Without Tre Jones, Duke Blows Out Wofford

Joey Baker leads Blue Devils over upset-minded Terriers

With an upset-minded giant slayer visiting and their point guard on the shelf, the Duke Blue Devils blew out Wofford, 86-57, on Thursday.

Duke was playing for the first time in 13 days, after taking a break for final exams. The Blue Devils showed no signs of rust, however, using a 25-9 run midway through the first half to pull away from the Terriers.

Wofford entered on the heels of an impressive win over UNC on Sunday, hitting 14 of 40 three-pointers in the game to upset Carolina. Duke made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat, playing fierce perimeter defense that held Storm Murphy, 5-of-10 from three against the Tar Heels, managed just three first-half shots, none from three. Trevor Stumpe, 4-of-6 from three against UNC, had just one shot at halftime. Wofford got off just 24 three-pointers in the game, and 38 from two-point range, the first time in six games the Terriers have shot more twos than threes.

“We missed some shots early, and we started pressing a little bit,” Wofford coach Jay McAuley said. “We were a little sped up and Duke had a lot to do with that, and we have to handle that better moving forward. Their pressure took us out of some things. We need to be a lot more mentally tough in those moments. That’s what Duke does to you.”

Duke did it without its top defender, Tre Jones, who sat out the game with a foot injury. Wendell Moore said Jones hadn’t practice the last few days, although Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Jones would have been able to play if it had been an ACC game.

In his place, Jordan Goldwire and Alex O’Connell stepped up with extended minutes and helped freshman Wendell Moore play shut down the perimeter shooters.

Duke then gave the Terriers a taste of their own medicine in the second half. Joey Baker hit 5-of-7 from three and finished with a career-high 22 points.

“In September, I wasn’t sure how much Joey could play,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “and Joey has come every day at practice, and he shoots game shots... even when he’s just shooting. He has become our quickest and most accurate shooter. The guys see it.”