Duke's “Preseason” Ends with Another Win
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
After a sluggish start, the Duke Blue Devils delivered a good-old fashion ass-whopping on Colgate, 110-58. Of course when I say “sluggish start” I’m certainly knit-picking. Duke was up 21-15 with eight minutes gone by. It’s not like they were losing. Of course after they put on a 66-point display in the second half, you couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated with Duke “only” scoring 44 in the first half. Oh to be a spoiled Duke fan.
THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN…
…Kyle Singler nailed that three-point shot to open up the second half. Yes, Duke was already up 18 points and over the last 12 minutes of the first half, went on a 23-11 run, but 18 points against an 0-2 Colgate team just didn’t feel right.
The fact was, Singler had been struggling on the offensive end. He was only 2-10 heading into half time. When he came out and nailed that three, you just knew it was going to be showtime from that moment on.
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WHO DESERVES MAD PROPS
Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith. Duke’s starting backfield was on a race to 10 assists. Both game up short…one short. Both Irving and Smith produced nine assists each. It’s stats like this that should put to rest the “chemistry” concerns on this team. The fact is, both Irving and Smith are two guy who can own a game with their scoring abilities, but they choose to win with their teammates.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT…
…Miles Plumlee. The oldest Plumlee started a second-straight game on the bench. In the first half, he continued to struggle. He did manage a couple of offensive rebounds, a block and a steal, but he failed to make a shot.
In the second half though, Miles seemed to relax a little (it helps to have a 30-point lead). He ended up having his best game of this young season. He hit four of his last five, scoring nine, grabbing eight rebounds (six offensive) and finishing with three steals.
LOSERS NEED LOVE TOO
This wasn’t easy. No player scored in double figures for Colgate, no one really grabbed a ton of rebounds and certainly no one played any defense. So I’m giving some love to Brandon James, the backup forward. The sophomore averages less than three per game in his career and he’s grabbed six or more boards in a game only twice, but in 12 minutes, James scored seven (3-4 shooting) and grabbed six boards. Not too terrible.
GOD I LOVE STATS I
In honor of North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, Duke shutout two Colgate starters tonight. (G) Pat Moore and (C) Lazar Bogdanovic were a combine 0-12 from the floor tonight.
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