NEW YORK Before reporters could get to Nolan Smith in the Duke locker room, former teammate Greg Paulus had grabbed him.
Smith had just scored 24 points to lead seventh-ranked Duke to an eye-opening, 76-41 thumping of No. 15 Gonzaga on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Jon Scheyer added 20 points, combining with Smith for a starting backcourt scoring total that surpassed the output of the entire Gonzaga team.
Paulus told Smith he was proud of him, then let the reporters surround him.
"Put a shirt on when you do TV," Paulus said, smiling. "I thought I taught you something."
After quickly putting his shirt on, Smith described a performance that will give Duke's backcourt esteem with the national media. Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg were calling the game for CBS.
And former Duke point guards Paulus, Chris Duhon and Jason Williams watched from the stands as Smith and Scheyer dissected Gonzaga. After a slow start, they did it by causing turnovers, getting transition baskets and making free throws to help build a 31-17 lead.
They combined for five 3-pointers during the first nine minutes of the second half to stretch the advantage. Then they scuttled any Gonzaga hopes of a comeback by milking valuable seconds off the clock with a delay game.
Doing it with Duhon, Williams and Paulus watching made it extra special.
"You've got to look good in front of the alumni, try to put on a show in front of them," Smith said. "They saw we have two good guards here, so there's nothing to worry about."
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Smith played his best game at Duke, and that Scheyer played his typical good game. But Krzyzewski was just as proud of a Blue Devils defense that held Gonzaga to an abysmal 27.8 percent from the field.
Kyle Singler drew the primary defensive assignment against senior guard Matt Bouldin, who was averaging 16.8 points per game but had missed the previous game against Davidson with a head injury. Bouldin shot 1-for-7 from the field and scored four points.
The Bulldogs were held to their lowest point total since a loss at Iowa on Nov. 26, 1984. The 35-point margin of defeat was Gonzaga's largest since a 37-point blowout against Loyola Marymount in the 1990 West Coast Conference Tournament.
"They beat us in every aspect of the game," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "It was an old-fashioned, take you out to the woodshed and beat you down."
While big guys Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek protected the basket, Smith and Scheyer danced around defenders at the other end. Scheyer handed out eight assists and made eight of his nine free throws.
Smith made all three of his 3-point shots. On one early second-half possession, Scheyer and Smith took turns probing Gonzaga's defense with aggressive drives toward the basket.
Suddenly Scheyer got a step on his defender. The guy who was guarding Smith sagged into the lane to help. Scheyer passed to a wide-open Smith for a perfectly delivered 3-point basket.
"When Nolan plays with that confidence and that swagger he has - you can see when he has it - he's a great player," Scheyer said.
Scheyer didn't notice the alumni who were watching during the game. He said that was good, because subconsciously he might have played differently if he'd known they were in the crowd.
"But they're all great guards," Scheyer said, "and it was fun for me and Nolan to play well in front of them."
No. 7 Duke 76, No. 15 Gonzaga 41
GONZAGA | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Harris | 25 | 2-8 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
Sacre | 28 | 2-11 | 5-8 | 1-4 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
Goodson | 22 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 1-4 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Bouldin | 32 | 1-7 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Gray | 29 | 3-8 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
Arop | 16 | 3-9 | 0-3 | 3-6 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Vilarino | 5 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Gibbs | 6 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Olynyk | 12 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Poling | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hart | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Kong | 17 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Foster | 4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Totals | 200 | 15-54 | 10-21 | 11-35 | 8 | 19 | 41 |
Percentages: FG .278, FT .476. 3-point goals: 1-10, .100 (Kong 1-1, Vilarino 0-1, Harris 0-1, Bouldin 0-3, Gray 0-4). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 2 (Sacre, Foster). Turnovers: 18 (Bouldin 5, Harris 5, Sacre 3, Goodson 2, Gray 2, Gibbs). Steals: 9 (Gray 4, Kong, Olynyk, Harris, Bouldin, Sacre). Technical fouls: none.
DUKE | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Singler | 32 | 3-8 | 3-4 | 2-11 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
Mi. Plumlee | 12 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
Thomas | 20 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2-9 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Smith | 34 | 10-18 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
Scheyer | 35 | 5-12 | 8-9 | 0-5 | 8 | 2 | 20 |
Ma. Plumlee | 16 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Dawkins | 17 | 1-6 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Kelly | 10 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Davidson | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Johnson | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Zoubek | 19 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Totals | 200 | 27-60 | 16-20 | 10-45 | 16 | 22 | 76 |
Percentages: FG .450, FT .800. 3-point goals: 6-18, .333 (Smith 3-3, Scheyer 2-4, Kelly 1-2, Dawkins 0-4, Singler 0-5). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 7 (Kelly 4, Ma. Plumlee, Thomas, Zoubek). Turnovers: 13 (Singler 4, Ma. Plumlee 2, Scheyer 2, Thomas, Zoubek, Dawkins, Smith, Mi. Plumlee). Steals: 7 (Thomas 2, Scheyer 2, Singler, Smith, Zoubek). Technical fouls: none.
Gonzaga | 17 | 24 | - | 41 |
Duke | 31 | 45 | - | 76 |
Att.-14,554. Officials-John Hughes, Bob Adams, Joe DeMayo.