Blog: Duke dominates in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Justise Winslow unleased his full arsenal on San Diego State Sunday afternoon, going coast to coast early, dominating the defensive glass, swatting Aztec shots and even finishing with a right-handed dunk in the second half.
His final stat line? Absurd. 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assits, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. When Justise is fully activated, Duke goes from very very good to just plain scary. Winslow said after the game that the coaches have been pressing him with that message. Consistency has been his issue this year, as evidenced by his near invincibility vs. Robert Morris, save for one gamechanging spurt in the second half.
Now that he's heading home to Houston for the Regionals, I'd anticipate we see engaged Justise from here on out.
Jahlil Okafor was the other obvious star of the game. Peppered with questions yesterday about the Aztecs size, he was very matter of fact, telling me he planned to dominate just as he had all year.
Matt Jones reinforced that notion before the game telling Jah that however big the Aztecs were, he was still the 'biggest, longest and baddest' dude on the court. He followed through on that, scoring with all manner of moves and sometimes just straight power.
As a sidenote - Jahlil's Dad Chucky is a hoot to watch during the game. He never stops hollering. That's him, in the blue hat, heckling an Aztec free throw shooter (while the Devils are already up 25)
For the second straight game, the Blue Devils took their opponents best punch, shook it off and landed an uppercut KO. Malik Pope's 3 made the score 44-37 in the 2nd. Bad idea - from there the Devils trampled their way to a 20-2 run, ending any thought of an upset. Duke wound up shooting 54 percent for the game, the first SDSU opponent in 41 games to shoot better than 50 percent. That's saying something.
The Blue Devils now face my beloved Utah Utes in the Sweet 16. I asked Quinn Cook after the game if he could do me a solid and roll over for the Utes. He smiled and flatly said 'No. No chance.' At least I tried.
