell broke the drought with a pull-up triple from the wing. The two teams stayed within one possession for the next several minutes before a triple by V.J. Beachem put the Fighting Irish up by four midway through the half.
This time, the Blue Devils had an immediate response, going on a 15-4 run to take a 28-21 lead. The run was highlighted by a 3-pointer from Allen after an acrobatic save by Kennard on the baseline behind his back and through the legs of a Notre Dame defender gave Duke a second chance, and Jones hit a midrange jumper on the ensuing possession to force Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey to use a timeout.
The Fighting Irish settled down in the closing minutes of the half to keep it close, but will have to solve the Blue Devils' suddenly stout defense to send their sellout crowd home happy at the end of the night. Duke closed the half on a 7-0 run as the normally strong Notre Dame offense missed its last 10 shots, putting the Blue Devils in position for their first road win against a ranked team this year.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- 6-foot-5 forward Bonzie Colson—who scored 31 points to lead the Fighting Irish to a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium last year—played a solid half but has not had many opportunities, scoring six points on 3-of-6 shooting with Amile Jefferson as his primary defender.
- Freshman Jayson Tatum played one of his best defensive halves of the year, swatting away a layup in the lane by Farrell early on and grabbing seven rebounds to lead the team.
- The Blue Devils have been much more disciplined on defense than they were against Wake Forest, going the first 6:44 of the game without a foul. The Demon Deacons were nearly in the bonus already at that point in both halves Saturday.
- Freshman center Marques Bolden still has not seen the floor for Duke after playing just three minutes Saturday, with Antonio Vrankovic again getting off the bench ahead of him.
- The Blue Devils entered the game allowing more than 34 points in the paint but have just surrendered six so far. Notre Dame is also struggling from the perimeter, shooting just 2-of-9 from long range.
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