The Blue Devils took their first L of the season, falling to Ohio State 71-66. Duke opened the game asserting themselves in the post – scoring 28 of their 43 first half points in the paint. The Blue Devils went to the break with a comfortable 13 point lead, but struggled in the 2nd – shooting just 22.6% from the floor. The Buckeyes chipped away at a once 15-point 2nd half deficit and used a 14-0 run over the last 3:31 to take down the number one team in the country – holding the Blue Devils scoreless in the last 4:29.
“They played really hard,” Coach K said after the game. “They played really good defense and I thought they wore us out. I thought we were worn out at the end. Part of it obviously is what they’re doing against us. The kid [Cedric] Russell really hit some big buckets for them coming off the bench. They’re well-coached, they’re well-balanced and we fouled so much. This is the worst that we’ve fouled. We’ve been really good at not turning it over and
not fouling and tonight we had 23 fouls. I think part of that shows us being tired, just not playing with the same foot speed that we normally have.”
“Really, I think it came down to they just made more plays than we did at the end of the game,” junior Wendell Moore said. “They got the stops they needed and hit big shots. We came down, we got the looks we wanted, our shots just didn’t fall. Sometimes it happens like that. Again, they’re a very good team. They fought the whole game. Both teams played hard, but at the end of the day they came out one more shot.”
Duke will some time to rest the next couple of weeks – after playing a rigorous opening schedule. They’ll be back in Cameron Indoor to take on South Carolina State on December 14th.
Game Notes:
Team Notes
- Mike Krzyzewski is in his 42nd season as Duke’s head coach, and his record is now 1,104-303 at Duke, and 1,177-362 overall in this, his 47th season overall.
- Duke is now 19-4 all-time when playing in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
- The series versus Ohio State now stands at 4-4, including 2-2 in Challenge games.
- The game marked nearly two years to the day since Duke last played as the AP No. 1 team – an 83-70 win over Winthrop on Nov. 29, 2019 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- Duke committed just seven turnovers, forced Ohio State into 12 turnovers. Duke owned a 15-8 edge in points-off-turnover scoring.
- Through eight games this season, Duke is +99 in points-off-turnover scoring (152-53).
- Duke has now connected on at least one three-point field goal in 1,122 consecutive games – the nation’s second longest active streak.
- Duke has committed just 18 turnovers over the last three games.
- Duke committed a season-high 23 fouls.
Player Notes
- Junior Wendell Moore Jr., had team highs in points (17), rebounds (seven) and assists (five), while committing just one turnover in 34 minutes.
- Moore’s streak of three-straight 20-point games was halted.
- Freshman Paolo Banchero was Duke’s only other player in double-figures with 14 points. He was 5-of-6 at the free throw line.
- Sophomore Mark Williams scored eight points with seven rebounds.
- Williams is 17-of-22 from the field over his last three games.
