EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The last college basketball game in this building was played March of 2007. Even the name was different then; at the time it was Continental Airlines Arena. Currently, the arena goes by the name of Izod Center.
College ball returned on Saturday as Duke faced Xavier. Back on that March Sunday almost two years ago, we were treated to a game for the ages. Georgetown defeated North Carolina in overtime in the East Rutherford Regional championship. Leading up to Saturday’s clash, everyone expected a game of similar magnitude. It didn’t happen, as Duke triumphed 82-64 in convincing fashion.
Roughly two and a half minutes into the game, Duke had an 8-1 lead and Xavier coach Sean Miller called a time out to stop the bleeding and refocus his group. At the first media time outthe lead had expanded to 18-1.
“I told the team,” Miller said,” at this rate they’ll score 190.”
The Blue Devils didn’t continue scoring at that astronomical rate but it wasn’t far off. At the half Duke led 55-24. The ACC representatives thoroughly dominated, as in the first twenty minutes:
- Xavier had more turnovers (10) than field goals.
- Xavier’s top three scorers Derrick Brown, C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, combined for 14 points. Jon Scheyer of Duke had 16 alone.
- Xavier shot 33 percent from the floor while the Blue Devils scorched the nets at 62 percent.
- Xavier even shot a worse free throw percentage( 6 of 12 for 50%) than Duke’s field goal percentage.
- Duke also led under the boards with a 20-15 rebounding edge.
Xavier came out and scored the first seven points of the second half. Duke quickly answered and the final twenty minutes played out at a slower pace with the Blue Devils maintaining complete control.
If there was a silver lining for Miller and company it was their offensive execution the second half. The Musketeers shot 62 percent the final twenty minutes and committed only six turnovers. Offensively they ran their offense with better cohesion, a sense of purpose and results. Brown finished as Xavier’s high scorer with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. Scheyer led Duke with 23 points while Gerald Henderson added 19.
“I’m really happy it was a heck of a game,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Our defense was outstanding, we talked and on offense we got a lot of production on the wings and Brian Zoubek gave us another good game.” Zoubek, the seven-foot Blue Devil center, has improved and been a factor inside during the pe-conference portion of the season. Zoubek finished with nine points and added four blocks.
Krzyzewski noted that it was one of those games where his club played extremely well and Xavier had an extremely poor performance. “If we could bottle that first half we would be pretty darn good,” the Duke coach said partially in humor.
On a serious note, breakdowns of Xavier tapes revealed that the Musketeers like to trap hard on screens. Duke simply spread the offense out, relied on wider spacing and good ball movement. The passing was crisp and accurate as Duke committed only 11 turnovers. And the looks were there as evidenced by Scheyer’s 9-of-11 shooting which included 5-of-7 from three-point range.
“They put so much pressure on your defense,” Miller said of Duke. “They have four players out there that can put the ball on the floor and beat you off the dribble.” Miller also said Duke had Xavier on its heels, which contributed to the poor start.
Also, for some reason the Musketeers did not come out strong and struggled from the first possession, which ended in a turnover. “We came out with little confidence,” Miller said, adding, “we need at come out confidently and have our core players show the way.”
Notes
- The game attracted over 14,000 in attendance. Duke had a strong contingent on hand while Xavier matched with a good following as well.
- Miller was disappointed in Xavier’s performance but said, “If you told me back in August, win or lose this game , we would be 9-1, given our schedule, I would take it.”
- Krzyzewski noted the arena “has been a magical place for us.” The Duke mentor noted, “We tried to schedule a national game. Last year we played Pitt at the Garden. These games are beneficial because they seem like the NCAA. With the opposition and venue it just has that feel.”
- Duke improved to 10-1 with the lone loss at Michigan.
On The Baseline
Both schools brought bands and cheerleaders. My favorite shirt was from the Musketeer faithful which read, “Nothing can Xavier asses now”. Special mention goes to the Duke band, which played 80’s classic Rock Lobster.
