Heating up: Three takeaways from Duke's blowout victory over Incarnate Word

Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer on Dec 10, 2024

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DURHAM, N.C. — No. 4 Duke washed away the stench of a subpar first half with second-half surge that blew away Incarnate Word on Tuesday night.

After struggling to pull away from the Cardinals, Duke scored the first 11 points after halftime and rolled to a 72-46 nonconference basketball win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (8-2) shot a lowly 33% while hitting just 2 of 13 3-pointers in the first half and, after not leading by more than 10 points, took a 28-21 halftime lead over the Cardinals (5-5).

That turned around quickly in the second half, when Duke hit 7 of its first 11 shots to shoot 56% and finish at 43.6% for the game.

Khaman Maluach scored a season-high 17 points for Duke while fellow freshmen Isaiah Evans (14 points) and Kon Knueppel (10) also scored in double figures for the Blue Devils.

Here are three takeaways from the game, as Duke won its fourth consecutive game:

Duke’s stifling defense

It’s going to be difficult for Duke to hold any team to a worse shooting day than Seattle’s 21.3% when the Blue Devils posted a 70-48 win on Nov. 29. But Incarnate Word made a run for that lowlight of a record.

The Cardinals missed their first eight shots after halftime, dropping their shooting percentage to a frigid 20.6%, before heating up after the game was out of hand to finish at 32.1%

Still, Incarnate Word barely avoided becoming the third team in 10 games this season to shoot less than 30% against Duke. In addition to Seattle’s 21.3%, Wofford shot 24.6% on Nov. 16 when Duke won 86-35.

The only teams to shoot 40% or better against Duke this season are Kansas (49.1%) and Auburn (45.3%)

Duke is No. 1 nationally in defensive efficiency this season, according to KenPom.com. Entering Tuesday, the Blue Devils had allowed only .894 points per possession this season.

Missing Maliq

The Blue Devils played without Maliq Brown for the first time this season. A 6-9 transfer from Syracuse, Brown suffered a toe injury during Sunday night’s 76-65 win at Louisville. He played through the injury, grabbing 11 rebounds to help fuel Duke’s comeback win, but was in street clothes on the bench against Incarnate Word.

Brown averages 5.9 rebounds and a team-best 1.6 steals per game while averaging 21 minutes per game.

Usually the first reserve to enter a game for the Blue Devils, Brown’s absence complicated Jon Scheyer’s substitution pattern.

Without Brown to help absorb minutes inside, Maluach played 14 first-half minutes and 22 minutes overall. Maluach entered Tuesday night having averaged 17.3 minutes of play per game.

So Scheyer turned to 6-11 freshman Patrick Ngongba to get minutes in the post. Recovering from a foot injury that sidelined him during October’s exhibition games, Ngongba had played only 23 minutes while appearing in two games this season.

But Scheyer put him in the game after less than four minutes had been played. Ngongba played 17:32 against Incarnate Word.

A Cameron rarity

The Cameron Crazies regularly chant a basketball recruit’s name when he’s visiting a game, calling for him to sit with them and watch the game.

On Tuesday, they extended that courtesy to a key Duke football recruit.

Quarterback Darian Mensah arrived on Duke’s campus Tuesday as the Blue Devils seek to add him via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Mensah was Tulane’s starting quarterback this season and Duke needs to add quarterback depth after Maalik Murphy and Grayson Loftis entered the portal earlier Tuesday.

With 7:57 to play and Duke leading Incarnate Word, 54-30, the Cameron Crazies chanted “Darian Mensah sit with us!” over and over and over again. At first, Mensah flashed the Bull City horns symbol, using his hands and thumbs, but stayed standing with Duke offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer and other Duke football players behind Duke’s bench.

But a smiling Mensah eventually relented, walking to the opposite side of the court to watch the next five minutes of game play with the students.

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