No. 1 Duke rides Vernon Carey’s big night to a win over California
Duke started four freshmen for the first time this season on Thursday night.
One of them stood out above the rest.
Vernon Carey, Jr., tallied 31 points with 12 rebounds as the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils topped California 87-52 in the 2K Empire Classic semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
Duke (5-0) advances to meet Georgetown in Friday night’s tournament championship game (7 p.m., ESPN2). The Hoyas (4-1) knocked off No. 22 Texas 82-66 in Thursday night’s first semifinal.
After tallying 20 points and 14 rebounds in Duke’s 74-63 win over Georgia State last Friday night, the 6-10 Carey turned in an even more productive night against the Golden Bears (4-1). The freshman center made 11 of 18 shots overall. He also hit his only 3-point attempt.
Two of his classmates, Cassius Stanley and Wendell Moore, joined him as double-figure scorers for the Blue Devils. Stanley finished with 11 points while Moore scored 10 in his first starting assignment.
While its three freshmen led the way on offense, Duke had its usual strong night of defense to make for a one-sided final score. California shot 36.5 percent while turning the ball over 15 times.
And one
The Blue Devils dominated Cal on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 50-28. Despite its low field-goal percentage the Golden Bears secured just seven offensive rebounds. Carey led the way for Duke in overall rebounds with the 6-6 Moore contributing seven.
Lane violation
Duke struggled early against California’s zone defense, hitting just 2 of its first 13 shots over the game’s first eight minutes. That included 1 of 7 on 3-pointers. The Blue Devils, though, eventually found their shooting touch.
ICYMI
Last season’s Duke Blue Devils started freshmen Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones in every game they were all healthy and available. But Thursday night’s four-freshmen starting lineup with Carey, Cassius Stanley, Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt joining Jones (now a sophomore) was the first time this season coach Mike Krzyzewski started four freshmen.
Making sense of the numbers
2: Field goals made by Duke’s Tre Jones as he had a tough shooting night against California’s zone. But the two he made were 3-pointers in the first half. He also had seven assists.
3: Duke NBA players sitting courtside for the game. New York Knicks rookie RJ Barrett was featured on the scoreboard, shown pointing to the ACC championship ring he helped earn last March. Marvin Bagely III and Harry Giles, in town with the Sacramento Kings to play the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, also watched the game.
21: First-half points scored Thursday night by Duke’s Carey and the entire California Golden Bears team.
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 11:30 PM.