Duke took most of the first half to put away Furman but it wasn’t due to the same lackluster play that plagued Duke against Southern. The Paladins are picked to win their league and came to play. Duke won the game handily 92-63 but Furman provided ample opportunities for coaching moments.
Furman had 3 players score double figures against the Devils and their old guards hit some timely 3’s against Duke. Overall Duke did well and held Furman to under 40% from the field and 31%from the 3-point line. The Paladins did manage 7 steals against Duke. Closeouts and recognizing who is and isn’t a shooter will definitely be something this Duke team has to learn. Duke did outbound the Paladins 40-27 as they should considering the height advantage the Devils had.
Marvin Bagley led all scores with 24 points. Bagley put on a show offensively scoring in every conceivable way. Using his lefty hook in sweeps across the lane,put back dunks, a three pointer. Bailey seemed to find his zone even pulling down 8 rebounds. Wendell Carter had a grown man game for Duke as well. Carter went 6-7 from the floor, scoring 14 and grabbing 9 boards.
Grayson Allen did not have the game he was looking for. Coach K alluded to the senior guard being held out of practice due to being physically banged up. Allen was 2-9 for 5 points but Duke wouldn’t suffer without his scoring tonight. Allen did have 6 assists and 3 steals, managing to affect the game in other ways. Trevon Duval picked up his offensive output scoring 18 on 9-12 shooting, he also added 4 assists and had zero turnovers.
The Duke player making the most of his early season opportunity seems to be Alex O’Connell. The freshman guard scored 10 points off the bench and added 2 rebounds and assist and a block. Javin DeLaurier much like O’Connell is making the most of his time on the court. DeLaurier went 3-3 from the field, scoring 6 points, blocking 4 shots, grabbing 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
For the game Duke dominated, as expected in points in the paint with a 64-28 edge. Duke also held a 17 to 0 advantage in fast break points. Duke shot 60.9% from the floor despite only shooting 29.4% from 3-point range.
