The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils got an enormous lift from their freshman guard, Kyrie Irving, as he set a career high with 31 points on the night to keep them unbeaten (7-0, 4-0 at home), and defeated the Michigan State Spartans (84-79) in the marquee matchup of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Cameron Indoor Stadium last week.
“I think every win we have here is a statement,” said Irving, according to ESPN.com. “We (Duke) want to show the world, every time we step on the court, we’re the best.” Irving also was 8-12 shooting, 13-16 from the free throw line, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Nolan Smith, senior guard, had 17 points and four assists, while senior forward, Kyle Singler, had 15 points, along with 7 rebounds in this contest. Mason Plumlee had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The biggest difference in this game was the costly turnovers by the Spartans, who averaged 17 turnovers per game. Twenty turnovers by the Spartans turned into 28 easy points for Duke. “I like the way we (Michigan State) have played,” said Spartans coach Tom Izzo, according to ESPN.com. “We just keep making goofy turnovers. We did a poor job turning the ball over again.” The Spartans have a total of 122 turnovers in their last seven games, and they are tied with Penn State and Wisconsin seventh place in the Big Ten Conference.
Irving’s freshman career totals for Duke thus far are 118 points, 39 assists, 28 rebounds, 11 steals, 35 of 67 shooting, and 37 of 42 from the free throw line. As a freshman, Irving is certainly creating a buzz through college basketball. “Kyrie wants to become a better player,” said Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, according to ESPN.com. “He (Irving) is still learning the point guard position. He is very lucky to have Nolan Smith, who is like a big brother to him. We (Duke) wanted to get big tough games on our schedule, so Kyrie can grow up real fast.” Krzyzewski has achieved his 875th victory of his Hall of Fame career to move one win behind Adolph Rupp, who is third on the all-time list.
The Spartans major contributor was Korie Lucious, who had 20 points and 8 assists as he picked his play along with Draymond Greene, who had 16 points and 6 rebounds. Kalin Lucas had 14 points as well. “We (Michigan State) showed at times, we had some resiliency tonight, we showed some fight in us,” said Izzo, according to ESPN.com. “We competed better, and when we got down, we came back against what I think is the best team in college basketball.”
Another difference in this game, was that Blue Devils were very successful from the free throw line as they were 27 of 38, which is 71.1% compared to the Spartans, who shot 8 of 15, 53.3% as they missed numerous attempts at the line to take lead and put the Blue Devils on their heels, who also had a high amount of turnovers with 15. The team chemistry for Duke really paid as Irving gave the team so much confidence. “It’s not one single person,” said Irving, according to ESPN.com. “Duke basketball, it’s a collective effort. It’s a brotherhood here. It’s not my team.”
Next up for the Blue Devils , will be the (4-2) Bulter Bulldogs in a championship rematch at East Rutherford New Jersey.
