Duke both exacted some revenge and made an audible statement to the rest of the college basketball world with a 90-60 humiliation of Notre Dame Saturday afternoon in Durham. The contest had been billed as a rematch of one of the most exciting games of the season to date, the Fighting Irish’s 77-73 victory over the Devils in South Bend on Jan. 28.
Duke gets revenge with 90-60 thrashing of Notre Dame
The Blue Devils made a major statement on Saturday that they still belong right near the top of the national title contenders discussion.
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Coach K’s club put to bed any hope of a repeat classic early on, racing out to a 43-13 lead that eventually rested at 50-24 at the end of the first half. No. 4 Duke shot 81 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, averaging an absolutely insane 1.88 points per possession.
It didn’t get any better in the second frame for the visitors, who trailed by as many as 36 despite shooting a respectable 40.0 percent. It was an especially rough afternoon for Fighting Irish star Jerian Grant, who came into the game averaging 17.3 ppg, but was held to just to just 7 points on 3-of-10 shooting and only 2 assists. Grant was the star of the win in South Bend, dropping 23 points and dishing out a season-high 12 assists.
Duke made certain that Notre Dame’s All-American candidate wasn’t going to play as vital a role in the second meeting.
The box score says that the Devils finished with 5 blocks, just one more than Notre Dame, but perhaps it was the ferociousness with which Duke sent shots flying that made it feel more one-sided.
Leading the offensive onslaught for the hosts, as you might have expected, was national Player of the Year front-runner Jahlil Okafor. The big man showcased all the skills you’re going to see from him in the NBA next year, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring a game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Justise Winslow (19), Tyus Jones (12), and reserve Matt Jones (17) also scored in double figures.
Although it might not be direct result, it’s hard to ignore that Duke is 3-0 with two top 10 wins since dismissing junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon from the team on Jan. 29. The Blue Devils handed No. 3 Virginia its first loss of the season in Charlottesville last weekend, and then took care of Georgia Tech at home on Wednesday before the beatdown of the Irish. Destiny’s Child would be proud of the dominance this group has displayed since dismissing a member.
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