Michigan State vs. Duke: Score, Reaction for 2016 ACC/Big Ten Challenge

The Duke Blue Devils played just six players during Tuesday's showdown against the Michigan State Spartans at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but that was more than enough to earn their conference a 78-69 victory in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The two blue-blood programs with legendary coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo have experienced very different starts to the season. The No. 5 Blue Devils improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 at home, while the unranked Spartans dropped to 4-4.

ESPN Stats & Info noted how long it has been since Izzo's team got off to such a poor start:

Michigan State, however, has already played No. 16 Arizona, No. 1 Kentucky, No. 9 Baylor and Wichita State, which partially explains its record.

Duke proved to be one of the Spartans' toughest opponents of all thanks to strong performances by Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard, Amile Jefferson and Frank Jackson. Allen led all scorers with 24 points behind five made three-pointers, while Kennard added 20. Jefferson tallied a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Jackson notched 11 points.

Jefferson essentially anchored the Blue Devils' interior game on his own since Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden were all out with injuries. The health concerns limited Krzyzewski's options, but Duke still grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and lost the battle on the boards just 39-33.

Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com made a frightening observation for the rest of the ACC and country:

Eron Harris led Michigan State with 14 points, while freshman Miles Bridges added 11 points and nine rebounds. The Spartans struggled against the Duke defense for much of the game, shooting 5-of-16 from three-point range and making 18 turnovers.

The Blue Devils opened the contest in a zone but quickly switched to man-to-man and took the lead after falling behind 4-0. Matt Jones shadowed Bridges at times and made it difficult for Michigan State to get open looks early.

Bridges didn't score until he made a free throw with 10 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first half, but the Spartans claimed a 15-13 advantage. The back-and-forth pace continued throughout much of the first half, and Brendan F. Quinn of MLive Media Group described how Michigan State was able to stay within striking distance:

It felt fitting that the first half ended in a 35-35 tie considering neither team could establish sustained momentum or build a lead larger than four points.

The key for the Spartans was their perimeter defense, as the Blue Devils shot just 2-of-11 from three-point range. What's more, Allen was 2-of-10 from the field with three turnovers.

Jefferson led the way for Duke with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Michigan State countered with eight points from Harris, who was one of seven different Spartans to score in the first half.

Early in the second half, Allen made two threes, which was a welcome sign for the Blue Devils.

Duke got rolling on the offensive side, as Allen, Jackson and Kennard sparked an 11-0 run, and Stephen Wiseman of the Herald-Sun praised Jackson:

The Blue Devils were in control even after Matt McQuaid's three cut their lead to 59-53 with 10:18 remaining and Jackson picked up his fourth foul with more than nine minutes remaining.

Duke maintained its hold on the interior and stretched its advantage back to double digits, as Ben Swain of Sports Channel 8 in North Carolina described:

The Spartans never threatened down the stretch as the Blue Devils dominated the glass and Allen and Kennard hit their shots. Facing an 11-point deficit with 1:22 to play, Michigan State elected not to foul, and Kennard all but sealed the game with an offensive rebound and layup with less than a minute remaining.

What's Next?

Michigan State has home games coming up against Oral Roberts, Youngstown State, Tennessee Tech, Northeastern and Oakland before starting Big Ten play at Minnesota on Dec. 27.

Duke will host Maine before a showdown with Florida in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 6. The Blue Devils are among the early contenders for a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday and could use additional nonconference victories to bolster their resume.

Postgame Reaction

Jackson praised the home fans, per Duke Basketball: "Cameron was electric. The Crazies popped up like burnt toast all night and gave us a huge edge."

Jefferson pointed to Jones' defense, per Duke Basketball: "I'm gonna go ahead and start the campaign. Matt Jones for Defensive Player of the Year. He anchors our D every game."

Krzyzewski noted Allen is playing through health concerns as well, per Wiseman: "Just so you know, Grayson does not practice one second. So when he is out on that court, it is a gutty performance."

Izzo said he saw "too much AAU ball, not enough college ball" from his team, per Joedy McCreary of the Associated Press.

Izzo also reflected on the start of the season, per McCreary: "We've been through the gauntlet, no question about it, but we competed almost to the end. I'm going to build on this."

If the lessons learned during these November struggles lead to March victories, Michigan State fans will likely be thrilled with the tradeoff.