5 halftime observations from No. 3 Duke men’s basketball’s contest against Illinois

NEW YORK — No. 3 Duke men’s basketball is in Madison Square Garden for a marquee nonconference matchup against Illinois. After 20 minutes of play, the Blue Devils hold a significant 54-37 lead:

Home away from home

The Blue Devils tipped off Saturday night in a rare February nonconference matchup. The World’s Most Famous Arena has been kind to Duke in recent memory; the Blue Devils have more wins at Madison Square Garden than any other arena outside North Carolina with a 41-18 all-time clip. While the Fighting Illini contingent provided a respectable showing, when Cooper Flagg aggressively snatched down the first rebound of the contest and Sion James knocked down an early 3-pointer, it was clear who held the crowd advantage. Head coach Jon Scheyer’s team gave his loyal fans a lot to cheer for, scoring a remarkable 54 points in the first half.

Replacing Brown

In his second significant injury this season, junior Maliq Brown suffered a left shoulder dislocation in Duke’s 80-62 win against Virginia Monday night. Scheyer gave a positive update Thursday that imaging did not reveal any further damage, but the 6-foot-9 defensive machine is out for the foreseeable future. Against Illinois, freshman center Patrick Ngongba II — coming off a career-high eight points against the Cavaliers — was the first sub Scheyer sent to the scores table. The Manassas, Va., native quickly got on the board off a putback on a Flagg miss. He finished with three points and three rebounds in the first 20 minutes

Because of Duke’s size advantage, Illinois was forced to pack and protect the paint. When Flagg posted up in the short corner or rolled to the basket, it left openings on the weak-side wing for Blue Devil shooters.

Fighting Illini continue to struggle from deep

Illinois came into the contest shooting 31.2% from 3-point range — 29.1% in conference play — for one of the worst marks in the country. In the first half against the Blue Devils, the Fighting Illini continued to flounder from deep, missing every single one of their 16 attempts. Even on wide-open shots, the seemingly air-tight lid on the basket would not relent for Illinois. A miss by Will Riley took a 360-degree trip around the rim before falling unceremoniously to the right. Riley shrugged helplessly towards his sideline for his team’s ninth miss from deep in a row.