Duke uses explosive second half to dispose of Colorado State

The new-look Blue Devils were on full display with 10 players logging double digit minutes, and only four posting 20 minutes or more. Two of the four, Tre Jones and freshman Cassius Stanley, also served as Duke’s most prolific scorers on the night: Stanley finished with 19, while Jones added 15.

Jones was once again Duke’s most efficient and calming presence on the floor, finishing the day with eight assists and five rebounds, while turning it over just once. Though Jones had only one steal in the game, Duke’s defensive success began with him.

And once again, his leadership led to a strong effort on defense, which was the centerpiece to Duke’s success.

Colorado State was knocked back early by Duke’s pressure and not much changed in that regard over the course of the game. The Blue Devils forced 18 turnovers, including another big night in the steals department, finishing with 12.

While the turnovers and steals were certainly a key component to Duke’s success, the ability to speed up Colorado State and create a rushed, almost panic-filled offense was perhaps the biggest story of the game.

Duke’s pressure defense contributed to CSU’s inability to find any kind of rhythm on offense. They shot just 32-percent from the field, while connecting on 23-percent from long range.

“Defense has been big for us and will be big for us. Just coming out and trying to pick up where we left off defensively,” Jones said.

“Just watching film we knew they would wanna slow it down a little bit, play through their big man, who’s a senior. We were pushing it and trying to wear them down, playing faster and they were also playing against defensive pressure they haven’t really faced yet.”

It was that effort on the defensive end of the floor that gave Duke such a decisive victory. The chaos Duke’s defense created ultimately resulted in 26 points off turnovers, 17 of which came in the second half.

The Blue Devils’ offense certainly has a long way to go, but weapons are beginning to emerge. Stanley continued to show his ability to be a centerpiece in the Duke offense, showing an efficient and attacking approach to the game that resulted in an 8-of-11 shooting effort and a team-high seven rebounds.

“Cassius has just been fundamentally sound. Just very efficient,” Mike Krzyzewski said.

After sitting through a season of high flying antics a year ago, Duke fans were hungry for some explosive plays. The freshman provided them with some electric dunks in transition.

Aside from what we see on the stat sheet, Stanley gave this Duke team a level of energy it wasn’t finding from anyone else on the floor.

“Coach is really big on don’t overthink things,” Stanley noted. “He was saying that in the fall and it really started to click when started playing games. He even said it today in walk thru. He said don’t make it complicated.”

Alex O’Connell also showed up on offense for the Blue Devils, scoring 14 points, nine coming in the first half. The junior connected on three of Duke’s four 3-point baskets. O’Connell’s offense and energy was key for Duke in the early stages, but his presence on the backboards and disruption on defense is what set apart is effort against CSU and previous showings throughout his career.

He was active, finishing with six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

His effort drew praise from his head coach, who made a simple, but descriptive statement that really spells out the difference O’Connell is showing in his play.

“Alex is playing strong. He’s not just shooting,” Krzyzewski said.

O’Connell made note of his effort outside of his offensive game as well, something he considers crucial for him to reach his full potential.

“I feel confident in myself,” O’Connell said. “I have been working on my defense and making sure that I go to the class. I was talking to Coach (Jon) Scheyer and we talked about rebounding and defense. Usually, the offense comes naturally just being in space and being athletic. So if I can build off the rebounding and defense to build my offense, it’s something I want to do every night.”

Five Blue Devils notched double-digits - Vernon Carey, Jr. (11) and Wendell Moore, Jr. (10) were the other two, while Matt Hurt, who was virtually ineffective on offense for the first 30 minutes, finished strong and posted nine points and five rebounds.

Overall, Duke is beginning to find combinations that work on both ends of the floor. Krzyzewski acknowledged the challenge of learning to substitute more frequently and finding the right combinations to put on the floor.

He labeled it as “old school” basketball, something Duke has not done in quite some time with the influx of one-and-dones.