Kyrie Irving and the Duke Blue Devils KO Princeton in Opener

So much for a difficult opener. Against a Princeton team favored to win the Ivy League, Duke jumped to a 14-point lead at halftime and then found yet another gear to win handily 97-60.

“We had too much energy on the offensive end in the first half,” said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We just wanted it so badly that I think we screwed up about five fast breaks. We were a little whacked out with all the energy. In the second half, we combined energy and poise.”

Dominating Defense

While 97 points against a quality opponent meant Duke got the track meet they wanted, it was the Blue Devils’ defense that impressed the most. The Tigers went nearly 18 minutes before executing a backdoor cut for a basket, a staple of their offense.

Excellent communication, denial on the wings and weakside help disrupted Princeton’s attack to the point that Sydney Johnson was forced to go to a three-guard lineup and still the Tigers coughed up 27 turnovers that led to 36 Duke points.

Much was made in the pre-season about Duke’s speed on offense but it was quick hands and feet on defense that made skip passes and ball reversals a nightmare for the Tigers.

“We definitely played the defense we wanted to play,” guard Nolan Smith said. “Against a team like that, with guys that can really shoot 3′s, we played the defense we wanted to play tonight.”

Dazzling Debut

It was quite an auspicious debut for point guard Kyrie Irving as well, Duke’s first freshman point guard to start since Jason Williams in 1999. Irving finished with 17 points, nine assists, four rebounds, two steals and provided whirlwind fastbreaks and penetration that were missing from the offense last year.

Senior co-captains Smith and Kyle Singler scored 22 and 16 points respectively, a particularly efficient performance by both. Smith was 10-for-15 from the field and Singler was 7-for-10.

The Plumlee brothers combined for just seven points but they’ll earn their keep this season defensively and on the glass. The brothers were quiet in this one with just six boards between them, plus a pair of blocks for Mason. That won’t do against elite competition.

The bench made a nice contribution with 35 points, led by Seth Curry’s 14 and Andre Dawkins’ 13 as Duke hit 14 treys.

You know there might be some poor shooting nights this season, but it’s hard to imagine everyone going cold with a roster so stocked with marksmen.

Princeton’s Johnson agreed.

“I don’t know how many teams are going to be able to play with these guys. There might be 10 teams in the country that can handle all the things that they throw at you so good luck to those guys because Duke’s pretty good.”

Next Up: Miami (OH) on Tuesday

The O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic continues Tuesday when Duke hosts Miami of Ohio. The Redhawks return three starters and 10 of 13 players, but lost their top guard and team leader Kenny Hayes which could make for a very long night at Cameron.

Allen Roberts and Chris McHenry are the next set of guards to try and contend with Duke’s fullcourt pressure and lightning-quick defenders.

The strength of Charlie Coles’ team is 6’8″, 245-pound forward Julian Mavunga (10.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg), one of the top players in the MAC.

The Redhawks also have seniors Nick Winbush (9.7, 4.7) and Antonio Ballard (7.6, 5.9) up front but it’s a pretty safe bet that Duke won’t allow any of them to receive the ball where they’re comfortable.

Miami of Ohio has five promising newcomers on the roster but facing the nation’s top-ranked team in Cameron Indoor Stadium is not the ideal place to get your feet wet.

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