Justise Winslow Takes Over In Duke’s Sweet Sixteen Win
By Chris Brown
In the battle of Coach Ks, Mike Krzyzewski and Duke were able to get the win and advance in the tournament and bring Duke’s Coach K (14) one Elite Eight away from tying Dean Smith (15) for the most Elite Eight appearances all-time and move 20 games ahead of Smith for most NCAA Tournament wins (85). The Duke Blue Devils are now one game away from the Final Four after defeating Utah 63-57 to move on to the South Regional Final in the Elite Eight.
The game was close throughout the first half, with Duke maintaining the lead but never able to pull away, leading 27-22 at halftime. During the second half the Blue Devils started to pull away leading by as many as 15 points, but went cold late in the game allowing Utah to catch up. Duke did not score a field goal in the last 4 minutes, but were able to hold off the Utes’ rally and win the game.
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Both teams struggled offensively in this game but were great defensively. Duke was able to hold Utes star and leading scorer to 10 points in the game, and only 2 in the first half. Utah’s plan to focus on Jahlil Okafor was effective, with the ACC Player of the Year finishing with only 6 points and attempting just 6 shots.
They threw different looks at Jahlil, including double-teaming on the catch, a delayed double-team, and a funky zone defense specifically targeted at Okafor which led him to turn the ball over 4 times. It also didn’t help that Duke was struggling to make shots too.
Freshman Justise Winslow was the difference-maker for Duke on offense. Playing in his hometown Houston one day after his 19th birthday could have been a distraction, but Winslow stepped up to the challenge and starred throughout the game- except for one play. Winslow finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, scoring 13 in the 2nd half and making all 3 of Duke’s three pointers for the entire game.
Winslow was the only Blue Devil and one of only 2 players (Utah’s Brekkott Chapman) in the game to shoot better than 50% from the field, making 8 of 13. For Duke, Jahlil Okafor (3-6) and Amile Jefferson (2-4) both shot exactly 50%.
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Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook finished with 15 and 11 points respectively, and were huge for the Blue Devils down the stretch on the free throw line to hold off Utah’s comeback attempt, including a free throw by Cook at the very end worth millions of dollars in Vegas for Duke to cover it’s 5-point spread that was called with 0.7 seconds left.
Next the Blue Devils will face the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the 2 seed in the South Region, in Houston on Sunday at 5:05 for the chance to move on to Indianapolis for the Final Four and a chance to compete in the 2015 NCAA National Championship game.
Game MVP: Justise Winslow came up huge for the Blue Devils in this game finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 defensive rebounds, all game-highs, to go along with 2 steals. He’s the third freshman in Duke history to have at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game along with Gene Banks and Elton Brand.