Duke Basketball: Blue Devils destroy Georgia Tech in Allen’s return game
By Stuart Gill
With all of their freshman and junior Grayson Allen active, Duke basketball ran away with a win against Georgia Tech.
Duke bounced back nicely from their loss against Virginia Tech over the weekend, as they crushed Georgia Tech, 110-57.
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Even just minutes into the game, there was no doubt about who would come out on top. Duke made six of their first seven three-point attempts in the game’s first six minutes. Luke Kennard hit three of those shots, and would score 11 points to help Duke open a 14-point lead before the under-12 media timeout.
Duke’s starting lineup of Grayson Allen, Kennard, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Amile Jefferson proved unstoppable as they spaced the floor and moved the ball with authority.
They stayed one step ahead of the Yellow Jacket defense at all times, and they aren’t simply a lineup stacked with talent; they play disciplined, team basketball. They passed up good shots for great ones, and everyone was able to get involved in the scoring party.
Every starter finished with at least 10 points, while Matt Jones and Frank Jackson chipped in 14 and 15 off the bench, respectively. Duke also out-rebounded Georgia Tech Tech, 49-31, as a team.
For the Yellow Jackets, Quinton Stephens and Ben Lammers each finished with nine, while Tadric Jackson, Justin Moore and Josh Okogie chipped in 11 apiece. The Yellow Jackets’ bench added only six points in the loss though.
Georgia Tech wasn’t terrible offensively, but found themselves down by a large margin quickly and never showed any true potential to compete. Their lack of depth and poor defensive effort throughout the entirety of the contest doomed them from the start.
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Duke is now beginning to look like the powerhouse that everyone had been waiting to see since they landed the commitments of Giles, Tatum and Marques Bolden. And the fact that they escaped the first third of the season with just two losses — a two point loss to Kansas and the loss to Virginia Tech — is remarkable. With Allen and Kennard leading the offense, and Tatum, Jones, Jackson, Jefferson, and Giles (yes, the list is that long), continuing to provide valuable offensive production, don’t be surprised if Duke soon finds themselves back atop the national rankings.