No Contest: No. 4 Duke Routs No. 10 Notre Dame 90-60
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Justise Winslow had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 4 Duke used a huge early run to rout No. 10 Notre Dame 90-60 on Saturday.
Fellow freshman Jahlil Okafor added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Jones added a career-high 17 points off the bench and Tyus Jones scored 12 for the Blue Devils (20-3, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).
They shot 61 percent — 81 percent in the first half — and used an early 43-7 run to give Notre Dame (21-4, 9-3) its worst loss since 1999.
Steve Vasturia had 15 points but top scorer Jerian Grant was held to just seven on 3-of-10 shooting for the Fighting Irish, who won the previous meeting 77-73 on Jan. 28.
This one was all Duke.
Playing before a crowd infused with an energy usually reserved for rival North Carolina, the Blue Devils clamped down on the nation's most efficient offense and built an insurmountable lead during its most dominant first half of the season.
A comeback-capable Notre Dame team — the Irish rallied from 18 points down to beat North Carolina State on the road two weeks ago — never got closer than 18 in the second half of its worst loss since Villanova beat them 93-62 on Jan. 7, 1999.
They entered averaging a Division I-best 1.2 points per possession, and led the ACC with an 80.8-point scoring average. The Blue Devils held them to two baskets in 11 early minutes and needed about 15½ minutes to build a 30-point lead.
Perhaps most impressively, they did it almost entirely without Okafor. The preseason All-American picked up two fouls in 16 seconds and sat for the final 11:57 of the half.
Matt Jones, who recently has taken over as Duke's sixth man, matched his previous scoring high of 13 points in the first half while hitting three 3s in a 5-minute span.
Winslow gave Duke its largest lead when his 3 — the Blue Devils' seventh of the half — made it 43-13 with 4½ minutes left.
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TIP-INS
Notre Dame: Demetrius Jackson added 11 points for the Fighting Irish. Grant, Pat Connaughton and Zach Auguste — who combine to average 44.5 points — finished with a combined 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting.
Duke: The Blue Devils earned their 18th straight 20-win season and their 30th in coach Mike Krzyzewski's 35 seasons at the school.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame plays at Clemson on Tuesday night.
Duke plays at Florida State on Monday night.
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