Field Level Media
Dec 18, 2018
Freshman RJ Barrett scored 27 points, and second-ranked Duke finished the first half with a flourish to take control in a 101-50 victory against Princeton on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.
Zion Williamson added 17 points, while reserves Jack White and Alex O'Connell both tallied 10 points for the Blue Devils (10-1).
Myles Stephens scored 19 points for Princeton (5-5), which has lost three of its past four games. The Tigers' previous largest margin of defeat this season was 15 points.
Princeton freshman Jaelin Llewellyn, who missed seven games before averaging 19.5 points for the past two games, posted eight points. He had committed two fouls less than eight minutes into the game.
Duke ended up shooting 52.2 percent from the field after a horrid beginning.
The Blue Devils had a stretch spanning the two halves when they outscored the Tigers 65-25.
There were long stretches when Princeton had trouble getting off shots. Duke, which leads the country in blocked shots, recorded 14 rejections.
Yet it took more than 14 minutes before Duke, which hadn't played since Dec. 8 because of final exams, took its first lead at 19-18. That came with Williamson on the bench as he appeared momentarily dazed after apparently being struck in the face. He sat out more than three minutes.
He returned and scored off a lob, part of a three-point play as the Blue Devils stretched their run to 11-0.
Duke, which has a showdown with undefeated Texas Tech on Thursday night in New York, missed its first eight shots as it took more than four minutes for the Blue Devils to score. Princeton built an 8-0 lead.
Both teams shot 4-for-14 on first-half 3-pointers. Duke held a 24-11 rebounding edge at the break, and the Blue Devils wound up with a 50-25 edge on the glass.
It was the first meeting between the teams in eight years.
The Blue Devils recorded their second straight win against an Ivy League opponent, following a 91-58 win against Yale on Dec. 8.
--Field Level Media