Notre Dame hit the first two buckets in the game for a quick 6 - 0 lead. That was the high point of the game for Notre Dame. From there, Duke took it to Notre Dame. Actually, it initially felt more like Justise Winslow took it to Notre Dame. The highlight wasn't a score, but a massive block by Winslow. (In the second half, Grayson Allen also had a big time block, which was probably more impressive.) Jahlil Okafor got two quick fouls with Duke up 17 - 9 with 12 minutes left to play in the half. At that point, you'd think that Notre Dame might close the gap and force Duke to gamble on putting Okafor back into the game and potentially picking up a 3rd foul before the half. That wasn't going to happen. The torch was passed from Winslow to Matt Jones who hit 2 3-pointers and sunk a pair of free throws within a minute. Duke just continued to pull away, leading 50 - 24 at the break. Essentially, game over at that point. If I recall correctly, the announcers were calling it game over within minutes of the 2nd half. As for Duke's much maligned defense, other than perhaps 3 defensive rotation problems during the game, their defense was smothering.
It really felt like the Duke team of the early season was back.
No comments:
Post a Comment