Beyond the arc: Duke men's basketball vs. Notre Dame

The fifth-seeded Blue Devils rallied from an eight-point deficit to defeat the third-seeded Fighting Irish 75-69 at the Barclays Center in New York Saturday and win their first ACC championship since 2011. A clutch performance from Jayson Tatum and late 3-pointer by Matt Jones lifted Duke to another come-from-behind victory and its fourth win in four days.

Revisiting the three keys to the game: 

• Body up Bonzie: As has been the case for much of the last few years, the Blue Devils struggled to shut down Colson. Playing in a unique tweener position as almost a small-ball center, Colson was a difficult matchup for Duke big men Harry Giles and Amile Jefferson, racking up 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting. The only thing that could slow the junior was a brief ankle injury and mishap with a contact lens late in the second half.
• Shooters Shoot: The Blue Devils did not shoot particularly well from the 3-point line, finishing just 5-of-15 from deep. But Duke forced Notre Dame to take tough perimeter jumpers as well, and the Fighting Irish shot just 6-of-25 from distance. It was ultimately the midrange and drive-and-kick game that propelled the Blue Devils to victory, rather than the hot 3-point shooting that had carried the team through the earlier rounds of the tournament.
• Making History: Although Duke showed some signs of fatigue early in the second half as Notre Dame nudged its way back into the game, the Blue Devils fought hard deep into the second half. Perhaps no better play epitomized Duke's ability to dig deep and make big plays when needed than a coast-to-coast finish by Tatum following a block on Steve Vasturia.

Three key stats: 

• The Blue Devils shoot 60.8 percent from the field: Unlike its usual perimeter-oriented approach, Duke was able to take advantage of size mismatches on the interior to get easy buckets. The Blue Devils finished with a 44-32 advantage in points in the paint, and Duke refused to settle for perimeter jumpers and continued to attack the basket down the stretch of the game. 
• The Fighting Irish hit only six triples: Despite coming into the game as one of the best shooting teams in the nation, Notre Dame had trouble penetrating against the Blue Devil defense with only Colson capable of scoring consistently. As a result, the Fighting Irish resorted to jacking up contested jumpers, which played into Duke's hands. Guards V.J. Beachem, Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia combined to shoot just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc and missed their fair share of open looks. 
• Duke turns it over 12 times: Despite shooting much better than Notre Dame throughout the first half, the Blue Devils' carelessness with the ball kept the Fighting Irish in the game. Notre Dame scored 20 points off a dozen Duke turnovers, and a series of giveaways after halftime propelled the Fighting Irish to their first lead of the game. The Blue Devils will have to improve in this category if they hope to win a national title. 

Three key plays

• 0:01 remaining, first half: After giving up a three-point play to Colson, Allen took the inbounds pass coast to coast and finished at the rim to give Duke a four-point lead going into halftime. The basket helped steady the Blue Devils a little after Notre Dame had inched within two. 
• 0:51 remaining, second half: Clinging to just a one-point lead, Duke put the ball in Tatum's hands, and the freshman made a play. Tatum fired a pass to Jones—who flashed open near the 3-point line on the right wing—and the senior cashed in to give the Blue Devils some much-needed breathing room. 
• 0:25 remaining, second half: After a series of Fighting Irish fouls to try and trim the Duke lead, Tatum received an inbounds pass from Jones and, with no defender in front of him, drove right to the basket for an and-one as Vasturia's late swipe could not deter the freshman's dunk attempt. 

And the Duke game ball goes to… Jayson Tatum