No. 24 Kansas took early control against No. 5 Duke on Tuesday night despite playing without injured star guard Darryn Peterson. But as the game wore on at Madison Square Garden, the Jayhawks didn’t have enough firepower to keep up, and Duke pulled away for a 78-66 win at the Champions Classic.
The luster of the blue-blood battle was tarnished earlier Tuesday when Kansas ruled Peterson out with a hamstring injury. The freshman guard is Kansas’ best player and a rival of Duke freshman Cameron Boozer to be selected No. 1 overall in next year’s NBA Draft.
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Kansas’ lineup is loaded with talent outside of Peterson, and senior transfer Tre White (22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) helped spark the Jayhawks to a scorching start and a 15-10 lead at the first media timeout. As the game wore on and both teams went to their benches, Duke took control.
The Blue Devils rode an 11-2 run to a 35-30 lead capped by a 3/4-court outlet from Boozer off a Kansas miss that led to a transition dunk for Isaiah Evans on the other end.
By the break, Duke had closed the half with a 21-7 run for a 41-33 advantage.
Kansas didn’t wilt. It cut a 10-point second-half deficit to 67-64 late. But it couldn’t overcome Duke’s deep wave of talent and its own poor shooting night from 3 (4 of 21, 19%).
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Reloaded Duke looks like a contender
Duke, meanwhile, looks very much like a contender again despite returning no starters from last season’s Final Four team. Instead, Boozer and freshman guard Dame Sarr join veterans Patrick Ngongba, Evans and Caleb Foster, who each played supporting roles to last year’s starting lineup featuring NBA lottery picks Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach.
As Kansas kept pressure on in the second half, Duke’s young roster repeatedly responded to ensure that the Jayhawks did not retake the lead. And it reopened its advantage late after allowing Kansas to get within one possession.
Boozer started his Duke career on a tear while averaging 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks in his first four games. He led the way again on college basketball’s biggest stage Tuesday night with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
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Basketball was robbed of a star freshman matchup thanks to Peterson’s injury. But these are two teams that very well could meet again in March.
Cameron Boozer (12) led the Blue Devils again as they beat the shorthanded Jayahwks to improve to 5-0.
(Sarah Stier via Getty Images)
