Duke Basketball: Blue Devils, Irish battle in South Bend on Big Monday
The Duke Basketball team is in South Bend facing Notre Dame on ESPN’s Big Monday and it was all Blue Devils in the first half.
It seems there has been questions surrounding the Blue Devils starting five every game and tonight it was surrounding the center position.
After having his foot stepped on late in the first half during the win over Georgia Tech and playing minimal minutes in the second half, Marques Bolden was back in the starting lineup on Monday against Notre Dame.
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He was joined by the four freshman Tre Jones, Cam Reddish, R.J. Barrett, and Zion Williamson.
It was a perfect start for the Blue Devils, the first two offensive possessions ending in corner 3-pointers by Tre Jones and Cam Reddish, leading 17-2 with 14 minutes to go in the half.
The Blue Devils flexed its muscles from the start against a Notre Dame team that is in a rebuilding year and doesn’t have much talent on the roster as Duke leads the Irish 46-28 at halftime.
This may come as a surprise, but Zion Williamson led the way for the Blue Devils with 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists, on seven of nine shooting, making his only 3-point attempt.
However, the foot injury was clearly not a problem for Marques Bolden as he finished the first half with eight points, six rebounds, and a block.
R.J. Barrett was very efficient in the first half with 10 points and five rebounds. Barrett made four of his eight shot attempts and two of four from 3-point range.
As a team, the Blue Devils seemed to find its stroke from 3-point range, making five of nine, but still struggled from the foul line only making three of six.
If there was any complains about the first half for the Blue Devils, it would be that Notre Dame was able to grab 10 offensive rebounds, which will cause problems against better competition.
In the second half, Duke just has be better on the defensive glass and keep the pressure on Notre Dame and continue to be efficient on both ends of the floor.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.