Once again the Blue Devils managed to build a a decent halftime lead against a top 25 opponent. This time it was Arizona. Despite both teams being stuck in the mud offensively the Blue Devils were able to accomplish some of their objectives – keep the Wildcats off the offensive glass – CHECK. Slow down their high powered offense – CHECK. The first half saw Arizona only able to gather 1 offensive rebound – in fact the Blue Devils out-rebounded the Wildcats 21-14 in the first half. Neither team was able to eclipse 45% shooting nor 35% from beyond the arc. Duke was able to turn 8 Arizona turnovers into 12 points. The Blue Devils would exit the first half with a 34-27 lead.
Unlike the Kentucky game Duke would not fold in the second half. Despite a sloppy beginning to the second 20 from Duke which included 2 turnovers and 4-0 Arizona run Duke would right the ship and not let the Wildcats get within 5 points for the rest of the game. To be honest neither team impressed offensively – it was not due to either team being bad offensively it was the two really good defensive teams in a chess match. Duke was better and held a team averaging 94.3 points per game to 55 in their own gym. The shots fell when they needed to for the Blue Devils, unlike the Kentucky game but more importantly the stops happened when they needed to and with extreme prejudice! The Devils held the Wildcats to just 40% shooting in the game and 26% from beyond the arc.
Cooper Flagg had a quiet 24 points if there is a such thing and shot 10-22 in order to get those points. Flagg also added 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. Flagg accounted for 16 of Duke’s 35 points in the second half and helped them keep the Wildcats at bay. Freshman Kon Knueppel came alive in the second half after scoring just 2 points in the first half the freshman forward would score 11 points in the second hitting 3-4 from beyond the arc. Maliq Brown and Knueppel tied for the rebounding lead with 7 each for the Blue Devils.
Duke out-rebounded Arizona, 43-30, and ended the game with a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass. The Wildcats were averaging 51.3 total rebounds and 21.7 offensive boards before Friday. The Blue Devils scored 19 of their 69 points off of Arizona turnovers.
The play of the game for me came at the 6:34 mark of the second half, Arizona guard Caleb Love shot a 3-pointer that rimmed off, KJ Lewis collected the offensive rebound but lost it to his teammate Trey Townsend. Cooper Flagg goes airborne to block Townsend – Cooper would have committed a foul putting Arizona on the line, possibly even a 3-point play but Maliq Brown poked the ball free after the shot fake from Townsend, then gathered it and passed it to Tyrese Proctor. That was a heady run saving play. Duke on the next possession would draw two straight fouls and push the lead to 8 instead of what could have been just a 5 or 4 point lead.
The story of this game and what should grab the headlines for the Blue Devils aside from Cooper Flagg’s big game is the defensive pressure Duke put on Arizona. Duke played a masterful game on the defensive end of the floor. If the Blue Devils can continue to hand their hat on the defensive end eventually the offense will catch up.
DUKE HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening Statement
“The preparation for this game and the home-and-home series that we did, really started with the respect for Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona basketball program. The environment tonight, to get tested this early in the season on the road, I find incredible value in it. I’ve known Tommy for a long time and to be able to out-rebound a Tommy Lloyd basketball team at Arizona is a credit to the players and the fight that they had because [Arizona] has been consistently as good as anybody in the country. I expect the same thing this year. So, to come in here, hold them to 55 points, out-rebound them by 13, did a good job keeping them off the foul line – to me, those were the keys. It really started with the amazing character of the players. The connectivity of our team to be able to bounce back after a tough loss and to come back home and move on. We talk about having to move on and have that ‘next play’ mentality, and we’ve had that. Incredibly proud. Ton of respect for them, Tommy and their whole team. Really proud of the win tonight.”
On Duke’s defensive effort:
“It helps when you have individual defenders to begin with. Anybody that’s playing for us, our team is a roster of guys that can guard the ball, good positional size, we’re able to switch a lot. The job Tyrese [Proctor] did, look, [Caleb] Love is a big-time player, but Tyrese is as good of a defender on the perimeter. He’s a pest. He’s so disciplined with what he does. I thought that was big time. And then the versatility of [Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel], they can really guard one through four. And then you have a fastball and a splinker with Khaman [Maluach] and with Maliq [Brown]. You can guess who’s the fastball and you can guess who’s the splinker. They’re both so unique with what they do on the defensive end, Maliq with his pressure, and then Khaman with his rim protection. He really just changes the game when he’s out there. And to play that physical, with just turning 18, he’s years ahead with that.”
On what Sion James brings to the team:
“Sion is just a jack of all trades. He does everything for us. He really does. His rebounding was a huge strength. His off-ball movement, his shot creation, being able to penetrate and kick, and he can score. To get a guy in his fifth year who scored a lot of points at Tulane and all that, to not be about numbers, to just be about winning is unique. It’s really hard to find and Sion has that. You know, Maliq, Sion and Mason [Gillis], all have that at a high level.”
JUNIOR GUARD TYRESE PROCTOR
On what helped Duke get through the runs by Arizona: “Kentucky. Kentucky was a really good test. Coming out of halftime in this game, we talked about Kentucky, and we huddled before we went back out, and we just said, we have to a have a better start than we did back then. And we came out a little shaky, but we stayed together. I think everyone just came as one and we didn’t separate. We trusted our work, like coach said, and we just knew we could pull through the second half.” On if he talked to his teammates using the experience of the game at Arkansas last season: “Just staying the course. That was the biggest thing I told these guys, especially early. You know they’re going to come out and try and punch us straight away. And I thought we handled that really well. And then, like I said before, the second half was a big thing that we struggled with last year and in the Kentucky game. Just staying disciplined and when it’s not going the best, huddling and bringing everyone in, and making sure we’re on the same page. I think that’s a really big thing.”
FRESHMAN GUARD/FORWARD COOPER FLAGG
On finding his footing in the second half: “I don’t really know what I would call it. I think in the first half, I was a little bit soft in some of my finishes. It’s a high-level college basketball game, like coach said. It was really physical. They’re a very physical team. I found my footing and played off two feet a little bit better and used some shot fakes. I was able to play a little bit stronger down low.”
On this win providing momentum going into Duke’s next game, against Kansas: “Yeah, it’s momentum. Coming off a big win, I think we got to get our minds right, get focused on the next one. We’ll be happy about this one for maybe tonight, but then we’ll move on to the next one.”
On if he could feel the momentum shift with Kon Knueppel’s second-half three-pointers: “I think we’ve been watching Kon do that since the start of the summer. He’s a big-time player, big-time scorer. He makes a lot of tough shots. We have a lot of confidence in him and what he can do. I mean, seeing that shot going in was nothing really new for me. Just get back on defense and just move on to the next play.”
