SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Duke couldn’t have had a better first half in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final visit to the Carrier Dome, utilizing 3-point marksmanship and exceptional ball movement to take a 51-34 lead entering the break. Here are five observations from the first 20 minutes.
Blue Devils dominate the start
More than 30,000 fans—the most at a college basketball game this season—packed into the west end of the 50,000-seat capacity football stadium for what could be the final battle between the two winningest head coaches in Division I men’s basketball history. But for the first several minutes of the game, most of that crowd sat silently watching what was perhaps Duke’s best start to a game this season.
The Blue Devils shot out to an 11-0 lead in the first 4:16 of the contest, starting 4-of-4 from the field while forcing Syracuse to miss all seven of its shot attempts heading into the first media timeout (Duke’s edge eventually stretched out to 14-0). The Orange finally found the bottom of the net out of the timeout, but the slow start gave them a deficit that was tough to overcome.
Making it rain
Per usual against Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone, 3-point shooting went a long way toward success. Duke experienced that firsthand in its first matchup with the Orange Jan. 22, knocking down 14 treys (the team’s most in ACC play so far this season) in a dominant 79-59 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And Saturday, the Blue Devils used that same blueprint, hitting 10-of-17 shots from deep including seven of their first eight en route to a 34-13 advantage in the first 10 minutes of the contest. Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin did most of the damage early on, each draining their first three attempts from beyond the arc.
Mark controls the paint
Duke’s lights-out 3-point shooting was the story of the half, overshadowing another important factor in the Blue Devils’ first-half success: Mark Williams’ dominance inside. The 7-foot big man hit his first four shots from the field, eventually totaling 11 points in the half to go along with two thunderous blocks. Syracuse lost starting center Jesse Edwards for the season earlier this month to a fractured wrist, and Williams took advantage.
Ball movement
Duke totaled 25 assists in its win against Syracuse earlier this season, and that ball movement has been evident through the first 20 minutes Saturday as well. The Blue Devils tallied an absurd 15 assists in the first half on 18 made shots, another essential aspect of what has likely been the team’s best offensive half of the year.
Player of the half: Paolo Banchero
Banchero posted just eight points Wednesday in Duke’s win at Virginia, his lowest output of the season thus far. But he has bounced back in a big way thus far, notching an absurd 18 points and 6 assists on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from three. While Banchero has struggled with consistency at times this season, he has proven that he can take control of a game when the Blue Devils need him to, and this is clearly becoming one of those games.
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