Duke Shows Rust, Holds off Elon

Dec 15, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Elon Phoenix guard Kevin Blake (11) gets control of the ball as Duke Blue Devils forward Amile Jefferson (21) and forward Justise Winslow (12) defend in their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

The Duke Blue Devils returned to action with a victory after a  12 day layoff and were lucky they played Elon.

After beating Wisconsin Duke got an extended break because of final exams. As good as it may be to get 12 days of practice and rest the rust showed early and often for Duke. The good thing about this game was that it came versus a team that they could just walk over.

Nothing against Elon, but they just aren’t in the same class as Duke. I’m sure Coach K isn’t going to be happy with the 17 turnovers they committed. They were sloppy and weren’t making open shots. And yes they still managed to win by 13 points.

It helps to play Elon, but the dominant performance from Jahlil Okafor is even more helpful. On his 19th birthday Okafor proved to be too much for Elon en route to setting a Duke freshman record for rebounds in a game. He finished the night with a huge double-double.

Nov 21, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) controls the ball against the Temple Owls during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Okafor scored 25 points and controlled the glass with 20 total rebounds, 10 offensive and 10 defensive. He became the first freshman in Duke history to record a 20-20 game. And you can’t ignore his three blocks and how many shots he altered. There was no match for him, there was no answer for him. Hell, they couldn’t even contain him.

Outside of Okafor the rest of the team wasn’t as spectacular on the offensive side of the ball as they should have been. Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones were both just a little out of sync and out of rhythm. Cook only scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting and 1-6 from three. Elon held Cook scoreless in the second half.

Jones had without a doubt the worst game of his young career. Jones finished the night with 4 points, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers. Then again he did only take one shot from the field, which was a miss.

Outside of Okafor’s dominance, the only other bright spot was that Duke had four different players score in double figures. Amile Jefferson, Justise Winslow, and Rasheed Sulaimon all chipped in more than 10 points.. Jefferson shot an extremely efficient 6-7 for 13 points, Winslow was 5-10 with 12 points, and Sulaimon was 4-9 with 11 points.

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This wasn’t the best game Duke has played but it is always good to have a game to get back in rhythm. This team is young and the extra time off may have played more of a role than it should have. But either way the free-throw shooting and three-point shooting was just horrible. As a team the Blue Devils shot 14-27 from the line, 51.9 percent, and 3-16 from three, 18.8 percent.

No there is not a typo in there. The good thing for Duke is this game shakes off the rust and provides Coach K with some great film for teaching. Not only can he use this game as a lesson to his team but he can be extremely proud of the defense that was played.

Duke has always been known as a defensive powerhouse and the past few years they have struggled containing guards and stopping anyone from getting to the rim. This squad is tenacious on the defensive side of the build and the defense was certainly on point tonight. They forced 19 turnovers and held Elon to 42 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from three. Defense wins championships and that is what Duke is after.

Duke travels to the Izod Center in New Jersey to play UConn, the defending National Champion. UConn has been struggling as of late and just put an end to a three game losing streak. They lost all three games at home.

Duke will look to improve to 10-0 on the season and give Coach K his 993 career victory. The game is Thursday night at 8:00 p.m.