After A Slow Start, Duke Crushes Army 100-58
Things are looking good for this team
It took Duke a little while to kick it into high gear Friday night, but once they did, the Blue Devils rolled to a 100-58 win over Army. There is a lot to look at in this one so let’s dive right in.
Army hung around for a bit in the first half as Duke seemingly missed shot after shot. In fact, Duke shot just 1-10 from behind the line, and may have been a bit three point happy, before Kon Knueppel hit the team’s second one at the 13:44 mark. Even then, Duke was up just 12-8.
However, Duke didn't really get much separation until Cooper Flagg hit a three 8:27 into the first half - and that put Duke up just 21-13. It’s almost a Tony Bennett-type score.
Well, to that point at least.
After that, Duke would score 79 more, including 57 in the second half. It was just a cold offensive stretch and that’s going to happen to everyone at some point.
After that, things began to heat up and the Blue Devils ultimately hit 17-38 from behind the line for 44.7 percent. That cold start was something though.
We also began to see the full range of Cooper Flagg’s impact. He impacted the game in so many ways. As coach Jon Scheyer said afterwards, “I thought he had it going in that first half, he was just really controlling the whole game with his rebounding, his passing, his playmaking, his scoring.”
A lot of what he does escapes casual notice, but he is very much capable of controlling the game.
There was a lot more to like in the first half offensively, including a startling dunk attempt by Sion James, a vastly more confident Caleb Foster driving to the basket and of course much better three point shooting.
Duke took a 43-20 lead into halftime and in the second half, things would really change.
In the second period, Duke really hit on all cylinders: the offense was hot and the defense was suffocating, at least until garbage time.
At one point, Tyrese Proctor hit three straight threes. Foster continued to score inside and out. Darren Harris got a fast break basket near the end. Isaiah Evans scored six. Even Spencer Hubbard took a three - with some swagger, mind you - and nailed it.
In the end, all five starters scored in double figures. James had 12 off the bench and Gillis had eight.
Maluach (14) and Flagg (11) rebounded very well. People have talked a lot about Maluach’s shot blocking, but his rebounding is really good. He’s got a real instinct for it.
And one more thing about Maluach: he snuffed a shot (which was ruled to be goaltending) and did so in a way that was thrilling: he just caught it.
It’s so boring to watch guys catch a ball and throw it in the stands. You’re just giving it back!
Bill Russell and Tim Duncan both understood that if you can tip a shot and then control it, you haven’t just denied a shot. You’ve taken away a possession. If you block it out of bound, they’ll just get it back.
No one was getting that block back. It reminded us of the most intimidating and discouraging play we’ve ever seen from a Duke player: Zion Williamson’s take-away block against Kentucky. He swiped that ball mid-air, took off and hit RJ Barrett with a perfect bounce pass for a layup.
He simply swiped the ball and went the other way. If Maluach can start pulling shots down, he’s going to be a major pain.
We haven’t really talked about Maliq Brown, but he did well. He scored just two points but he had seven boards in 18 minutes, which is pretty damn good. He also was a real problem defensively. In fact, the entire team was.
And it’s not like Army is an awful team. They’re not great but they’re not bad. They’re well-coached and smart and, as you might expect, tough. Josh Scovens had 16 points and seven boards while Jalen Rucker had 17 points.
But the Black Knights shot just 32.8 percent, hit just 8-29 from behind the line for 27.6 percent, lost the boards 10/22 to 17/33 and had 13 turnovers. But they never lost their composure and never seemed panicked despite steadily falling further and further behind.
The truth though is that Duke is simply more talented and Army didn't really have much of a chance. They did, however, play with a lot of heart. It was an admirable effort.
Notes - one minor concern in this game as Cooper Flagg had cramps again...it’s a bit reminiscent of Paolo Banchero...this is the second game in a row that Flagg has dove on the floor after a loose ball...Maluach’s first-half dunk off a rebound was seriously impressive...as impressive a shot blocker as Maluach is, his best skill currently is rebounding...he’s already changed his body a lot from this summer...Flagg shot 2-4 from behind the line...Knueppel was 4-6...Procter 4-9...Gillis was 2-2...
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- Spencer Hubbard makes 3-pointer against Army for his first points of the 2024-25 season
- Cooper Flagg’s cramps have Duke’s Jon Scheyer concerned: ‘We got to help him’
- Cooper Flagg’s Health Issue During Duke-Army Triggers Online Buz
- MBB: Six in Double Figures Leads Duke Past Army, 100-58
- Box Score (PDF)
- Postgame Notes
- Duke Quotes
- Army Quotes