Duke Wins Maui Invitational
With all the well-deserved press that North Carolina is receiving this year, Duke seems to be flying under the radar. That may change soon, as Duke is now 7-0 after beating top 15 Kansas to win the Maui Invitational by a score of 68-61. In fact, Duke has now beaten Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kansas on the early season. Few teams have faced that many challenging opponents. It appears that Duke has reloaded again and is very much deserving of being considered among the elite this year.
For Duke, the challenge against Kansas was the size disadvantage. Not surprisingly, Kansas’s front line won the rebounding battle, albeit only by 5. In fact, Duke was able to snare 11 offensive rebounds. The difference was that Duke’s superior athleticism forced 17 turnovers. Kansas simply could not recover from that many self-inflicted wounds. In a rather amazing stat, Kansas forward Tyshawn Taylor had 11 turnovers. That will have to be corrected in order for Kansas to generate a top 4 seed in March.
Duke was led by Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee, who each scored 17 points. But the brightest star against Kansas was sophomore Tyler Thornton, who hit two giant three-point shots down the stretch to give Duke this win.
The Confidential 