Duke Wins, the Sun Rises, Nothing Changes

WHAT JUST HAPPENED:

The Duke Blue Devils improved to 2-0, doing what they’ve done for a decade now, winning at home against non-conference foes (that’s 79 and counting).

Like me around chocolate, Miami (the one in Ohio) could offer up no resistance in their first trip into Cameron Indoor Stadium.

They couldn’t shoot, they couldn’t defend. They couldn’t rebound. Tough to win games that way.

THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN…

…Andre Dawkins hit a three with about six minutes left in the first half. Why that particular moment? It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact moment when a game when you’re dealing with a blowout like this. The RedHawks led once, 1-0, and then Duke went on a 7-0 run.

Technically you could argue that’s when this game was over. That would be boring and I would have nothing worthy to write about. So when Dawkins nailed that three at the six-minute mark, it gave Duke its biggest lead (25-11). Miami would never get any closer from there.

WHO DESERVES MAD PROPS:

Seth Curry was the man tonight.

After a decent, but not great first game against Princeton, Curry admitted to being nervous. Hell, it’s been over a year since he’s played a competitive game, so no one blamed him for having some nerves.

At first, it looked like it would be an issue against Miami. For the second game on the row, Curry came off the bench and took a quick shot on his first offensive possession. To me, that’s just impatience.

After that though, he looked as cool as a Jello Pudding Pop. He let the game come to him and let his teammates set him up nicely. He finished the game scoring 17 in just 22 minutes. He hit his last three threes and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.

Note to Dell Curry (Seth’s dad)…try smiling for us once in a while. I know you’re use to watching your son dominate on the hardwood, but you look like a grumpy old man sitting their surrounded by cheering kids. Give someone a high-five. I did it once, it felt liberating.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT…

…Mason Plumlee. The big guy actually looked like a big man tonight. Sure, the competition wasn’t great, but good players need to put up great numbers against bad teams.

Mason owned the boards, grabbing 14 rebounds (three offensive). He produced his first career double-double with 10 points to go along with those two touchdowns worth of boards. Now if we can only improve that 2-of-6 free throw shooting, we’d be on to something.

LOSERS NEED LOVE AS WELL:

There really wasn’t a lot to love Tuesday night from the RedHawks, but at least Nick Winbush wasn’t afraid to put the ball in the basket. He scored 14, grabbing six rebounds along the way. He shot 6-of-12 from the floor as the rest of his teammates shot just 12-42 (29 percent).

GOD, I LOVE STATS:

In two games this season, Duke’s opponents are just 12-of-41 from three. For those who aren’t that good at math, that’s just 29 percent.

 

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