Heating up: Three lessons from Duke basketball’s blowout win over Incarnate Word…

No. 4 Duke overcame the smell of a poor first half with a second-half surge that blasted away Incarnate Word on Tuesday night.

After laboring to separate from the Cardinals, Duke scored the first 11 points after halftime and cruised to a 72-46 nonconference basketball victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (8-2) shot 33% in the first half, making only 2 of 13 3-pointers, and led the Cardinals (5-5) by 28-21 at halftime.

That changed rapidly in the second half, when Duke made seven of its first eleven shots, shooting 56% and finishing with 43.6% for the game.

“Obviously, we didn’t have our best stuff tonight,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Clearly, in the first half. I appreciate how we came back in the second half. I felt we were attempting to make the right decision, to be selfless.”

Khaman Maluach led Duke in scoring with 17 points, while fellow freshman Isaiah Evans (14 points) and Kon Knueppel (10) also reached double digits.

Duke’s formidable defense

It will be tough for Duke to restrict any team to a lower shooting percentage than Seattle’s 21.3% on Nov. 29, when the Blue Devils won 70-48. But Incarnate Word made a run at that lowlight of a record.

The Cardinals missed their first eight shots after halftime, reducing their shooting percentage to a cold 20.6%, then heated up when the game was out of hand to finish at 32.1%.

Incarnate Word’s Lamin Sabally (9) pulls in the rebound from Duke’s Kon Knueppel (7) and Tyrese Proctor (5) during the first half of Duke’s game against Incarnate Word at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Nonetheless, Incarnate Word just missed being the third team in ten games this season to shoot below 30% versus Duke. In addition to Seattle’s 21.3%, Wofford shot 24.6% on November 16 against Duke, which won 86-35.

This season, the only teams to shoot 40% or higher against Duke are Kansas (49.1%) and Auburn (45.3%).

According to KenPom.com, Duke leads the nation in defensive efficiency this season. Until Tuesday, the Blue Devils have only allowed.894 points per possession this season.

Missing Maliq.

The Blue Devils went without Maliq Brown for the first time this season. Brown, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Syracuse, suffered a toe injury in Sunday night’s 76-65 victory over Louisville. He played through the injury, collecting 11 rebounds to spark Duke’s comeback victory, but he was dressed in street clothes on the bench against Incarnate Word.

Brown averages 5.9 rebounds and a team-high 1.6 steals per game while playing 21 minutes.

Brown is usually the first reserve to join a game for the Blue Devils, therefore his absence impacted Jon Scheyer’s substitute strategy.

Without Brown to assist absorb minutes inside, Maluach played 14 minutes in the first half and 22 total. Maluach enters Tuesday night’s game having played an average of 17.3 minutes.

So Scheyer went to 6-foot-11 freshman Patrick Ngongba for post minutes. Ngongba, who was recovering from a foot ailment that kept him out of the October preseason games, has just played 23 minutes in two games this season.

However, Scheyer placed him in the game after less than four minutes of play. Ngongba played 17:32 versus Incarnate Word, scoring six points and collecting five rebounds.

“He just makes others better on the court,” Scheyer added. “What makes it so difficult is that he missed his senior season. He missed the entire preseason. It’s just time, and it’s precious time, so we’re trying to speed things up as much as we can. His attitude, potential, and game have all been very good. I mean, he’s an important player for us going ahead, and he has to be ready, and we have to prepare him.”

A Cameron oddity.

When a basketball prospect visits a game, the Cameron Crazies will sing his name and invite him to sit among them and watch the game.

On Tuesday, they extended the courtesy to a prominent Duke football recruit.

Quarterback Darian Mensah stands with Cameron Crazies during the second half of Duke 72-46 victory over Incarnate Word at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

Quarterback Darian Mensah landed on Duke’s campus on Tuesday, as the Blue Devils look to add him through the NCAA transfer portal. Mensah was Tulane’s starting quarterback this season, and Duke needs to add quarterback depth after Maalik Murphy and Grayson Loftis joined the portal earlier Tuesday.

With 7:57 remaining and Duke dominating Incarnate Word 54-30, the Cameron Crazies screamed, “Darian Mensah, sit with us!” over and again. Mensah first flashed the Bull City horns symbol with his palms and thumbs, but then remained standing behind Duke’s bench with offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer and other football players.

However, a smiling Mensah ultimately gave up and walked to the opposite side of the court to watch the students play for the next five minutes.

This item was first published on December 10, 2024 at 9:10 PM.