A 92-58 blow-out win, a points-rebound double-double by a star freshman and Dariq Whitehead’s first appearance in a Duke uniform.
A perfect night in Cameron.
Well, eventually.
Duke’s talented freshmen combined for 114 of Duke’s 200 player-minutes. The talent finally won out but at times the youth was more apparent.
Duke shot 53 percent in the opening half, out-rebounded Delaware 20 to 12, turned it over only four times and led by as much as 13 points at 35-22.
And found themselves in a game. Because Delaware only turned it over three times and knocked down five 3-pointers to Duke’s three.
Duke led 42-36.
And the Blue Hens were still hanging around well into the second half. It was 54-47 with 12 minutes left and it looked for all the world like a nail-biter on the horizon.
And did I mention that Jeremy Roach was struggling? Two points in the first half.
But it all changed when Whitehead missed inside. Roach muscled out a rebound in traffic, scored, drew the foul and hit the freebie.
Delaware then missed and Jake Grandison hit a 3 in transition. Suddenly that seven-point lead was 60-47 and Duke was off to the races. In fact, Roach’s play jump-started a 22-2 Duke run that blew it wide open.
“I had a good angle on the rebound,” Roach said. “I knew I had to get it and put it back up. That sparked us a lot. We knew if we let them hang around it would be a long game.”
Grandison agreed that Roach’s play sparked their team.
“Jeremy doesn’t get a lot of offensive rebounds. But he got that one and he made it. I came over to him and he was saying ‘who doesn’t get offensive rebounds’ and I guess it fired us up. That’s what good teams do, put plays together, put possessions together.”
Delaware isn’t very big but they shoot well from downtown. Their coach Martin Ingelsby cited Duke’s size advantage as decisive.
Kyle Filipowski led Duke with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Derick Lively II got his first start and had five points and four assists before fouling out in 15 minutes. Ryan Young had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
“We’ve got four or five dudes 6-8 or above,” Filipowski noted “and that versatility we bring with the bigs and how well we play with each other is a huge advantage. We can just wear teams out.”
“That’s been a key for us since the beginning of the season,” Young added. “We’ve been able to impose our will offensively and on rebounding at both ends of the floor.”
And that double-double. That would be guard Tyrese Proctor, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds--all on the defensive end--along with 4 assists, a steal and a big drawn charge that sent Delaware star Jameer Nelson, Jr. to the bench with three fouls in the first half.
Duke outrebounded Delaware 47-25.
Jon Scheyer praised Roach’s big play.
“For Jeremy it’s about the little plays. I thought tonight he was making the winning plays. I thought he was over-thinking at first. But that play was one of the little plays that leads to winning. It’s no coincidence [the run]. When you see Jeremy do something like that, his teammates are going to respond.”
Scheyer also noted that Duke forced 11 second-half turnovers and forced Delaware into an 0 for 9 second-half from beyond the arc.
“We need to be solid, disciplined and with our size, protecting the paint. I thought we did a much better job of being disciplined, controlling the ball and having an awareness for protecting our rim.”
Grandison also came in for special praise.
“He’s worked really hard for two days and I thought he was really terrific tonight.”
Grandison had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Whitehead hit 3 of 11 from the field, with a couple of rebounds and a couple of steals.
“We knew there would be some rust,” Scheyer said. “But you can see his athleticism, his body. He’s very smart. He knows how to move without the ball, to play offense. I thought he got a little tired but I really liked his effort.”
So, a nice bounce-back from Kansas. A Monday matchup with Bellarmine looms and then a trip out west.
This team is loaded. Sure, several of its best players are young, but they are highly talented, evidently eager to get better, and our PG is a mature, highly productive team leader. Ryan Young adds good ol' Big Ten solidity and proficiency. Proctor is a highly talented and confident guard. He, Jeremy and Blakes present a tough challenges in the back court, both on O & D. Team chemistry seem super positive.
I recommend a BUY.
Enjoyable game that was competitive for a lot longer than I thought it would be. The Blue Hens deserve credit for making Duke work.
This team is deep and talented. Once all the pieces come together, they have potential to make a bunch of noise. Seeing Whitehead on the court last night is an important step.