Coming into Saturday’s game vs. Duke (9-0), Temple (6-1) knew what type of monster they were set to face, and the Owls battled that monster first hand in a hard-fought 40-minute ballgame against the nation’s No. 2 ranked team.
Both teams entered Saturday’s contest undefeated, and only one team would depart the IZOD Center with a perfect record still intact. The Owls were looking to defeat a top 10 team for the fifth year in a row, but Duke was simply too good en route to a convincing 90-67 win on Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J.
“(Temple) coach Dunphy’s team, they’re different,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “At times they can put five three-point shooters out there. They try to break you down. It’s the most assists we’ve given up to a team because they can really break you down.”
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| Chase Senior: Philahoops |
Dunphy tried everything he could to try to compete with Duke. Dunphy continuously rotated different players on and off the floor, and tried multiple defensive sets, but nothing seemed to work against the Blue Devils.
“They stepped up and did what they needed to do,” Dunphy said. “When we were just coming close to sniffing and getting back in, [Duke] stepped up and made some great, great shots. It’s really a good basketball team. Obviously they are as good as advertised. For us, it’s a spectacular opportunity to play a great basketball program, and coach and team.”
Duke has already taken down three top five opponents so far this season and the Blue Devils proved throughout the game that they are no fluke. Krzyzewski certainly has a potent roster and Temple was simply overmatched in almost every facet of the game.
“I thought their defense was really good and I think we added to it a little bit,” Dunphy said. “We rushed, we got a little bit out of character. We tried to do some things we can’t do. We didn’t have the patience that we needed.
“[We were] a little bit scared early, I think we got some nervousness going for us early and that put us on our heels a little bit.”
Duke sports one of the most ample starting lineups in the country, as their starters average an NCAA high 69.6 points per game and account for 88.4 percent of the teams total scoring. Saturday was no different and Seth Curry, Brian Kelly, Mason Plumlee, Rasheed Sulaimon and Quinn Cook accounted for 75 of the Blue Devil’s 90 total points.
It was Duke’s first game in 17 days, but no ill effects were shown and the Blue Devils controlled the game from start to finish.
Curry paved the way for Duke offensively shooting 7-for-11 from the floor and hit 5 3-pointers, all of which seemed to come at the opportune time. Curry led all scorers with 23 points. Curry also played phenomenal defense on Temple senior guard Khalif Wyatt.
Curry missed Duke’s last game vs. Delaware and has been dealing with a nagging ankle injury all season. His presence was key to the Blue Devils’ success on Saturday.
“I have ultimate confidence in Seth,” Krzyzewksi said. “The big thing for him is he doesn’t practice much so you don’t know if he’s going to be sharp. I thought yesterday and the day before he had good, hard practices.
“I think he is really as good as any so-called two guard. He’s a terrific scorer. He’s learned to be a really good defender.”
Wyatt struggled mightily shooting the ball for the second straight game. The Owls rely heavily on the offensive production of Wyatt and he was unable to get anything going. Wyatt scored just 6 points on 3-for-15 shooting.
“We did a good job on Wyatt,” Coach K said. “Wyatt’s a terrific player and for him to get six points today was huge.”
Senior swingman Scootie Randall was also held in check by a stingy Duke defense. Randall managed to score just 6 points on 3-9 shooting and pulled down 7 rebounds.
“They’re the two focal points there’s no question about it,” Coach K said. “With Wyatt, make it hard for him to catch it, try to get him a little bit farther out on the court, not react to his fakes. He’s just a real crafty, outstanding player.
“With Randall try not to let him get the ball. … I thought we just made it a little harder for them to catch the ball and it wasn’t as comfortable.”
Sophomores Will Cummings and Anthony Lee found themselves in foul trouble early, which opened up opportunities for Duke in the interior and beyond the arc. Foul trouble plagued the Owls all afternoon, giving Duke easy opportunities to put points on the board.
Plumlee, who came into the game averaging 19.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, showed to NBA scouts just why he is considered one of the best big men prospects in college basketball. Plumlee dropped 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Temple had no answer for Duke’s post presence and when the Owls doubled up defensively down low, Duke was able to knock down three ball, after three ball.
The Blue Devils hit a total of 12 trifectas in the game.
Just before halftime, Temple shrunk Duke’s advantage to ten points thanks to consecutive threes from freshman guard Quenton DeCosey and junior guard Dalton Pepper. Pepper had a wide-open three point opportunity in transition from the corner that would have cut the Blue Devils lead to seven, but was unable to convert and Duke kept the pedal to medal.
The story of the game was Duke’s ability to hit outside shots. Every time Temple seemed to gain some momentum, the Blue Devils would come right back and hit a big shot, throwing water on any type of Temple flame.
Temple was also bitten by their inability to get to the charity strike. Whereas Duke got to the line 29 times, the Owls took only 4 free throws.
If there is anything positive to take out of Temple’s performance, it is the steady improvement of DeCosey.
DeCosey’s minutes have been increasing and the true freshman is producing when given some burn. He was the only Temple player to score in double figures, scoring 13 points on 5-6 shooting.
“Coming in I just wanted to come in, be aggressive,” DeCosey said. “When coach Fran put me in there he said, ‘Just be aggressive, don’t worry about anything’ and I just wanted to try and help my team out anyway possible. I didn’t know what to expect coming in. I just knew I had to work hard for any minutes I was gonna get. In practice I’m just continuing to work hard.”
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-Note: Kryzyzewski had quite the praise for Dunphy, as the two played together and have maintained a strong relationship over the years.
“I have a lot of respect for Dunph,” he said. “We’re kind of brothers and we played together. He’s a guy that’s won 10 Ivy League championships and 3 Atlantic 10 championships. We’re talking about one of the best coaches and who never gets included in all that stuff.
“His team is going to win a lot of ballgames.”
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-Sound off: What are your thoughts on how Temple played against a powerhouse team in Duke?
-Are we seeing a budding superstar in DeCosey?
-Why has Wyatt gone ice cold the last two games?
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