National Basketball Association
Duke 94, Indiana 74
When: 9:15 PM ET, Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Officials:
# Roger Ayers, # Mike Eades, # Ed Corbet (JR)
Attendance:
9314
By The Sports Xchange
DURHAM, N.C. -- Brandon Ingram is just working his way up to speed in his freshman season with Duke.
Just wait until he really hits the accelerator.
The guard played a strong first half on his way to 24 points as No. 7 Duke blew out visiting Indiana 94-74 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"He's picking up the speed of the game," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Ingram. "Hard work usually pays off."
Ingram had 18 first-half points, and then his teammates poured it on in an impressive second half. Ingram shot 10-for-15 from the field as Duke remained perfect in home games in the challenge series.
Guard Matt Jones, who made five 3-point baskets, had 23 points, and guard Grayson Allen chipped in with 16 points for Duke (7-1). Guard Derryck Thornton provided 12 points.
The Blue Devils scored at least 80 points for the sixth time in their eight games, but Ingram's breakthrough outing drew much of the attention.
"He definitely had a lot more energy," Jones said. "He was making shots and attacking very strong on the offensive end."
Ingram is the most highly touted of Duke's freshmen, and he demonstrated why that is the case.
"It's not like there's a lot of guys like him out there," Duke forward Amile Jefferson said.
The Hoosiers didn't have defensive answers for Duke in general, which is what disturbed coach Tom Crean the most.
"Shooting was not the issue. Turnovers were not the issue," Crean said. "The issue was not guarding the way we need to. We have to do a lot better job with individual pride in guarding our man and not waiting for help."
Forward Troy Williams racked up 17 points for Indiana (5-3), which lost for the third time in a five-game stretch. Guard Yogi Ferrell added 15 points, and guard James Blackmon Jr. had 14 for the Hoosiers.
After a solid offensive first half, Indiana didn't score for almost five minutes to begin the second half.
By then, Duke held a 60-42 advantage.
The Blue Devils shot 52.9 percent from the field to Indiana's 50.9 percent, but Duke was boosted by grabbing 19 offensive rebounds to nine for the Hoosiers.
"We knew we could get offensive rebounds," Krzyzewski said. "Getting them is another story."
Jefferson grabbed six of his 11 rebounds at the offensive end. The senior also supplied a career-high eight assists.
"For whatever reason, Amile became like a point guard," Krzyzewski said. "It just happened."
Crean viewed Duke's 26 second-chance points as devastating.
"We didn't compete on the glass the way we need to," he said. "We didn't handle the physicality. You just have to deal with it. We have to be better at it."
Indiana's first second-half field goal didn't come until 11:31 remained, preventing the Hoosiers from coming close to the 88.3 points per game they averaged entering the game.
By the time Jones made his final 3-pointer, the Blue Devils were up 88-65.
Duke led 51-42 at the half, with two teams that rank high nationally in several offensive efficiency categories showing why.
The Hoosiers, playing their first true road game, shot 53.1 percent (17 of 32) from the field in the opening half and yet trailed by as many as 13 points.
Ingram, who entered the game averaging 10.9 points, scored eight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes.
The Hoosiers were unfazed at the time, going on a 12-0 run for a 16-10 lead.
Ingram responded by scoring eight of the points during Duke's 10-0 spurt that put the Blue Devils back on top at 32-26.
Freshmen accounted for 26 of Duke's first-half points.
NOTES: Duke is 15-2 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge games, the best mark for any team in either conference. ... Duke increased its NCAA-best home-court winning streak against nonconference competition to 121 games. ... Indiana dropped out the Top 25 this week after losing two of three games in last week's Maui Invitational. ... Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, who is the brother-in-law of Indiana coach Tom Crean, was behind the Hoosiers' bench for the game. ... Indiana's next game comes Saturday night at home against Morehead State. ... Duke is back in action Saturday against visiting Buffalo.
Top Game Performances
Indiana |
|
Duke |
Troy Williams 17 |
Scoring |
Brandon Ingram 24 |
Yogi Ferrell 5 |
Assists |
Amile Jefferson 8 |
Robert Johnson 6 |
Rebounds |
Amile Jefferson 11 |
Troy Williams 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Derryck Thornton 3 |
Yogi Ferrell 2 |
Steals |
Matt Jones 2 |
Thomas Bryant 2 |
Blocks |
Amile Jefferson 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Indiana
|
74 |
50.9 |
7-17 |
13-17 |
13 |
19 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
Duke
|
94 |
52.9 |
11-24 |
9-11 |
18 |
34 |
5 |
4 |
6 |