In the first game for top-ranked Duke basketball, they handled their business with the Elon Phoenix thanks to dominant performances by some key players.
The first half was all about Grayson Allen, who finished with 19 points off of 5/8 shooting from distance. In a reversal of the past, it was the senior who was left open due to the attention his star teammates were getting. His deep shooting allowed the Blue Devils to get off to a great start. Duke started the game off with a 20-3 run and the game never felt any closer.
The star of the second half was easily Marvin Bagley. A likely top NBA Draft pick, he was much more assertive in the second half and started to look for his offense. Allen took a step back and allowed the freshmen to take over. Elon had no answer defensively and Bagley finished with an impressive 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The player who was the most consistent over the entire game was freshman Gary Trent Jr. He had 17 points from 4-5 shooting from deep. While Trevon Duval only had eight points in the game, he did his job as a distributor, dishing out eight assists.
With Marques Bolden out with an illness, Javin DeLaurier got good minutes, even more than Wendell Carter. The sophomore finished with six points and 11 rebounds. Alex O’Connell was impressive in garbage time, hitting a couple of threes. One note of concern was the lack of free throw attempts early on in the game. That meant they were settling more than they should. Against better teams, that could be fatal.
Although Elon realistically had little chance to win, they showed good offense in the second half and should be a factor in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Senior wing Dmitri Thompson led the team with 13 points, including three deep balls.
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This was a good tune-up game for the big battle on Tuesday. There’s some talk about whether Duke could go undefeated throughout the regular season. All that talk could end on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic against the Michigan State Spartans. Busting Brackets will cover the epic matchup in the days to come, with analysis from all angles.
Duke next game: 11/11 – Utah Valley (H)
Elon next game: 11/11 – William Prince (H)