Duke traveled to South Bend, Ind., for its first ACC of the contest this season against a Notre Dame squad coming off a big upset of Kentucky. Even without Jalen Johnson, the Blue Devils have looked comfortable thus far, leading 41-34 into the break. Here are five observations from the first 20 minutes:
Baker the defender?
Despite not being known for his defensive prowess, junior forward Joey Baker showed grit on that side of the ball throughout the half. Baker didn’t start, but when he was called off the bench the North Carolina native notched a steal and drew a charge on Notre Dame’s Dane Goodwin to prevent an easy bucket in the paint.
Traditional big man vs. small ball
After head coach Mike Krzyzewski gave center Patrick Tapé his first start of the season, he went right to Mark Williams with his first line change of the half. Thus, it initially looked like Krzyzewski was going to go with a traditional big man for much of the night, though Krzyzewski quickly went back to the small ball lineup that has defined Duke this season.
Turnover bug biting the Irish
After being on the receiving end of nasty visits from the turnover bug this season, Duke found itself on the other end in the first half Wednesday. The Blue Devils forced seven turnovers throughout the half.
Hubb getting going
Notre Dame’s leading scorer this season, Prentiss Hubb, continued his success Wednesday. Although it took him a bit to get going, Hubb ended the half with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting. Alongside Hubb was Goodwin who led all scorers with his 13 points and three made 3-pointers and if the Fighting Irish are to pull off the upset, expect to see more and more touches by both Hubb and Goodwin in the second half as they attempt to help Notre Dame shoot its way past Duke.
Player of the half: Jaemyn Brakefield
Heading into the game, it was expected that freshman forward Jaemyn Brakefield would get more minutes in the absence of Johnson, and Brakefield answered the call in the first half. He served as instant offense for Duke as soon as he checked into the game, hitting a 3-pointer and cleaning up a DJ Steward miss with a putback off an offensive rebound. The four-star freshman finished with five points on 2-of-3 shooting from the floor.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.