Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach both grew up a lot today
Georgia Tech started out the game in Atlanta with a bang as the Yellow Jackets stole the ball on the opening possession and Baye Ndongo got a dunk for Tech.
And that was about it for a long time as Duke’s defense just suffocated Georgia Tech as Duke got an easy 82-56 win on the road.
Duncan Powell gave them an offensive boost in the first half but for most of that half it was all Duke. The Blue Devils were overpowering on defense and smoothly efficient on offense. The Devils shot 62.5 percent overall and 46.2 percent on three point attempts.
In our preview we said that getting Kon Knueppel on track would be really good and he got it going Saturday, finishing with 18 points and hitting 7-11/4-8.
Just as importantly, he continued to play gritty, alert defense.
Duke also got a really good game from Khaman Maluach, who finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block. He pretty much controlled the lane, forcing Tech’s best athlete, Baye Ndongo, to throw up some ridiculous shots (some of which went in). But there was no question who owned the lane - it was Maluach.
Cooper Flagg had a solid game as well with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. He also had a couple of poster-worthy dunks. All in all, not a bad way to spend your 18th birthday.
Tyrese Proctor and Sion James contributed 10 and seven point respectively. James also had five rebounds and four assists and both helped Duke’s smothering defense.
Isaiah Evans finished with eight points and Mason Gillis, who has not played all that well lately, was solid in relief as well. He finished with four points, but his overall play was heady and useful. Maliq Brown didn’t have a big offensive game but his defense, as usual, was absolutely reliable.
In the end, while Georgia Tech had a nice rally to close out the first half, cutting the lead down to five in a big hurry, it didn’t matter. Duke just ran the lead right back up after halftime.
The best thing about this game was how well everything came together. The defense is a reliable constant, but getting good games out of Knueppel and Maluach was a big deal and the three point shooting (10-25) was a huge help.
Teams grow at their own pace and young teams tend to grow in fits and starts. But Duke unquestionably grew at Georgia Tech. Now let’s see how they apply the lessons next time when they face former Blue Devil Jaden Schutt and Virginia Tech on New Year’s Eve, followed by a trip to SMU. That’s obviously the first time that Duke will face the Mustangs as an ACC team and that crowd is going to be unbelievably hyped - in other words, that’ll be another kind of a test for a young team.
