Quick Reaction: Duke Holds Off Michigan State, 81-71
Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports
The Duke Blue Devils faced their first real test of the 2014-2015 season with a matchup against the 15th ranked Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday night. The Spartans made a game out of it for most of the night but the Blue Devils walked away victorious in the end.
Here’s a quick reaction to what went on in those 40 minutes.
Jahlil Okafor still looks like the real deal
Stats: 17 points, 8-10 FG, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 1 assist
Okafor scored his first basket of the game on a simple pick-and-roll with Justise Winslow. He then caught a lob pass from Quinn Cook less than a minute later for an easy two. The Blue Devils then fed Okafor the ball in the post, to which he responded with a face-up jump shot and a quick move past Gavin Schilling for a reverse lay-in.
The Spartans didn’t want to double down on Okafor in the hope of containing Duke’s shooters, but he was feasting on them in the early going. He took what the defense gave him and made easy pickings of their man-to-man coverage. They eventually had no choice but to pack the paint and make his life more difficult.
After Tuesday, Okafor is now shooting 25-for-30 from the field on the season. That’s 85.0 percent. He’s a smart player who doesn’t force anything, and he’s a very willing passer. We’re only three games into the season, but he’s been very impressive so far.
Tyus Jones can ball
Stats: 17 points, 4 assists, 2 steals on 4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 7-7 FT
With nine minutes to go in the second half, Jahlil Okafor picked up his fourth foul and was forced to take a seat on the bench. The Blue Devils only held a seven point lead at the time and the Spartans seemed destined for a quick run to make it a competitive finish. However, Tyus Jones had different plans. He went to work as soon as Okafor left the game and put Michigan State to bed — within five minutes, they stretched their lead to 14 points.
Jones scored all 17 of his points in the second half. Even with Okafor putting on an exhibition in the low post, Jones was the Blue Devils’ best player on the night.
The Blue Devils are deep
Okafor can get any shot he wants in the post, Quinn Cook can heat up from behind the arc, Tyus Jones does a good job of getting into the paint and finding open players, and Justise Winslow does a bit of everything. They can all score in a variety of ways and they’re all unselfish. As a foursome, they combined for 68 points. Michigan State scored 71 points as a team.
The Blue Devils are deep, to the point where teams have to pick their poison. It’s a scary combination, all in all.
The Spartans are a resilient group
Nobody in particular stood out for the Spartans. Denzel Valentine got off to a good start and helped them weather the storm when everything was clicking for the Blue Devils, scoring nine points in the opening nine minutes of play. While he scored just four more points in the remainder of the game, his teammates got easy points by taking advantage of the gaping holes in Duke’s defense — getting out on the fast break and attacking the glass on offense.
The Spartans put up a good fight in general. They just couldn’t knock down enough outside shots to keep it close down the stretch and the turnovers they committed in the first half came back to haunt them.
At the end of the day, Duke was just better.