9th-ranked Duke basketball hosted #2 Auburn last night as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge and picked up an absolutely crucial win for its resume.
Duke had lost its previous two games against ranked opponents and the win versus Arizona is looking less pretty by the week, but a victory against a bonafide national championship contender will be huge for Duke's resume in March with a weak ACC.
Again, the Blue Devils put on a phenomenal defensive showing against a team that's had no trouble scoring all season.
Duke got punched in the face early as Auburn made 4 of its first 5 shots including 2 threes from Miles Kelly to go up 13-3 before the first media timeout.
After the Blue Devils settled in, it was smooth sailing defensively. Maliq Brown was the defensive MVP of the first half, limiting National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome to 5 points.
Broome did find a way to score in the second half to finish with 20 points, but Brown continued to impact winning on the defensive side of the ball.
He finished the game with three offensive rebounds and, while not registering a steal or a block, I wish there was a deflections stat. He must've had 10, just getting the Tigers out of their offensive rhythm.
It felt like Duke should've won the game by more, but the Tigers continued to make tough shot after tough shot to stay within striking distance.
Auburn shot 10-of-25 from three point range (40%) to continue to push back when Duke was pulling away.
As a whole, Duke switched well and just made life difficult when Auburn was trying to run its offense. Duke only forced 4 Auburn turnovers, but scored 13 points off of just 4 alone.
Deflections and clean defense to speed the Tigers up was enough to limit the Tigers' shooters from finding open looks and preventing Broome from dominating off the left block.
On the offensive side of the ball, this is the best Duke has looked all season.
Freshman Isaiah Evans didn't play a single minute against Kansas, Arizona, or Kentucky. There was a lot of confusion as to why he wasn't seeing the floor given he's a five-star recruit with elite shooting ability.
He played last night and brought the energy back into Cameron Indoor when Auburn was controlling the momentum.
Evans immediately came in and knocked down a three to send Cameron Indoor into a frenzy. He then proceeded to hit his next 2 to bring Duke back within a one-point deficit.
He finished the first half 6-of-7 from three with 18 points, propelling the Blue Devils forward to a 43-36 halftime lead.
Beyond that, Duke's balance on the offensive side of the ball was better than it's been in either of their big games before this.
The veteran guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster gave Duke big lifts on both sides of the ball. Proctor finished with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting to go along with 3 offensive rebounds and Foster tallied 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Sion James actually got the start over Foster last night, and both flourished in their new roles. Foster ran the second unit well and James brought immediate intensity from the tip on both sides of the ball.
James finished the contest with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
The Blue Devils only assisted on 11 of their 29 field goals, but that's exactly what the Tigers want to make opponents do: play 1 on 1 basketball in the halfcourt.
Duke used the free throw line to their advantage, shooting 27 free throws compared to Auburn's 12, but free throws will definitely be an integral part of practice over the next week as the Blue Devils only knocked down 17 of them (63%).
Overall, Duke earned a massive victory for the resume to bolster their seeding in March as the program enters a weak ACC which won't provide many big wins.
Through the ACC/SEC Challenge, ACC teams only won 2 of the 14 matchups.