85 - 63 Somehow Duke became the Washington Generals and Ohio State morphed into the Harlem Globetrotters. We all know how that game ends every single time.
Duke looked shell shocked just a few minutes into their Top 5 showdown with No. 2 Ohio State. By halftime the game was well in hand with Ohio State up by 19 and from there it just got worse in the second half. In the end the final score was Ohio State 85, Duke 63.
Aside from Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers no other players on the Blue Devils showed up offensively.
Rivers led the Blue Devils with 22 points, Mason Plumlee had 16 points and no other player scored more than seven.
And as a collective team no one showed up defensively.
The way the ball was bouncing for the Buckeyes you would have figured that they were playing in the famed Horseshoe. Every lose ball, every rebound, every bank shot seemed to go Ohio States way.
The Blue Devils fell behind quickly 11-0 out of the gate but pulled the game within one several times early in the first half before Ohio State pushed up their lead and Duke had no response.
Yes it was every bit that bad.
There wasn't much the Blue Devils did well in this game. Mike Krzyzewski tried playing different rotations, sitting his starters, and even tried a zone which lasted about four trips down court.
Ohio State's guards dominated this game defensively and offensively.
Aaron Craft made a mockery of Seth Curry on both ends of the floor. And seemingly each jumper the Buckeyes fired up went in.
Duke of course struggled with Jared Sullinger down low but the Buckeye guards were so efficient and passed the ball very well. That opened up a lot of driving lanes and left a lot of open shooters as Duke's guards and perimeter defenders played monkey in the middle.
Defensively Duke was on roller skates the entire game. Watching the Blue Devils play defense was like watching a ping pong ball bounce around.
When a team shoots that well (59 percent) and nothing you do on either end of the floor works, chances are you are going to lose and potentially, like Duke Tuesday night, by a sizeable margin.
When you get zero points from two of your starters, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly, who have been key contributors and depended upon for output, you will lose--every single time.
Ohio State is an excellent team. Duke isn't nearly as bad as they showed.
The story is the Buckeyes and rightfully so, but for Duke I suspect this loss, especially as bad as it was, will be a major motivational tool for the Blue Devils when they arrive back in Durham.
And Colorado State, Duke's next opponent had better look out because I have a feeling there will be some angry Devils they have to contend with especially with almost a week inbetween games.
We will have more on the repercussions of this game moving forward.
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