There is always a measure of trepidation when Duke has to play Notre Dame. Mike Brey has had Duke’s number but Duke has taken the last 4 games against the Irish including tonight’s 88-70 win against an older more experienced Notre Dame team. Grayson Allen flipped a switch in the first half and got the ball rolling for the Devils scoring 17 points in 20 minutes, going 5-6 from 3-point range. Allen ended the game with 23 points, second only to Bagley, he also added 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
When Notre Dame was able to adjust to Dukes hot start, Duke went inside to the ACC Player of the Year Marvin Bagley III. Bagley scored 10 points in the first half and exploded for 23 in the second. Bagley dominated the paint against senior Bonzie Colson and every other post player Mike Brey tried to throw at him. Bagley was also monster on the boards pulling down 17 rebounds for the Devils. It was a historic night for the freshmen whose 15 field goals were a career high and set a Duke ACC Tournament record, surpassing the 14 field goals by Bob Verga vs. Virginia in the 1967 quarterfinals. Trevon Duval also had a good night for Duke in his return to the starting lineup. The freshman point guard had 7 assists in the first 10 minutes of the game and ended the game with 11. Duval also added 6 points and a steal in 34 minutes of play.
There was a question as to whether Notre Dame would be able to solve the Duke zone and the answer was, well sort of. Notre Dame did put up 70 points against Duke but the Blue Devils were content with giving up tough 2 point shots as they continued to put offensive pressure on the Irish by shooting 47% from 3 point range and 55% overall. Conversely, the Irish shot 21% from beyond the arc and only 5-11 from the free throw line. Senior Bonzie Colson led the Irish in scoring with 18 points on 9-17 shooting. Notre Dame as a team had been outrebounding opponents by 9 since Colson’s return but Duke was having none of that winning the rebounding battle handily 40-29.
Next up for Duke is the rubber match with the North Carolina Tar Heels who took out the Miami Hurricanes in the late game 82-65.
Notable Stats:
- Limiting Notre Dame to 5 of 23 from 3 point range (21.7%)
- Shooting 47.1% from beyond the arc
- 55.4% shooting for the game
- Rebounding battle 40-29
- 15 to 2 edge in fast break points
