GREENVILLE, S.C.—Duke finds itself in a close battle against Michigan State throughout the first 20 minutes. All half long, the Blue Devils and Spartans traded buckets as both legendary head coaches on each sideline started to take part in a game of chess that will likely go down to the final minute. Duke leads 39-35 at the break and here are five of our observations from the opening period.
Slow-ish start
After beginning its first-round game hot from the field, it took a while for the Blue Devils to get it going offensively, as it started 1-for-4 from the floor. A couple of missed shots inside—altered in large part by Michigan State and its length—had the Blue Devils down 7-2 and 9-4 early. Michigan State totaled four blocks in the first half as Duke continued to punch the ball inside. Sophomore center Mark Williams was the bright spot offensively, as his teammates looked to dump the ball down low for the 7-footer to finish inside. Until 16:06, he was the only Duke player to score as AJ Griffin hit a three to show off his perimeter presence.
Spartans’ hot shooting
Head coach Tom Izzo had his Michigan State squad running and gunning, not missing an opportunity to take an open shot as the Spartans outdid Duke shooting percentage-wise, but that didn’t prove too much of an issue for Duke thanks to its own ability to reset the offense on second-chances. For the Spartans, it was senior Joey Hauser who continued his hot shooting from his 27-point first round performance against Davidson Friday, while Gabe Brown supported him in shooting the ball from outside with his 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point land. Toward the end of the half, the Spartans hit six straight field goals, five of them from deep—with the last one tying the game at 33 a piece.
Pick up the pace
After the slow start for Duke, both teams looked to pick up the scoring pace in a tournament in which many teams have struggled to capitalize on first-half offense. But as Michigan State looked to push it, it only fell into a hole as the Spartans suffered a stretch in the middle of the half of about six minutes without a point and an extended stretch where they went 1-for-14 from the field. In return, Duke pushed the ball down the court and scored 10 straight points to put it ahead by as much as seven.
K and Izzo, part VI
The two have been almost a staple of the NCAA tournament, and you know that their respective squads are looking to put up a fight. Every previous matchup has had its stars and it took some time before the teams settled in and found each of their leaders. Entering Sunday, Krzyzewski led the tournament series 3-2, but with another high-stakes affair on our hands, it so far looks like the two are willing to do anything to advance to yet another Sweet Sixteen.
Player of the half: Paolo Banchero
After a slow start by Banchero’s standards, he got going in the waning minutes of the half as he took his scoring total to 10 by the break. It was Mark Williams who made the difference early on, as he hit tough shots and finished dunks down low, also providing length defensively. But with under five minutes to go, the Seattle native hit back-to-back threes to respond to threes by Michigan State. The teams traded baskets as the half neared, but Duke would not be in the lead had Banchero not gotten hot at the right time.
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Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.