Coming into this game, Duke vs Michigan; The number 1 team vs. the number 3 team. Not a lot of people gave Duke much of a chance to win, and admittedly I had a few tiny doubts. Michigan has been a juggernaut this season; they’ve pummeled ranked team after ranked team, but I felt like if Duke could withstand the early runs and onslaught by Michigan and hit a few timely shots, they could be within a possession or 2 of winning this matchup.
I sat there, in Capital One Arena, a place I’ve been to many times to see bad basketball from the Wizards and the Georgetown Hoyas, I saw what were usually large swaths of empty seats fill up for this matchup. This was the loudest I’ve ever heard it, and we were treated to a game that, even with the hype afforded it, didn’t disappoint.
The Game
The Wolverines opened the game snagging a 4-0 lead. Duke answered with an Isaiah Evans dunk and a Dame Sarr three-pointer to pull ahead. Michigan went on a mini run to build their largest lead of the half at the 15:02 mark at 5 points courtesy of a 3-point make by LJ Cason. Neither team could manufacture much in the way of runs as the defenses ruled the day. It felt like a rock fight the entire first half. Neither team, in the first half, could manage more than a 5-point lead, but a late foul on Michigan gave Duke a chance to go into the half with a lead, with Patrick Ngongba being the recipient, hitting 2. Duke held the Wolverines scoreless for the final 3:11 of the first half to eke out that lead
Duke never surrendered that lead, taking punches and giving them, while managing foul trouble from Cameron Boozer. It was an intense game; it was a Final Four atmosphere, and both teams put immense game pressure on each other. Duke seemed to keep Michigan at arm’s length but never really got separation, as neither team really burned up the nets in this one. Duke was able to push the lead to 8 points at the 5:51 mark on a pull-up jumper by Caleb Foster, but a 7-0 run from Michigan brought the Wolverines within a point. Duke was able to respond with a brilliant after-time-out play call from Jon Scheyer that produced an Isaiah Evans dunk to push Duke’s lead back to 3 at the 3:30 mark. The Blue Devils would hang on to win by 5, gritting out the tough victory.
The Results
If there’s an unsung hero in this game, it’s Duke’s defense. The Michigan Wolverines started the game 9 of 11 from the field, but once Duke buckled down on that end of the floor, they held Michigan, who had come into this game scoring 90 points per game, to just 13 of 44 from the field. The other unsung heroes for Duke were Nik Khamenia and Caleb Foster. Khamenia pulled down 9 rebounds for the Blue Devils, matching his career high that he set at Michigan State back in December. Khamenia also scored 6 big points for Jon Scheyer’s team. Caleb Foster hit timely shots for the Blue Devils, scoring 12 much-needed points. More impressive than this scoring was Foster’s floor game; the junior guard dished 4 assists to just 1 turnover and pulled down 4 rebounds. Per usual for Duke, Cam Boozer led Duke in scoring with 18; he also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and dished a game-high 7 assists. Duke also got double-figure efforts from Isaiah Evans, who didn’t shoot the ball well but still managed 14 points. Patrick Ngongba added 11 points on 4-8 shooting, adding 6 rebounds. Rebounding was a huge story in this game; Michigan came in with a deserved reputation as being one of, if not the best, rebounding teams in the country in terms of margin. Duke erased that and outrebounded that Michigan frontline by double digits. Duke owned the boards 41 to 28; in offensive rebounds, Duke held a 13 to 8 advantage, which gave them an edge in second-chance points of 7 (18-11). Duke also won the battle in the paint 34 to 24.
What We Learned
I think we learned that this team can win games when the shot isn’t falling. Duke also proved that they belong in those conversations along with the other really good teams this season. The Blue Devils may or may not have a singular Robin to their Batman but a team of Robins. Isaiah Evans is the most consistent in that grouping, but Patrick Ngonba provides Duke with a lot of timely buckets. If I’m being honest, the true Batman is Duke’s defense. It’s the most consistent piece to Duke’s success; it travels, and it imposes its will whether shots fall or not.