DURHAM, N.C. — A two-week break from games left No. 2 Duke hungry for a win on Tuesday night.
South Carolina State was the unfortunate foe as the Blue Devils did their best to put their lone loss of the season behind them.
Playing for the first time since losing at Ohio State on Nov. 30, Duke built a 33-point halftime lead and rolled to a 103-62 win over S.C. State at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Freshman reserve forward AJ Griffin paced Duke (8-1) with 19 points. He led six Duke players who scored in double figures.
Freshman guard Trevor Keels scored 14 points while senior Joey Baker had 13 and freshman Paolo Banchero 12 points.
Junior Wendell Moore scored 11 points while starting center Mark Williams scored 10 points.
The Blue Devils made a season-best 15 3-pointers, shooting 55.6% from behind the 3-point arc.
S.C. State (3-8) was limited to 32.5% shooting while turning the ball over 17 times. Duke continued to be active defensively with 11 steals. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with five
The Bulldogs made just 4 of 20 3-pointers.
Here’s what we learned about Duke in this easy win:
Duke’s work on offense paid off
While S.C. State isn’t nearly as talented as the Ohio State team that shut down Duke in the second half to post a 71-66 win over the Blue Devils Nov. 30, the Blue Devils showed improvement on offense.
In between players taking their final exams during the two-week layoff from games, Duke’s coaches worked with the team on improving half-court offense. The main focus was making extra passes to get better shots.
The Blue Devils struggled with that at Ohio State, shooting 22.6% in the second half as the Buckeyes erased a 15-point deficit to post the upset win.
Against S.C. State, the Blue Devils were sharper. While opening a 60-27 halftime lead, Duke had 13 assists on 18 first-half field goals. The Blue Devils shot 62.1% over the first 20 minutes to turn the game lopsided.
Duke finished shooting 56%, collecting 23 assists on its 33 made field goals.
New post rotation minus Theo John
Throughout the season, Duke used 7-1 sophomore center Mark Williams and 6-9 graduate student Theo John as their tag-team unit in the post.
A back injury meant John wasn’t in uniform for Tuesday night’s game, so the Blue Devils had to adjust for the first time this season.
Early on, the Blue Devils moved 6-10 freshman Paolo Banchero to the post position when Williams left the game. Later in the first half 6-8 graduate student Bates Jones got some minutes in the post.
Normally a deeper reserve, Jones was highly productive in his four first-half minutes with four points (all on free throws), three assists and a blocked shot. He finished the game playing 15 minutes, scoring seven points with three rebounds and five assists.
Duke offered no timetable for John’s return. He was on the bench in street clothes.
Coach K offered support for Duke football
One day after his introductory press conference as Duke’s new football coach, Mike Elko took his seats to watch a basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time.
During a timeout in the first half, Elko walked to center court and was introduced to the sell-out crowd, which gave him a standing ovation.
Behind him, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski waved his arms, signaling for the fans to get up and cheer. He then broke away from the team’s huddle to meet Elko on the court, where they shook hands and hugged.
Formerly Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator, the 44-year-old Elko was hired last Friday to replace David Cutcliffe, who coached the Blue Devils the last 14 seasons.
The Blue Devils are in a busy stretch
Having ended its break, Duke will now play three more home games in the next seven nights after manhandling S.C. State.
The Blue Devils play Appalachian State on Thursday night at 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. game with Cleveland State on Saturday.
Duke opens ACC play against Virginia Tech at 9 p.m. ET on Dec. 22.
