By the time Alex O’ Connell picked off a TJ Gibbs pass and sprinted downcourt for a celebratory dunk for Duke’s final points of the game, TJ Gibbs just waved his hands in disgust and didn’t bother to chase.
Duke had long since made its point: the Blue Devils got some periodic guff from the Irish, but Notre Dame, with a thin bench and its great star Bonzie Colson still fighting to get into game shape, couldn’t keep up with Duke and least of all with Marvin Bagley, who had one of the great games of at least the recent past in ACC Tournament history.
Bagley finished with 33 points and 17 rebounds. No doubt Dan Dakich is somewhere complaining that Bagley selfishly sucked up all the available boards.
Duke won comfortably, but it’s a good thing that Bagley played so well: frontcourt mate Wendell Carter got in early foul trouble and never really hit his stride in this game as Notre Dame, and the struggling but still crafty Colson most of all, frustrated him most of the night.
Duke’s other big star of the night was Grayson Allen, who hit his first five threes and was superb throughout the night.
Aside from Gibbs’ poor body language on that last play, fatigue was on display for Notre Dame in various ways. The Irish were just 5-23 from three point range, far below their usual brilliance from deep. The perimeter, which was so admirable in Colson’s absence, combined to shoot 10-30. Those guys - Gibbs, Matt Farrell and Rex Pflueger - played 40, 39 and 36 minutes respectively. As much as Notre Dame needed Colson, he could only go 31.
Most tellingly though is a single stat: against Pitt, Notre Dame got to the line 31 times and hit 26, or 83.9%. Against Virginia Tech, the Irish got there 25 times, hitting 21 for 84%.
And against the Blue Devils? Notre Dame got just 11 attempts and hit just five for 45.5%.
Realistically, there was almost no way the Irish were winning this game and it didn’t necessarily matter who the opponent was. There’s a limit on what the human body can do and when your opponent is fresh, it’s just that much harder.
Same thing happened to Boston College earlier today as BC’s sensational backcourt of Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson combined to hit just 10-32.
To borrow from Mick in the original Rocky movie, Minutes.Weaken.Legs.
None of that is to say that Duke didn't play well.
Duke ran out to an early double-digit lead and though Notre Dame fought back to make it a four point game at the half, Duke was clearly the better team. Trevon Duval, who has come off the bench lately, moved back into the starting lineup and had seven assists incredibly early and finished with 11.
Carter’s foul trouble could have been a big deal but Duke overcame that thanks to Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden who were both solid off the bench, combining for 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Carter himself had a Moses Malone sort of night - 4,4,4: four points, four rebounds and four fouls (that refers to Malone’s famously minimalist playoff prediction: done in 4,4 and 4).
We knew Notre Dame was likely to be tired but anyone who watches that team understands that Mike Brey is a tremendous coach. They play like Dracula, constantly rising from the dead if they do get behind and if you want to finish them you basically have to drive a stake through their heart.
You can never assume Notre Dame can’t come back because they do it so often and so well. Those guys compete hard and, Gibbs’ disgust at the end tonight aside, never give up.
Beating a weaker Notre Dame is still an accomplishment and Duke can certainly build on what Bagley, Allen and Duval accomplished here.
Going forward, Duke will play either Miami or UNC on Friday. A solid outing from Carter and Gary Trent, who was just 3-9 against Notre Dame, would probably be helpful.
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Box Score
Season Stats
Season Stats
Photos
Poll
Player of the game vs. Notre Dame
This poll is closed
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80%
Marvin Bagley
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12%
Grayson Allen
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0%
Wendell Carter
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0%
Trevon Duval
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0%
Gary Trent
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0%
Javin DeLaurier
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2%
Marques Bolden
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0%
Jack White
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0%
Alex O’ Connell
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1%
Jordan Goldwire
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