Duke Blue Devils: 3 Reactions As Tyus Jones Downs Badgers

MVP: Tyus Jones. How old is this kid again? He’s a senior right? He played with such poise tonight that NO ONE would believe he’s a freshman. He entered a hostile environment in his first true road game and absolutely controlled the show for the Blue Devils. When Jahlil Okafor left with four fouls, he took over down the stretch and iced this game for Duke.

LVP: Sam Dekker. Did anyone see him tonight? Because he certainly wasn’t in the Kohl Center. 2-5 from the field. Four rebounds. One assist. Five points. That’s not the output you want from your supposed star forward.

Stat of the Night: 65.2%. That’s Duke’s field goal shooting. On the road. In Wisconsin. Starting three freshman. Holy smokes, does Coach K have a talented squad. Rarely does a team shoot that well. Rarely does a team beat Wisconsin in Madison. Never do both things happen, yet Duke looked the dominant side the entire night.

1. Duke is squarely the second best team in America, at least

This had been debated about for most of the preseason, but tonight ended the debate. The Duke Blue Devils walked into arguably the toughest arena to play and dominated the Badgers. The scoreline may show differently, but for the large majority of the game tonight, Duke led, and they led comfortably. Despite constant runs, the Badgers could never get within arms reach late in the game as Duke made all the big plays.

Now, we need to find a way to make sure they play Kentucky. Rig the tournament. Schedule a game. I don’t care. We’d be robbed if we don’t see these two teams this year.

2. Duke’s backcourt might be their best weapon

All we’ve heard about Duke all season is just how good Okafor is. Tonight, it was Jones, Quinn Cook, and Rasheed Sulaimon who stepped up. Combined, the trio had 49 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and shot 16 of 24 from the field, including 6-9 from three. Have I mentioned what a great team Duke is?

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While we hear all about Kentucky’s platoons and their individual talent, Duke has not so quietly formed arguably the most well-rounded team in the country. They have the best pure center, the best pure point guard, an elite perimeter defender, and all the right role players. Cook has accepted his role admirably, Sulaimon is excelling off the bench, and Duke looks like a serious threat.

3. Duke’s defense makes them serious title contenders

Tonight, Coach K’s gameplan worked FANTASTICALLY. The Blue Devils switched every screen in the constantly moving Wisconsin offense, and that’s not a look they get often. The result was confusion for much of the start of the game. Even in the second half, Duke’s intensity created bad passing angles for the Badgers and if not turnovers, then out of rhythm shots or rushed/forced ones. The result was a bad shooting night across the board and tons of missed easy shots for the Badgers.

The Blue Devils no longer rely on their offense, or specifically their three-point shooting, which dogged them in many tournament upsets. With a defense as athletic and feisty as this year’s squad has will create offense for them, as it did many times tonight. In a high-pressure tournament game, this will be a different maker.