Duke needed a bounce back game and more importantly – Duke’s backcourt needed a bounce back game.
After only managing 19 points and turning the ball over 10 times against Virginia, the backcourt of Duval, Allen and Trent Jr. managed to score 52 points as a unit with only 6 turnovers. Gary Trent Jr. led the pack bouncing back from a mediocre game against UVA with 22 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double as a Dukie. Grayson Allen was sorely in need of a good game and the senior guard was ultra aggressive and shot 7 of 12 for 18 points, he also added a game high 8 assists. Trevon Duval also had a nice bounce back game as well, scoring 12 points. Notre Dame, without 3 of their best players played valiantly and pulled within 6 points before Duke went on a 30 – 14 run to seal the game.
Each Duke starter scored in double figures with Wendell Carter Jr. scoring 17 and pulling down 7 rebounds and Marvin Bagley III scoring 12 and pulling down 8 boards for the Devils. Huge for Duke in this game was the ability to give rest to the starters. After using zero bench minutes in the second half of the Virginia game on Saturday Coach K utilized 44 of the allotted 200 minutes. The bench accounted for 7 points and 12 rebounds, with Jack White pulling down 7 boards and 5 points on his own. This game also saw the return of sophomore Marques Bolden from a knee injury. Bolden would play 12 good minutes and pull down 3 rebounds. Duke, with the win, moves to 19 – 3 overall and 7 – 3 in the ACC.
The Good:
- Balanced scoring; all 5 starters scored in double figures
- Bench contributions; 12 rebounds and 7 points
- 75% shooting from the free throw line
- 43-27 rebounding advantage
- 60% from beyond the arc
The Bad:
- Points off turnovers-ND 15,DU 10
- 12 turnovers
- Allowing John Mooney to go 4-6 from 3 point range
