Brandon Ingram's Breakout vs. Indiana Has Duke's Deep Backcourt Looking Deadly

Dick Vitale couldn’t stop talking about 4:45 p.m. on the ESPN broadcast. And after the way Brandon Ingram shot the ball Wednesday night, who could blame him?

A long, individual workout by Duke’s 6'9" freshman wing five hours before tipoff against Indiana—trying anything to snap out of a massive three-point shooting slump to start the season—turned into a breakout performance that should enlist even more trust in teammates and lead Mike Krzyzewski to believe his guard line will be just fine.

Ingram had a career-best 24 points, easily his finest showing in a top-level game.

The start of greatness, as the adoring ESPN commentator basically put it, was quickly the end of the Hoosiers.

Ingram led a 94-74 rout by spiking from 24 percent behind the arc to making four of his six tries in the first half. Two came on second chances—wide-open looks after offensive rebounds as the Hoosiers failed to recover to get a hand in his face.

It was the next big sign that the highly touted guard line, which has had its share of bumps and criticism early in the season, will figure it out.

Here are the two disclaimers: First, Indiana cannot stop anyone. It didn’t in Maui. It wasn’t going to for 40 minutes in Durham, after some early effort. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg shared his thoughts regarding the Indiana defense:

Second, Duke hasn’t lost a home nonconference game in 15 years. So it’s not like Ingram made history. He merely followed in it at Cameron Indoor Stadium, adding a 121st notch in the post.

Yet the really jarring, impressive thing was how the Blue Devils responded to his slump.

And how they’re growing up.

Grayson Allen passing on a decent look—a three-pointer—and getting to the rim. Derryck Thornton pulling the ball out late in the second half, running clock rather than chasing a stat. Good, wise shots were the norm. And the offensive rebounds only made the hoop look that much bigger for a guy like Ingram, who needed all the support he could get.

Ingram’s last three-pointer gave Duke a lead (28-26) that was never relinquished. Allen set him up in the corner with a hard drive.

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Ingram was the star because the other guards, and teammates in general, let him be. They’ve all felt the anguish of inferiority at some point already this season. It was worth it to help Ingram absolve his demons— bedevil Indiana.

We saw Allen look awful against Kentucky and then turn it up several notches the next two games (career highs of 30 and 32 against VCU and Georgetown, respectively).

Matt Jones is shooting nearly 50 percent from the arc. The junior stayed on track, making five of 11 tries against the Hoosiers and netting his season high (23 points).

Imagine if point guard Derryck Thornton and Luke Kennard really start to figure it out.

Indiana tried playing zone defense at the beginning (we think it was zone; Indiana isn't totally sure, either), having been more concerned about Duke’s size and speed getting to the rim.

The Blue Devils settled in, moved the ball and made the Hoosiers pay. Ingram, in particular. He scored eight of his team’s first 10 points and seven of his opening eight shots.

Duke averaged just shy of 1.50 points per possession.

And the Blue Devils weren’t hot-shooting snobs about it, despite shooting 53 percent. Duke secured 19 offensive rebounds.

The highly touted guards get it: Second titles (in a row) can come off second chances.

Here’s all you need to know about how much Duke got after it, as Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore pointed out at halftime:

What is very good, apparently, is Ingram’s maturity. Ranked as the third-best recruit this year by 247Sports, he hasn’t even been given much of a freshman-year honeymoon on his own campus.

A four-point showing against Kentucky will do that, apparently.

Now, we can’t all have Allen’s good fortune like at the end of the first half (That scoop shot was luck, right?).

But as much as Duke’s guards have been bemoaned, it still leads the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, per kenpom.com. 

It torched a fellow top-10 team in Indiana.

We just know Duke is going to get even better. How?

It’s the only program to rank in the top 10 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency each season since 2008-09. So we know any drop in this metric won't be a long one, even with freshmen in charge.

Allen’s average (coming into the IU game) of 22.6 points is the highest among power-conference players. And now the player counted on to be his star sidekick is beginning to emerge. Yin and Yang, opponents thinking gosh-dang.

And if you think Ingram, Allen and Co. need some help along the way—Amile Jefferson ranks third nationally in offensive rebounds per game (5.1).

This one knocked the rust off Ingram. Just wait till he and those guards really add some polish.