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Duke "laser focused" in rout of Rhode Island

Marvin Bagley III and Duke were "laser focused" according to Rhode Island head coach Danny Hurley.
Marvin Bagley III and Duke were "laser focused" according to Rhode Island head coach Danny Hurley. (USA Today Sports)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Javin DeLaurier saw No. 1 overall seed Virginia’s stunning loss to UMBC Friday night and could feel the pain of his ACC rivals.

No, he’s never experienced the heartbreak of being on the wrong of the first ever upset by a No. 16 seed, but the Duke sophomore forward could still relate.

“We watched it,” DeLaurier said shortly after the second-seeded Blue Devils blew away No. 7 Rhode Island, 87-62, Saturday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. “It definitely just reinforced how painful last year was, looking at those guys.”

Ah, yes. Last year. Forgive DeLaurier if it remains fresh in his mind the way the 2016-17 Blue Devils - also a No. 2 seed, also facing a No. 7 in the second round - bowed out of this very tournament a year ago, dealt an 88-81 loss by South Carolina much sooner than expected.

If that was something like a mental note for the program going into this season’s gauntlet, the history made at the expense of Virginia on opening weekend could perhaps be classified as a wakeup call.

“Really talented team that had an unfortunate loss in the tournament,” DeLaurier said of Virginia. “We just told our young guys, don’t let that be us. Because we know how that feels, how much it hurts, so we gotta come out tomorrow and give it everything we’ve got.”

When “tomorrow” turned to “today,” the Blue Devils wasted no time locking in both mentally and physically. Wendell Carter Jr. had two slams before the game was five minutes old. Marvin Bagley III was doing a little of everything - everything except scoring, and yet the Omaha-bound Blue Devils still kept rolling. In retrospect, it’s actually hard to believe Rhode Island ever led 3-0, or that it was 11-10 in favor of the Rams before Duke went on a 9-0 run that ballooned into an 18-3 run and then into the final result.

Rams coach Dan Hurley kept calling them an “NBA team” afterward, underlining just how rare it is for a team with that much talent to be that relentless from tip to horn. Bagley finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting to lead all five starters in double figures sure doesn’t hurt, but give some thanks to Tony Bennett and company, too.

“Definitely, I think that was a part of us playing so well today and not wanting to lose,” said freshman point guard Trevon Duval. “Because we’ve seen top-seeded teams lose to lower-seed teams, so we didn’t want that to be us today.”

Wendell Carter Jr. was 6-of-6 from the field in Duke's win over Rhode Island.
Wendell Carter Jr. was 6-of-6 from the field in Duke's win over Rhode Island. (USA Today Sports)

Duval certainly played a part in that effort, scoring 11 points to hit double digits for the second game in a row after his goose egg against North Carolina in the ACC tournament. He’s now averaging 15 through two games in this new season, and he also added seven assists to offset a 3-for-10 outing from the field.

Carter was hardly stoppable, pitching in 13 points and six boards on a perfect 6 of 6, Gary Trent Jr. stuffed the stat sheet and had an almost-quiet 18 with four 3-pointers, and Allen rounded them out with 10 points on three 3s. Overall, Duke shot 56.9 percent overall, 47.6 from long range and dominated just about every major statistical category.

If that’s not bringing your A-game, you could’ve fooled Hurley, who called the Blue Devils “laser focused.”

“If that’s a 2 seed, just looking at all the ones and twos, I wish we would’ve had a shot at one of the other seven,” Hurley said. “They played an A-plus game. To make 10 3s, and several of them were pretty contested, then to have the inside game of Carter and Bagley, bringing [Marques] Bolden off the bench …

“We were just spooked. Any time we got it into the high post and tried to attack the rim, they had length at the rim. They had length at the 3-point line. There wasn’t a whole lot out there. We would’ve needed a C-plus game from them just to have a chance today to be competitive. Those guys, that was the best display of basketball I’ve seen played against one of my Rhode Island teams in six years.”

And while we’re invoking other teams who entered the bracket with designs on winning it all, the Blue Devils did all that just about a half hour following a similarly potent performance by No. 1 seed Villanova. Duval noted that Alabama was still within striking distance, trailing 32-27 at halftime, when he and his teammates left their hotel for the arena, but by the time they took the floor, the Wildcats had wiped it with the Crimson Tide in an 81-58 romp.

Whether it’s the teams that are falling or the ones that are balling, Duke is well aware.

“We’ve been paying attention to what’s going on,” Duval said. “A lot of us are freshmen, and just last year, we were watching it from a fan’s perspective. Even though we’re a part of it, we still pay attention to see who’s in it and see what upsets are going on and stuff like that.”

Saturday, the rest of the country likely saw Duke at its best. And if it wasn’t, well, that’s an even bigger problem for the field. Good luck trying to catch these guys snoozing.

“Our biggest takeaway from just watching and being involved is that anything can happen,” Bagley said. “Every team is here for a reason and every game, anybody could win it. … Have your minds focused on that one thing, take it one day at a time because tomorrow’s never promised in this tournament.”

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