Notre Dame at Duke: Gameday Open Thread
No. 7 Duke hosts Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Devils have had four days to recover from playing four games—three on the road—in nine days, a stretch that ended on Monday. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will look to continue his recent success against former assistant Mike Brey. The Notre Dame head coach won five of his first six against Coach K upon joining the ACC, becoming the first member of the Coach K coaching tree to beat Krzyzewski. Brey has lost the last five, however, by an average of 14.8 points.
Duke center Vernon Carey Jr. will face perhaps his biggest challenge since Kansas’ Udoka Azubike in the opener in Notre Dame big man John Mooney. First in the ACC in rebounding (13.0) and sixth in scoring (16.3), Mooney’s combination of production and experience will challenge Carey to stay out of foul trouble. Look for Carey to get plenty of help from Javin DeLaurier, who gave Duke good minutes last time out, and Jack White, who has played just 24 minutes total in the last three games.
Carey could also go back to his high school game of playing facing the basket on the wing, in an effort to draw Mooney out of the paint and try to get the big man to work on defense and pick up a few fouls, although Notre Dame is among the top teams in the nation in defending without fouling.
Duke will look to hold on to a share of first place, after moving into a tie with Louisville following the Cardinals’ upset loss to Georgia Tech earlier this week. Both teams play at 4:00.
It's the NBA All Star Break, so there's a chance some of the league's former Blue Devils will be in attendance for the game. Not sure where they're getting their information, but several fans have said they expect Tyus Jones and Zion Williamson to be here.
Here’s Tyus
Goldwire, Jones, Carey, Moore, Hurt your starters. Cassius Stanley reportedly hurt himself during warmups and is not in uniform or on the bench.
Carey picks up his first foul working against Mooney on the boards 54 seconds into the game. Not a good sign
At the under 16, Duke is up 8-6.
Quinn Cook arrived during the under 16. Still waiting on Zion.
Jordan Goldwire picks Rex Pflueger's pocket guarding him one-on-one, then takes it all the way for a score. Pflueger charges next time down. 14-10 Duke at the under 12.
Juwan Durham has scored eight or fewer in nine of the last 11 games. He already has eight tonight with two dunks and a foul attempting a third. Taking advantage of the attention Duke is paying to Mooney inside.
7-0 Irish run cuts the Duke lead to 20-19 as we go to the under 8. Durham picked up his second foul, which could be a problem for Notre Dame.
Stanley joins his teammates, in uniform, on the bench at the 6:15 mark.
Duke forces back-to-back turnovers, then gets a held ball. 9-0 run puts lead at 29-19 and ND gets a time out. Responds with a 6-2 run of its own, and at the under 4, it' s 31-25 Duke.
Vernon Carey with a dunk, then gets a steal and Tre Jones tips in his fastbreak layup. Jones with a transition three and the lead is now 38-26. ND gets another time out. 2:48 until halftime.
Duke takes time out to get a final shot, but it doesn't fall. We go to half with Duke up 42-32.
Duke had six steals, forced nine Irish turnovers in the first half. Blue Devils up 13-0 on fast break points. Carey has 16 points, Tre Jones 13.
Stanley is standing on the court for second half warmups but isn't shooting or going through any of the preparations.
Duke with a 10-2 run. Notre Dame can't make it to the under 16. 54-37 Duke with 16:11 to go
As if fans weren't already excited over the Duke run, Zion made his first appearance during the time out.
Duke goes on a 12-0 run. Crowd going nuts. Mike Brey refused to call time out. It's now 21-5. Duke up 77-46.
I think this is the under 12 at 8:29. Duke up 77-46. 18-4 run since Zion arrived.
Zion Williamson turns down the invitation to "sit with us"
Everything coming up Duke. Javin DeLaurier hits the second three-pointer of his career. We go to the under 8 with Duke up 80-49.
Starters are heading to the benches as we hit the under four. Duke up 84-51.
Duke finishes off a 94-60 win
