Duke Blue entered their first round NCAA tournament matchup against Siena as a 27.5 point favorite, but at halftime the Blue Devils were staring down an 11 point deficit against a Saints team that led the number one overall seed in nearly every statistical category.
It was one of the worst halves of basketball the Blue Devils have played and sophomore Isaiah Evans took the blame for it.
“I feel like a lot of that first half fell on me,” Evans said when I asked him after the win what his emotions were. “I don’t know,” he said shaking his head trying to find the words. “I’ve just got to be better for my guys. I feel like that run…I put us in that position.”
Isaiah was 1-5 from the floor in the first half – all from three, but his play on the offensive end wasn’t what upset him the most. It was his defensive effort that he said jump started the Saints 15-4 run.
“I feel like I got them going by letting them get easy baskets. I’m falling on the floor. I can’t get rebounds. That’s just not the recipe to win, so the responsibility falls on my shoulders to come and play to the standard with my other teammates.”
The second half was notably different for Evans. He opened the period with a drive and dunk, followed by a fast break dunk and a three point basket.
“I feel like I owed my teammates,” he said when he asked him about his 2nds half start. “My play in the first half was disgusting. It was not Duke basketball and I just feel like I owed it to my teammates to step up.”
It was a first for me seeing Evans like this. He is a player who has always been honest about his team and his play, but this is the first time I’ve seen him this upset. But it wasn’t about his play personally, it was about him feeling like let his team down.
“Have you ever seen a first half like that from me?,” Evans said when I told him I’ve never seen him like this since I’ve covered him at Duke. “That shit was ridiculous. That’s never going to happen again.”
But despite the disappointment, Isaiah won’t linger on it.
“We’ve been a team that can flush wins and losses quick. We’re going to go back, watch film, learn and get ready for TCU.”
Evans finished the game with 16 points (13 in the 2nd half).
Next up for the Blue Devils is a 2nd round matchup against TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday.
