Duke basketball: Blue Devils feel the Vern, vanquish Golden Bears

On the back of its freshman big man, the Duke basketball team made a strong statement in its first game atop the AP Poll.

Against Cal on Thursday night at the 2K Empire Classic, Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski started all four freshmen for the first time all season.

Out of the gates, the youngsters responded to the opportunity inside Duke’s home away from home, Madison Square Garden, combining to score the first 18 points for the newly minted No. 1 team in the nation and leading the squad to a 40-21 advantage at the half.

In particular, though, up until Duke’s 87-52 win was no longer in doubt, the freshman center who has started every game this season served as the unstoppable force. Vernon Carey Jr. — you know, the dude who had the nerve to wear No. 1 one season after Zion Williamson turned the No. 1 Duke basketball jersey into one of the most recognizable fashion pieces on the planet — paved the way for a blowout from the start and never relented while he was on the court.

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Krzyzewski took out the star of the show — the lefty’s performance included 12 boards, six on offense, and four blocks — with nine minutes remaining and his team ahead, 65-38. By then, by using both his 6-foot-10, 270-pound monster frame to punish defenders in the paint and his sweet midrange stroke to force defenders to essentially tap out, Carey Jr. had dropped a game-high and career-high 31 points across only 23 minutes of action.

Carey Jr. was 11-for-18 from the field, including 1-for-1 from deep, and impressed with an 8-for-9 clip from the charity stripe — essentially scoring in every way possible for a guy his size. With the effort, the Floridian joined Williamson and Marvin Bagley III as the only Duke freshmen to have ever tallied at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in one game.

Freshman small forward Wendell Moore chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in what was his best all-around showing this season. Freshman shooting guard Cassius Stanley finished with 11 points — 2-for-4 from downtown — and four rebounds, adding to his consistent play thus far as a Blue Devil.

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As for the fourth freshman starter, power forward Matthew Hurt, after starting out a bit out of rhythm and looking somewhat lost at times, the Minnesota native heated up toward the end, contributing nine points on a 3-for-6 clip from the field (1-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the foul line).

And speaking of Minnesota natives, of course, as expected, sophomore point guard and co-captain Tre Jones added another impressive leader-like stat line: eight points, seven dimes, four boards, one steal, and zero turnovers.

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From start to finish, the Blue Devils (now 5-0) thoroughly outpowered and out-talented the Golden Bears (4-1), outrebounding them, 50 to 28, and living up to the hype that comes with being No. 1 — thanks in large part to the new guy wearing No. 1.

With the win, Krzyzewski tied John Wooden for the most victories as the coach of a No. 1 team (217). And with the win, Duke advanced to play Georgetown (4-1) on Friday night — on ESPN2 and will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 5 p.m. consolation game between Cal and Texas — for what would be Coach K’s third title at this event across only four appearances.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions regarding all things Duke basketball.