Analysis: Duke’s win over Kentucky showed that the Blue Devils are officially back
Duke’s season-opening act proved to be a throwback Tuesday night.
The No. 9 Blue Devils’ battering of No. 10 Kentucky, 79-71, showed splashes of tough, hard-nosed basketball rarely seen over the last two seasons.
Last season’s 13-11 record, while playing through the pandemic, was everything Duke basketball hadn’t been in two decades.
“We were just very mediocre,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Even two years ago, when Duke started 15-1, there were notable lapses.
Everyone remembers Stephen F. Austin, right?
How about a loss at Clemson? Or the February foibles when Duke lost road games to N.C. State, Wake Forest and Virginia over a two-week span?
Yeah, it’s been a minute since Duke was Duke.
That minute passed at Madison Square Garden on the opening night of the new season.
Duke took control early, leading the entire first half. Kentucky finally broke on top by a point early in the second half and, for the next 69 seconds, the lead changed hands another four times as the Blue Devils and Wildcats traded haymakers.
Kentucky took what turned out to be its final lead on Keion Brooks dunk with 16:33 to play.
That’s when Duke kicked things up to another level.
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A 22-6 run, fueled by fabulous Blue Devil freshmen Trevor Keels and Paolo Banchero, cemented Duke’s lead for good and the advantage grew to 69-54 with 9:19 to play.
Kentucky had one last gasp, ratting off 11 points in a row to trail 69-65 with 6:07 left.
Duke’s next possession included two missed shots only to see the Blue Devils retain possession. Finally, with 4:46 left, Trevor Keels hit a driving layup.
Duke sophomore center Mark Williams blocked Shavir Wheeler’s layup attempt and, at the other end of the MSG court, Duke’s other standout freshman, Paolo Banchero, took a pass from Wendell Moore to hit a layup and draw a foul.
When Moore’s free throw rolled through the rim and the nets, the Blue Devils were comfortably in front 74-65 with 4:26 remaining.
With that, the final Wildcat charge was subdued and Duke closed out the win.
“They’re tough and we’re tough,” Krzyzewski said. “It was a big-time game, really big-time, and our guys really fought through a lot of adversity.”
The steady, sturdy Keels (25 points) and sleek and polished Banchero (22 points) led the way for Duke. But there was so much more.
That’s because, for one, Banchero was one of four Duke players suffering through cramping during the second half. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Banchero, who received IV fluids, was the most notable.
Yet Duke refused to let Kentucky get close to believing it had a handle on what was happening.
Keels led the way, with powerful drives into the lane, step-back jumpers and just generally running roughshod over the Wildcats.
“That’s definitely when I go kill mode right there,” Keels said. “We went on a run. We just told our team, we got to put them away right here, stepping on their necks. Coach was telling us, like, keep fighting, keep fighting. They’re going to fight back. They fought back. That’s a great team. They got good players. They fought back, but we stayed under control in the game and we came out with the victory.”
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Now, two years ago, Stephen F. Austin taught Duke’s players and coaches all they needed about taking their foot off the gas.
That said, Duke will be favored in its next five games, all at home, all against teams from much smaller and less renowned conferences. Army and Campbell are up first on Friday and Saturday, followed by Gardner-Webb on Tuesday then Lafayette on Friday.
The fifth of those teams is The Citadel, which served notice Tuesday night by whipping Pitt, and old friend Jeff Capel, 78-63. Duke gets the Bulldogs on Nov. 22.
After that is top-ranked Gonzaga, on Nov. 26, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
By then, if Duke handles business, it will be unbeaten when it goes against the Zags.
That will feel like Duke basketball again. It already felt more normal with the MSG stands again packed and spectators loud on Tuesday.
But Duke’s toughness and resilience was the real throwback and, for Blue Devils fans, it was a welcomed move.
“We’re a great team,” Banchero said. “We’re going to play together. We’re going to play hard all 40 minutes. And, yeah, I mean, we’re going to play like Duke.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 7:00 AM.