In a game thrown together at the last minute, No. 2 Duke wasted little time dispatching Elon on Saturday.
After two other teams scheduled to play the Blue Devils backed out due to positive COVID-19 cases, Elon agreed on Friday to play the Blue Devils.
Around 24 hours later, Duke built an 18-point halftime lead, pushed the margin to 20 points early in the second half and rolled over the Phoenix, 87-56, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Cleveland State was originally scheduled to play Duke on Saturday. The Vikings paused their season on Wednesday. Loyola (Maryland) was lined up on Thursday only to pause its program on Friday morning.
Elon (3-9) signed a contract with Duke on Friday afternoon to make the short trip to Durham for what is the Blue Devils’ final nonconference game of the regular season.
Trevor Keels made sure Duke (10-1) entered ACC play on a high note, scoring 19 points to lead the Blue Devils. That’s the most points the freshman guard has scored since his season-high 25 points in Duke’s 79-71 season-opening win over Kentucky on Nov. 9 in New York.
Wendell Moore continued his hot start for Duke, scoring 12 points to reach double figures for the 11th time in 11 games this season. The 6-5 junior also led Duke with five assists.
Freshman forward Paolo Banchero scored 12 points and led Duke in rebounding with nine, while sophomore guard Jeremy Roach scored 11 points for Duke.
Though the 6-10 Banchero, the 7-1 Mark Williams (eight points) and the 6-9 Theo John (two points) didn’t have big scoring days, the Blue Devils still were highly effective getting and making shots in the lane thanks to a strong half-court offense.
Duke tallied 46 points in the paint as Keels and Moore were particularly good at driving to the basket. The Blue Devils shot xx%.
Improved defensive rebounding
After seeing South Carolina State grab 21 offensive rebounds on Tuesday and Appalachian State 13 on Thursday even while Duke posted lopsided wins, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski lamented his team’s inability to close out defensive possessions with a rebound.
“The thing that we’re not doing is rebounding defensively,” Krzyzewski said Thursday night after Duke beat Appalachian State, 92-67. “When we rebound defensively, that’s what leads to our fast-break, more so than from turnovers, because we have four ball-handlers in the game and we can advance the ball very quickly and space the court. The defensive rebound can naturally lead to the open three, if we do it the right way. We have to do a better job of it. Sometimes, we anticipate someone else going to the ball, and we start going (away from the ball) instead of having our hands ready for the rebound.”
Well, consider the lesson learned as improvement was evident for Duke against Elon.
The Phoenix snared just two offensive rebounds in the first half while the Blue Devils opened a 44-26 halftime lead. Elon scored just two second-chance points. For the game, Elon finished with five offensive rebounds.
Keeping a poor offense down
Elon entered Saturday’s game as one of the nation’s most inefficient offensive teams. According to KenPom.com, the Phoenix failed to average a point per possession as they were No. 223 nationally in offensive efficiency (98.2 points per 100 possessions).
Elon’s team shooting percentage (42.3%) was No. 262 nationally.
So Duke, already a strong defensive team this season, did exactly what it should have done.
Elon shot 38.5% in the first half while Duke opened an 18-point halftime lead. The Phoenix improved dramatically in the second half, mostly against Duke’s reserves due to the one-sided score, by shooting 52.2. They finished at 44.9% for the game while turning the ball over 23 times.
Duke tallied 14 steals, with Trevor Keels leading the team with three.
Nothing but ACC foes from here on
Duke navigated its nonconference slate with just one blemish, a 71-66 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 30. The Blue Devils posted impressive wins by beating Kentucky, 79-71, and Gonzaga, 84-81, on neutral courts.
After polishing off Elon, Duke’s last 20 regular-season games will all be against ACC foes. That stretch begins Wednesday night against Virginia Tech in a 9 p.m. game at Cameron Indoor.
After Christmas, Duke hits the road for games at Clemson (Dec. 29) and Notre Dame (Jan. 1) before home games against Georgia Tech (Jan. 4) and Miami (Jan. 8).
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