Duke Blue Devils Escape MSG with Win over Washington Huskies

Madison Square Garden is often called the Cameron Indoor Stadium of the north. The Duke Blue Devils love the place and it typically shows on the scoreboard. This time around the Washington Huskies hoped their athleticism and momentum could springboard them into a December upset. 

At first glance, the 86-80 final score makes it appear like a closely-contested matchup. However, it was poor play and inexcusable free-throw shooting which allowed the Huskies to make a late run, but they were never really in a position to steal a win.

Ryan Kelly started slow, going 2-7 from the floor in the first half, but improved as the game went on, using his size to finish with 16 points and eight rebounds. Austin Rivers led the Devils in scoring with 18 and is starting to show signs of growth and maturity.

Once again using Tyler Thornton as a starter, the Blue Devils often looked strong. Benefiting most from the move appeared to be sharp-shooter Andre Dawkins. Although he came off of the bench, he led all Duke player in playing time and scored 17.

The point total was nice for the Virginia native, but it didn't help his field goal percentage, however, as he was only 5-13 from the floor, but it was enough against an average Washington team.

On a day where the top two teams in the nation losing is second-tier to an on-court brawl, it is certainly nice for Duke fans to enjoy a classy win in one of the best, and most historic, basketball venues in the world.

In Coach K's history at Duke he has an impressive 22-7 record at the Garden, and the Devils once again proved how much they enjoy playing at MSG.

Up next for Duke is UNC Greensboro, as the Spartans will visit the unfriendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium.  On the season the Spartans haven't found too many comfortable courts, as they have only won two games and are dead last in the Southern Conference's North Division.