Duke 85. Texas 78.

Duke battled back from a 16 point deficit in the second half to pull out the win over Texas in overtime. This is by far Duke’s most impressive win of the season as they advance to the championship game of the Motion bracket in the Phil Knight Invitational Thanksgiving tournament.

Wow. There’s really no other way I can start this out.

Grayson Allen was in foul trouble early and things were not looking good as Duke was down 16 in the second half. Texas was doing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted to for a majority of the game and were sitting pretty late in the second half. Then an Alex O’Connell save turned into a Grayson Allen three and the game really turned after that point as Duke battled back to force the game into overtime.

For the first half and a majority of the second half, Texas looked like it was complete control of the game. They were getting everything they wanted at the rim and Duke had rim protection whatsoever as Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter still have absolutely no clue what to do with post defense.

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Duke somehow battled back even with Grayson Allen on the bench. The freshmen on this team showed a lot of poise and calmness today. There were points where there were only freshmen on the floor and they played like they’ve done this a million times before. I will admit, I had a lot of choice words when Allen fouled out and none of them were good. This group of freshmen played like seniors when it came to down to it. They got defensive stops when they needed them and got buckets to match those stops.

A couple of observations from tonight’s game.

Duke’s paint defense is atrocious. If Marques Bolden isn’t in the game, Bagley and Carter are lost puppies. They have no clue when to rotate or when to help or even when to get back on defense. Whether it was zone or man defense, neither worked for the big guys. The guard defense wasn’t great either. Texas wasn’t shooting great and they still played tight on guys on the perimeter. Said guys drove right past the Duke defenders and converted. This was the first game where the opponent wasn’t afraid of Duke’s size in the paint. They went straight at Bagley and Carter with no regard for them.

The Duke freshman got their first real test this game and responded tremendously. O’Connell didn’t do much box score wise but his hustle ignited Duke’s comeback. The guards didn’t shoot well at all but they didn’t shy away from shooting open shots, which is very good to see. They also came up with big stops in big moments at the end of regulation and in overtime after Allen fouled out. The shots will start falling. It was the defense that was the biggest surprise considering how bad it was in the first half.

Next: Duke Defeats Portland State 99-81

Other observations:

-Duke should run the alley oop to Bagley play a lot more. Nobody can stop it and it results in two points. I don’t see the issue here.

-Grayson Allen needs to stay out of foul trouble. If this type of game happens in ACC play, Duke most likely loses. He has to be smarter when he’s in foul trouble. He’s the only senior on the team and in bigger games, they’re going to need him on the floor.

-Marvin Bagley is an absolute monster. He shot well from the free throw line and dominated the post even when Mo Bamba as in the game. Texas had no answer for him. However, he should never take that shot to end regulation ever again. Words don’t do it justice for just how bad of a possession that was.

-Wendell Carter needs bring the same enthusiasm he has on offense to the defensive end. Carter is a force on the offensive end. His post moves and awareness on the court has improved a great deal since last week against Michigan State. He’s borderline unstoppable on offense. On defense? He’s Jahlil Okafor-esque. He has minimal awareness and looks blind when the ball handler gets to the paint. That needs to improve and improve quickly.