Duke Blue Devils Outlasts UConn Huskies in New Jersey

The Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ was packed for a neutral court clash that featured famous faces in the stands and a NCAA tournament atmosphere that permeated the entire building. After the final buzzer, it was the Duke Blue Devils (10-0) that went home for the holidays with a quality win stuffed in their stocking, pulling away from the UConn Huskies (4-4) late to seal a 66-56 victory.

The Blue Devils were paced by their freshman point guard Tyus Jones, who finished the game with 21 points while going 9 of 10 from the line. Jones, who is being hailed by some as the best point guard in the country, did little to dispel that notion by outplaying one of the top seniors in college basketball, opposing point guard Ryan Boatright.

Boatright contributed his usual herculean effort for the depth-deprived Huskies, scoring 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting and dominating the ball for all 39 of his minutes on the floor. However, the rest of his Husky teammates struggled to contribute against Duke’s immensely talented starting five.

Amida Brimah, fresh off a 40-point performance against Coppin State, was held without a single point until the late stages of the game. Brimah started the game with an emphatic block that energized the UConn faithful that occupied an arena split 50/50 with fans representing both schools, but he later picked up a foul on that same opening possession and was summoned to the bench by head coach Kevin Ollie. He returned minutes later to quickly pick up his second foul.

More from Busting Brackets

In total, UConn’s second best player, and one of the country’s best interior defenders, played 48 seconds in the first half. Consequently, he struggled to find his rhythm throughout the entire game.

With Brimah on the pine, the Huskies struggled to find a viable alternative to Boatright, who spent the entire game being hounded by Duke’s stable of guards. Freshman Daniel Hamilton (10 points) showed glimpses of being that secondary scoring option, but his contributions were too few.

The Huskies most effective offensive weapon other than Boatright turned out to be Kentan Facey. The rangy sophomore from Jamaica scored 14 points, mostly from put backs and close-distance finishes. His scrapping kept the game close, but Duke was never really threatened despite only a 57-51 lead with under five minutes to go.

Duke was able to hold off the Huskies despite pedestrian performances from Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, the Blue Devils other heralded freshman starters. Okafor was quiet from the field, shooting only 3 of 5. He needed 11 free throw attempts (6 of 11 from the line) to reach his total of 12 points for the night.

Winslow got his shots, but missed them. He was 4 of 10 from the field, but did knock down a crucial three-pointer that iced the game at the aforementioned point when UConn was within six late. Even with five starters in double-figures, it was clear that the second most important performance from a Duke player was the 11-point, 13-rebound, 2-block contribution from Amile Jefferson. With Okafor being bothered by pesky double-down defense, Jefferson ratcheted up his aggressiveness and gave the Blue Devils the production and efficiency from their frontcourt that they have come to expect this year.

Both teams will take a long break for the holidays before returning to action after Christmas Day. As a side note, Coach Mike Kryzyzewski also continuing his march towards 1,000 wins with the victory. If the Blue Devils win out on the way, Coach K’s 1,000th victory would come next month against newly-minted ACC rival Louisville.