It was the first true test for Duke this season. A quality Big Ten opponent, that could really give Duke match up problems in the paint. At times Illinois dominated Duke in the paint, getting every possible offensive rebound they could. Oh wells…..Duke still managed to come away with a nice victory.
In the early going it looked like Duke was going to have to fight its way to a victory. Illinois looked bigger and ready to play. Then Henderson and Nelson took over. With these two leading Duke stormed back and at times were up as much as eighteen points in the first half. Duke made it look easy on the offensive side. Every pass was smooth, every shot was perfect. And on the defensive side, Duke used the Zone to really disrupt Illinois’ offense.
It was much the same in the second half, as Duke started to close the game at about six minutes left. Illinois made a few runs, but I never felt like Duke was going to give it up. Last year this team had trouble closing game, usually having to fight to keep a ten point lead. This year’s team has enough fresh bodies at the end of the game, they can pretty much do whatever they want.
Henderson and Nelson were spectacular the entire game. Henderson showed off some of that amazing athletic ability and threw down a career high 23 points. This game didn’t see as much as a rotation as previous game, but still there was plenty of time distributed to the players, and I think they won’t be tired for tonight’s game. The Blue Devils got crushed on the boards, but never game up crashing for them. This smaller team played physical with a bigger team, and that was what you want to see.
Quick thoughts
-Zoubek is definitely improving, but still not there
-Thomas had a terrible night. It seemed like every time he touched the ball, he traveled with it
-Shooting percentage’s were better: FG% 56 3PT% 46 FT% 72
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Gerald Henderson
It was nice to see him come out of his shell. He was unbelievable to watch tonight, you didn’t know what he was going to do next. He created his shot, and usually made it. If he can play like this in a consistent level all year, he could be looking a ACC honors.
Next up: The rematch we have all been waiting for. Marquette was the team that gave Duke its first lose last year, and showed what Duke’s weak spots were. This time the setting is Maui, and Duke is a different team. 10:00 EST on ESPN.