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Duke Basketball: 3 takeaways from Blue Devils victory over Coppin State

By Matthew Travis

Mar 7, 2020; Durham, North Carolina, USA; A general overview of the Duke Blue Devils bench prior to a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2020; Durham, North Carolina, USA; A general overview of the Duke Blue Devils bench prior to a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duke Basketball
Duke Basketball (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Duke Basketball FINALLY began their 2020-21 season on Saturday after their game against Gardner Webb was postponed Wednesday.

Duke basketball took on the Coppin State Eagles on Saturday in what was their first game in over eight months. The Blue Devils looked slow to start the game trailing much of the first 10 minutes but started to take shape as the half went on before leading by 17 going into the break.

To the surprise of many, Duke’s starting lineup Saturday was Jordan Goldwire, Wendell Moore, Jalen Johnson, Matthew Hurt, and Joey Baker. Personally, I thought it would be Jeremy Roach, DJ Steward, Jalen Johnson, Matthew Hurt, and Mark Williams but that was not the case.

Coach K did go to his bench early and often, however, as the bench played a combined 71 minutes on Saturday. The starter that saw the least amount of time was Joey Baker as he played only 15 minutes.

Saturday’s game was particularly odd as it was the first game for the Blue Devils in front of an empty Cameron Indoor Stadium. Cameron Indoor is known for being the toughest place to play in College Basketball with the Cameron Crazies going wild and being right on top of the court, but that will not be the case this season, and Duke looked a little slow because of it.

The Blue Devils went on to win by a final score of only 81-71 when they were 37.5 point favorites coming into the game. Duke’s biggest lead was only 16 points, but at the end of the day, a win is a win, no matter what the final score is.

So with all that being said, let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from game one:

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