Duke Basketball: 3 takeaways from the Blue Devils’ 88-81 win over Michigan State

Grayson Allen was phenomenal

What else can be said about Allen and the start of his senior/redemption tour? He started out hot with five threes in the first game of the season against Elon. Including tonight’s 7-for-11 performance shooting from distance, Allen is now 17-for-26 (65%) to start the season. That deep three to end the half was a huge shot against a team who finally got momentum. He shut down the morale of Michigan State heading into the break and gave Duke a much-needed boost.

Once Bagley was out, it was Allen who took over for the team both physically and emotionally. It cannot be overstated that on the biggest stage of this early season, he put up his best game both on offense and defense while carrying a team full of freshman.

Due to how good Duval was in this game, Allen was able to play off the ball and play with a guard who was able to find him for open shots. The surprisingly early chemistry displayed between the two should be causing nightmares for ACC coaches down the road.

When Duke struggled to hit shots in the second half, it was Allen who took over. Any questions about his maturity and ability to lead to team to glory should be thrown out the door and never discussion for the rest of the season.