DURHAM, N.C. — It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing as Duke’s opening act in New York Tuesday night but the Blue Devils still did their usual thing by winning at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Wendell Moore produced the school’s fifth triple-double as No. 9 Duke ran away from Army West Point in the late stages of the second half to post a 82-56 win Friday night.
The Blue Devils (2-0) played their first home game of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, subduing his alma mater after Duke defeated No. 10 Kentucky, 79-71, in its season opener at the Champions Classic.
Moore led Duke with 19 points while grabbing 10 rebounds with 10 assists. The last Duke triple-double was RJ Barrett against N.C. State in 2019. Moore made 7 of 13 shots in his 35 minutes of play.
Paolo Banchero added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Duke. A 6-10, 250-pound freshman named the preseason ACC player of the year, Banchero made 7 of 9 shots from the field in an efficient effort.
Jeremy Roach scored 14 points and Trevor Keels 10 points.
Duke led 38-25 at halftime but didn’t push its lead permanently into double-digits until 10:25 remained in the game.
Here’s what we learned from the Duke win:
Coach K hasn’t lost any fire
When Duke scored the game’s first 10 points, it looked like the Blue Devils were on their way to rolling past Army and giving the coaches a relaxing night.
That changed quickly when Army scored the next nine points with Duke less than sharp on both ends of the court. An animated and angry Krzyzewski let the players know he wasn’t happy with their performance. He often sat with a scowl on his face with his arms folded.
Later in the first half, Krzyzewski yelled something to Army guard Jalen Rucker when play was stopped near the Duke bench. Krzyzewski then headed to center court to speak with Army coach Jimmy Allen about the situation. Allen yelled to Rucker, asking, “Did you say something to him?”
Krzyzewski spoke to official Les Jones. A few minutes later, following a timeout, Jones spoke to Rucker after Army’s huddle completed. Rucker went to the Duke bench and spoke to Krzyzewski, who appeared satisfied.
Duke’s perimeter defense strong again
After stifling Kentucky on Tuesday night, Duke kept Army’s offense in check and the guards were major reason why.
Keels recorded six steals as the Blue Devils had 14 in total. Moore and Jeremy Roach had two steals each as did Banchero.
Army turned the ball over 21 times, meaning turnovers ended 27% of their possessions in the game. The Black Knights hit just 5 of 22 3-pointers.
Duke 3-point shooting still meh
Duke hit only 1 of 13 3-pointers while beating Kentucky Tuesday night in New York.
Back on their home court, the Blue Devils hit their first two 3-pointers (by Keels and Banchero) in the first 42 seconds of the game against Army. But the Blue Devils missed seven of their next eight 3-point attempts to fall back into a funk behind the arc.
Duke eventually made 5 of 16 in the first half while building a 13-point halftime lead and finished 9 of 28 on 3-pointers (32.1%) for the game.
Like the Kentucky game, it didn’t impact the outcome. But it’s still something worth monitoring as the season progresses.
Bates Jones pushing for a bench role
A 6-8 forward who transferred as a graduate student from Davidson, Bates Jones didn’t play Tuesday night against Kentucky.
But, when Banchero picked up his second foul of the first half, Jones replaced him and gave the Blue Devils quality minutes. Jones drilled a 3-pointer on his first regular-season shot attempt for Duke just 19 seconds after he entered the game. He also played a few minutes in place of Banchero midway through the second half.
Jones played a seven minutes against Army, scoring three points with a rebound and no turnovers.
It was a good night for his family on the Duke campus. His younger sister, Ruthie, recorded a shutout as Duke’s goalkeeper in a 1-0 NCAA tournament win over Old Dominion at Koskinen Stadium.
