Duke basketball falls to Ohio State in massive second half collapse

It was a major collapse for the Duke basketball team in Columbus against Ohio State. 

The Duke basketball program looked like it was going to cruise into its two-week break with an undefeated record and the country’s No. 1 ranking.

However, the Blue Devils (7-1) must have thought their break began 20 minutes earlier than it did because Mike Krzyzewski‘s team was a no-show in the second half.

After leading by 13 points at halftime, and as many as 15 points early in the second half, Duke was 7-of-31 on field goals in the final 20 minutes of the game, losing 71-66 to Ohio State (5-2).

The Buckeyes ended the game on a 14-1 run and handed the Blue Devils their first loss in the last ten seasons when they led by double-digits at halftime.

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Duke had won its last 185 games when leading by at least ten points at halftime, previously the longest active streak in Division I basketball.

Zed Key was dominant for Ohio State in its victory as he finished with a career-high 20 points in just 27 minutes.

The Blue Devils tried to let the Buckeyes back into the game sooner, but Ohio State could not cash in from the free throw line in the first half, only making 3-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe, but made 8-of-12 in the second half.

EJ Liddell posted 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes.

Duke committed 23 fouls in the game compared to just 14 fouls for Ohio State.

Duke basketball freshmen looked like freshmen

Tuesday night was the first true road game for a large majority of the Blue Devils roster, and it showed.

Duke looked young in the second half, like it didn’t know what hit them. And it didn’t know how to respond.

Paolo Banchero and Trevor Keels looked overwhelmed by the moment as the two combined for 23 points on just 7-of-26 shooting.

Duke battled foul trouble all night with its stars as Mark Williams was limited to just 22 minutes with eight points and seven rebounds.

Wendell Moore, who was not playing in his first true road game, led Duke with 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists on 7-of-15 shooting.

The Blue Devils will now get a chance to rest and reset as the team is off until December 14 when it hosts South Carolina State (1-7).