Tommy Lemoine (@hoopthink) is in Indianapolis for the Champions Classic games tonight.

Three Key Takeaways:

Duke big man Jahlil Okafor played big on Tuesday night. (247sports.com)

1. Duke freshmen are as good as advertised. As good as the Blue Devil freshmen were against Presbyterian and Fairfield, they were even better against Michigan State – which says a lot, considering the obvious step up in competition. Jahlil Okafor was dominant early on and nearly unstoppable when he caught the ball within a few feet of the basket. Justise Winslow’s ability to get to the rim and create his own shot proved critical in squashing several would-be Spartan runs. And Tyus Jones – held scoreless in the first half – almost single-handedly put the game on ice, scoring six of his 17 points within two possessions of Jahlil Okafor leaving the floor with four fouls. All told, the highly-touted newcomers combined for 49 of Duke’s 81 points and more than lived up to their preseason billing.
2. Sparty will be just fine with Travis Trice at the helm. There was a quiet sense of panic among Spartans fans following the team’s narrow victory over Navy on Friday night, especially with Duke right around the corner. And while Michigan State lost tonight’s game – outplayed, to be sure – it looked more like the top 20 Big Ten contender many people pegged it as in the preseason. Travis Trice, who carried the load against the Midshipman over the weekend, was again the lifeblood for the Spartans’ offense (despite shooting 1-of-5 from deep), creating baskets with his penetration and directing traffic each time down the floor. His final stat line – 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists – demonstrates his all-around importance to the team’s performance. He, Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson should keep the Spartans competitive in the Big Ten race, especially when the team returns to full health.
3. Quinn Cook is more than capable playing off the ball. With Tyus Jones joining the fold, guard Quinn Cook has played off the ball much more frequently this season – a role he relished on this night. The senior shot 7-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-4 from deep, and tallied 17 points to go along with four assists and zero turnovers. If Cook continues producing at that level alongside Jones, the Blue Devils will be even more offensively dynamic this season.

Star of the Game: Tyus Jones. When Okafor was hit with his fourth foul at around the nine-minute mark of the second half, Jones promptly took over, scoring on a quick layup before drawing a four-point play to put Duke comfortably ahead. He finished the game with 17 points (on just five shots), four assists, zero turnovers, and almost all of his buckets came in key stretches during the game’s final 15 minutes.

Quotable: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, commenting on Okafor’s place among all-time Blue Devils big men: “[Jahlil Okafor] has a chance to be the best one…. Jah’s the biggest one. Jah can pass the best – he just needs to learn what he can do.”

Sights and Sounds: Michigan State’s mascot, Sparty, often gets credit for being the life of the party. But tonight – much like his basketball team – he was outshined by Duke’s Blue Devil, who showed off some club-worthy dance moves during timeouts.

What’s Next: Duke heads to Brooklyn for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, where it looks to keep things rolling against Temple and (likely) Stanford. The Spartans hope to rebound against Loyola (Chicago) on Friday before gearing up for the Orlando Classic over Thanksgiving weekend – where it has a chance to meet Kansas.

Tommy Lemoine (250 Posts)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 at 9:23 pm by Tommy Lemoine and is filed under Regular Features, rushed reactions. Tagged: champions classic, coach k, duke, feature, Jahlil Okafor, justise winslow, michigan state, tom izzo, travis trice, Tyus Jones. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.