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Final Score: Duke 81, TCU 58.
Duke picked up its defense in the second half as TCU was worn down by fouls, a lack of size and frustration with the officiating. Duke is not approaching the game the right way, and basketball karma is seemingly coming soon. Duke admittedly didn't take Siena seriously and failed to get Cameron Boozer more than one shot during the first 20 minutes tonight against the Horned Frogs, which came out and punched the Blue Devils in the mouth the first four minutes of the second half. Duke had seven turnovers immediately in the second half. How is this team going to respond against the pressure of St. John's or the athleticism of Kansas? This Duke team has a lot of work to do and is developing bad habits that traditionally don't carry over to March Madness success. The Blue Devils are about to step up in competition and are playing like one of the weakest #1 overall seeds in recent memory. Sure, injuries have contributed to depth issues, but Duke is playing very entitled. Cameron Boozer feasted late in the game against guys who were three inches smaller than him. Big deal. Duke needs Caleb Foster back, especially if facing St. John's, and Coach Jon Scheyer should do some serious reflecting about getting his team ready to play at the start of games and halves. In two underwhelming victories Duke has struggled against a team that played five players and a team that had no height. Color me unimpressed. This team is not God's gift to basketball. Make the jump to see the game stats and read my running live reactions throughout Duke's late awakening against TCU.
Second Half, Under-4 Timeout Live Reactions
Duke leads 74-52 with 2:13 remaining. TCU has ran out of gas and cannot compete with Duke's size at this point. Duke has doubled up TCU, 36-18 in points this half. Duke has a 36-20 advantage on the glass. Cameron Boozer has 17 points this half, on 6-of-8 from the floor this half.
Dule leads 68-50 with 6:00 remaining. Edmonds has fouled out on a double foul with Ngongba. This will be upgraded to double flagrant fouls. Boozer is starting the feast as Duke has finally put him on the block and moved the 5 to above the free throw line for high low passes. TCU has no answer as the 6'6" Robinson has to guard the 6'9" Boozer. Dixon needs to add size to this roster next year. TCU has missed 13 out of its last 15.
Second Half, Under-8 Timeout Live Reactions
Duke leads 64-50 with 8:25 remaining. TCU calls a timeout. Dame Sarr just hit a three. He has two in the second half. Duke is on an extended 20-6 run. It hasn't been an avalanche of a run. Sarr got away with a push in the back leading to an offensive board that extended the possession. Ultimately, TCU is too small against Duke. Dixon needs to get Edmonds in and let him play until he fouls out. Duke has picked up its defensive intensity, and TCU is struggling to hit shots (just 7/23 this half).
Duke leads 59-50 with 8:57 remaining. Jaime Dixon has just been T'd up. The refs missed a call as Brown goal tended a Toolson layup attempt. Dixon is frustrated with the free throw difference (23-7).
Second Half, Under-12 Timeout Live Reactions
Duke leads 53-44 with 11:48 remaining. The Blue Devils are on a 9-0 run. Both Boozer brothers have three-point plays, and Khamenia just hit a three. Cameron Boozer has 7 points on 2/3 field goals this half. Edmonds came in and immediately was called for a fourth. TCU has 5 fouls this half, Duke 1. TCU has been the more active team, but is struggling to score. Duke has shot 19 free throws, TCU 7. TCU has been called for 17 fouls, Duke has been called for 9.
The refs have upgraded Tanner Toolson's foul to a flagrant. Terrible call. He got off his feet and had to grab Boozer to break his fall. Weak sauce. Boozer makes both free throws. Duke leads 42-40.
The refs have upgraded Tanner Toolson's foul to a flagrant. Terrible call. He got off his feet and had to grab Boozer to break his fall. Weak sauce. Boozer makes both free throws. Duke leads 42-40.
Second Half, Under-16 Timeout Live Reactions
The game is tied at 40 with 15:26 remaining. Cameron Boozer wakes up with a high low dunk, steal and a drive to the basket leading to a foul.
TCU leads 40-38 with 16:11 remaining. Duke takes a timeout.
Duke has 5 turnovers at the start of the half. TCU's defense is very active. Head Coach Jaime Dixon makes the surprising decision to start Vianney Salatchoum at center to start the half due to Edmonds foul trouble, and the big man is giving TCU a lift with a dunk and blocked shot. TCU has gotten several offensive boards and cannot hit shots, but the activity has been fantastic. Duke looks shell-shocked. Cameron Boozer has no idea where the double is coming from. Duke hasn't made a field goal in forever (8:45).
Halftime Adjustments
It's clear that Duke must get Cameron Boozer some shots. He only has one field goal attempt. The Blue Devils need to pick up a fourth foul on Xavier Edmonds, who has been TCU's best player with 12 points but has three fouls. Getting fellow big man David Punch (2 points, with only 3 shots) going will be key for the Horned Frogs. He had a quiet first half due to foul trouble against Ohio State on Thursday but was the Horned Frogs most impactful player in the second half of that game. TCU needs a similar performance from Punch in the last 20 minutes against Duke. TCU surprisingly has two more threes than Duke, which is just 3-10 from deep. If either team can hit a few threes early in the second half, that could get the ball rolling. Rebounding will be huge as well. Duke has doubled up TCU 18-9 on the boards. As always is the case against Duke, foul trouble will be key for TCU. The Horned Frogs need Edmonds and Punch on the court together for as long as possible.
Halftime Score: Duke 38, TCU 34.
The Horned Frogs hang within striking distance as Duke ends the half with a four-minute scoring drought. Evans leads Duke with 13 points, Edmonds has 12 for the Horned Frogs. However, he has three fouls, leaving one to wonder how long will it take for him to pick up his fourth foul during the second half. Duke is playing better than Thursday, I guess, but this does not look like the #1 overall seed of the tournament. Fouls and free throws will be huge in the second half, as seen below in the halftime stats.
First Half, Final Four Minutes Live Reactions
Duke leads 38-34 with 30 seconds remaining. Duke calls a timeout. TCU has hung in thanks to Edmonds, who just picked up this third foul. Cam Boozer has two fouls. Duke is +10 in points at the foul line.
The refs are reviewing whether Boozer committed a flagrant foul. This is taking way too long! It has been updated to a flagrant one. TCU's 90% free-throw shooter Liutauras Lelevicius makes one of two free throws.
First Half, Under-4 Timeout Live Reactions
Duke leads 33-25 with 3:59 remaining. Punch is bleeding from the nose after catching a Cam Boozer elbow while the Duke freshman drove to the lane. TCU fell asleep in its half-court defense, losing Brown behind, leading to an easy dunk. Brown has a quietly effective 7 points on 3/3 from the field. Duke has doubled up TCU, 16 to 8, with points in the paint. TCU's Robinson has missed his last three shots after making his first three.
Duke leads 31-23 with 5:24 remaining. T.C.U. calls a timeout. Evans just scored a driving layup off another Maliq Brown offensive board. Evans has five points off Brown's two offensive boards. Duke has gone to a 3-2 zone, which has led to back-to-back turnovers. The Blue Devils defense has looked better in zone than man, as was the case in the second half against Siena. Duke's Cam Boozer is doing a nice job facilitating offense from inside the free throw line, lobbing a ball to Ngongba for a dunk and setting up a Nikohlas Khamenia three that was missed. The game is definitely tilting toward the Blue Devils. Duke has a 13-5 advantage on the boards. Duke is shooting 55.6% from teh field. Evans has 13 of Duke's last 15 points.
First Half, Under-8 Timeout Live Reactions
Duke leads 27-22 with 7:34 remaining. Isaiah Evans has gotten off during this stretch, with a four-point play and another three off a Maliq Brown rebound. He has a game-high 11 points. Like Thursday's game, TCU is getting great first halves from Micah Robinson, who has 8 points on 3/5 from the field, and Xavier Edmonds, who has five points on 2/3 shooting. It feels like Duke is picking up a little momentum, though Evans just air balled a heat check three. TCU has shot and missed one free throw, Duke has shot and made eight free throws. The Blue Devils have 5 turnovers, with Ngongba accounting for three. He looks a bit rusty with his hand-eye coordination. Cameron Boozer still only has one shot. TCU has clearly made it a point to limit his touches. TCU needs to get David Punch going. He is 1-3 from the field in 9 minutes.
First Half, Under-12 Timeout Live Reactions
TCU leads 15-14 with 11:51 remaining. TCU has 7 fouls already, Duke has 3. The Blue Devils will be in the bonus the rest of the half. TCU has two threes during this stretch from Harding and Micah Robinson, who also had a layup off a Duke turnover. The Blue Devils have 4 turnovers, which TCU has converted into 7 points. The Horned Frogs also have 15 field goal attempts compared to 8 for Duke, which will be shooting its fourth and fifth free throws out of the break. TCU has not shot a free throw yet. Duke has an 8-4 advantage with points in the paint. Ngongba scores on his first shot. Cameron Boozer has has just one field goal attempt and only two points (both from the foul line). TCU is doing a nice job sagging down and digging at the ball.
First Half, Under-16 Timeout Live Reactions
The game is tied at 7 with exactly 16 minutes remaining. TCU is 3/6 from the field with Brock Harding, Xavier Edmonds and David Punch all with buckets. Duke is 3/4 from the field, including a nice high low lob from Cameron Boozer to Maliq Brown for a dunk. Duke has an assist on all three field goals. The Blue Devils have two turnovers, TCU has one. Duke center Patrick Ngongba entered the game with a little more than 16 minutes remaining.
Prediction: Duke
Duke may be the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Blue Devils are vulnerable right now due to injuries to point guard Caleb Foster and big man Patrick Ngongba (who will play today). That vulnerability was shockingly seen on Thursday as Duke faced a double-digit halftime deficit against #16 Siena. Ultimately, it took Duke 15 minutes in the second half to get the lead, thanks in large part to the less-heralded Boozer brother, point guard Cayden Boozer, who had a strong floor game in the last 20 minutes. Expect Cayden's brother Cam, a projected top pick in this summer's NBA draft, to pick up his play after a bit of an uneven game on Thursday. As for TCU, the Horned Frogs got hot from three during a first half victory against Ohio State. However, in the second half of that game, Ohio State's defense really stymied TCU's offense, which was lifted to victory by big men David Punch and Xavier Edmonds. Considering that Duke essentially won the Siena game because of its defense, Duke will prevail today with another stellar effort on that side of the court. Duke admittedly did not take Siena seriously, and doing so to TCU today could result in another nail-biting game. The more-talented Blue Devils will be more focused today and should get out of the opening weekend, though a back-to-back Final Four appearance is not looking great at the moment.
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