For decades to come, every Duke vs. Kentucky game, especially in the Champions Classic, will trigger fond memories of the Blue Devils beating Kentucky in that same event in 2018. But despite the most heralded freshman class since that Zion-led team, this year’s Duke team couldn’t provide a follow-up last night in Atlanta.
But comparisons to that classic 2018-19 Blue Devil team may still hold water, albeit with a different non-conference matchup.
A few weeks after a 118-84 loss to the Wildcats in 2018, Duke traveled to Maui and found itself facing Top 5 Gonzaga in the championship game. This Gonzaga team had its NBA talent, led by junior Rui Hachimura. Corey Kispert and Brandon Clarke were starters who made it to the NBA, while the rest of the Bulldogs rotation was loaded with experience.
Despite trailing most of the game, the Blue Devils battled back to tie the game with 1:45 left, despite hitting just 5 3-pointers the entire game. But missed opportunities plagued a young Duke team throughout, and the game ended with RJ Barrett’s classic «hero ball»: The freshman took and missed four of Duke’s final five throws. Experience won out and Duke was down two.
Sound familiar?
Yes, Kentucky is a long way from that Gonzaga team (though much of the story remains to be written, as expectations will now skyrocket in Lexington). But the difference in experience between the Wildcats and Blue Devils couldn’t be more obvious: As the ESPN announce team noted, Kentucky’s youngest starter is older than Duke’s oldest starter. The Blue Devils also struggled mightily in this contest, even more so than in 2018 against Gonzaga: Duke made just 4-of-23 3-pointers, a poor 17%. And yet, the Blue Devils had every chance to win in the final minute, but fell victim to Cooper Flagg’s ill-advised «hero ball.» Experience won out and Duke went down by five.
While the comparison certainly isn’t flawless, the bottom line is this: in a contest against a strong, experienced opponent in which Duke clearly lacked its A-game (or maybe even its C-game, especially from behind the arc), the Blue Devils still had every chance to victory. In the one-and-done era, Duke’s best teams have usually found ways to win, or at least compete, when the shots aren’t falling, with the 2018 Gonzaga game being a prime example. Compare last night’s performance to, say, Jon Scheyer’s first team that was embarrassed by Purdue early in 2022, or last year’s team that fell to an inferior Arkansas team in a game that wasn’t as close as its final five points indicated differences.
A Blue Devil team that by all other evidence should be one of the better shooting teams in recent memory turned in an outstanding performance from deep. Those problems were exacerbated by the loss of Zion James in the second half, who calmly played his best game in a Duke jersey. Khaman Maluach, whose size was invaluable against a big Kentucky team, was in and out of the lineup with cramps. Despite it all, the Blue Devils led most of the way, with several opportunities to extend that lead with open 3-pointers that just didn’t fall. And they still had the ball in the hands of next year’s presumptive No. 1 pick in the NBA draft to win the game in the final 30 seconds.
All Duke teams lose games, especially young Duke teams. But the best Duke teams have a chance to win every game, especially the ones where they don’t play their best. We saw that last night. So while a loss to Kentucky always brings added irritation, there’s every reason to remain optimistic about the Blue Devils’ potential. And in a good week, we’ll see how much this team learned from that experience in another high-scoring non-conference matchup in Arizona.
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