Duke Basketball: Jefferson, Kennard, Tatum combine for 75 in Duke's win over UF

Duke basketball looks closer to the real Blue Devils in win over Florida at Madison Square Garden.

The Duke Blue Devils are not at full strength yet; Grayson Allen is still battling a nagging toe injury, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden have played in just two college games and Harry Giles has yet to return.

But Duke looked closer to the team that was the resounding preseason favorite on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils received 75 combined points from Amile Jefferson (24 points and 15 rebounds), Luke Kennard (29 points) and Jayson Tatum (22 points and eight rebounds) in their 84-74 win over the Florida Gators in the Jimmy V Classic.

The Blue Devils won despite getting just six points from Grayson Allen and two minutes from Marques Bolden.

Why were they able to pull out the victory? Because Duke’s top three players on Tuesday night put forth marvelous performances.

Jefferson is an excellent low-post threat, as he scored around the rim almost every time he touched the basketball (he shot 11-of-14 from the field). As the lone big man who played consistent minutes, Jefferson also gave the team a lift on the boards.

Kennard has shown incredible improvements from his freshman season to his sophomore campaign. He has become much more efficient, picks his spots on the floor so well and has molded into much more than a spot up shooter. Kennard has been so effective that Duke fans are starting to fall in love with his game. Every time he launched a three on Tuesday, Madison Square Garden broke out into ‘L-uuu-ke’ chants.

And then there’s Tatum, who sat out the first eight games of the season due to a sprained foot. The projected lottery pick looked rusty early in the game, but started to show off his tools and potential in the second frame. Tatum is elite in transition, is the ‘Master of the Mid-Range’ and is silky smooth when trying to create offense.

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Duke is not always going to be able to rely on three players to score 75 combined points in a single game. That won’t happen every night.

But that’s the scary part. Jefferson, Kennard and Tatum were alpha dogs on Tuesday because they had to be. What happens if (or when) everyone gets healthy and rolling, and there are five-to-six options that can drop 20 on you on any given night?

“It’s almost like we’re in October mode now, where everyone else is in December mode, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in his postgame press conference in reference to Bolden and the rest of the team’s injuries. “But I think we can catch up.”

The Hall of Fame coach also mentioned that his team hasn’t practiced very much, instead participating in mostly walk-thru’s. In fact, Duke didn’t practice before Tuesday night’s battle against Florida because Tatum and Jefferson were at funerals for respective family members.

According to Coach K, during the season, Tatum has practiced once, Bolden hasn’t been on the floor and Allen “hasn’t practiced in a couple weeks and just plays in games.”

Despite all of this, somehow Duke’s chemistry is in mid-season form. They had 16 assists on 32 field goals against Florida, and there were two particular passes in the first half from Kennard and Allen that were pure dimes to Jefferson, who finished in the painted area.

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Allen had a poor game (2-of-10 shooting), but he also had eight assists and didn’t force many shots.

So what happens when Duke starts practicing with one another? What happens when Tatum and Bolden adjust to the speed of the game? What happens if Allen becomes potential Player of the Year Grayson Allen again? And most importantly, what happens if Harry Giles joins the team and plays up to expectations?

“Harry’s practicing. He hasn’t had as much contact yet. We are hoping before Christmas, those two games (versus Tennessee State and versus Elon),” Coach K said. “But I don’t want to put a gun to his head, like ‘you have to do it.’ I’d like to see what he does during the exam period with a little bit more contact and then go forward.”

Duke is not unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination – Florida actually cut the Blue Devils’ lead down to seven with 2:31 remaining and hung around for most of the game – but they have so much more ability and talent than everyone else. The chemistry is there and of course, Coach K is one of the best coaches on the planet.

Next: Five reasons why UCLA can win it all

It’s going to be interesting to see how this team continues to develop, especially over the course of a brutal ACC schedule. But on Tuesday night, it was the first step in the direction of seeing the real Duke team that we all expected.

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Duke Basketball: Jefferson, Kennard, Tatum combine for 75 in Duke’s win over UF

By Carmine Carcieri | Dec 7, 2016

Duke basketball looks closer to the real Blue Devils in win over Florida at Madison Square Garden.

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