DALLAS—The primary three minutes of Duke’s Candy 16 sport towards Houston couldn’t have gone worse.
It was deja vu over again for the Blue Devils, who noticed an ultra-aggressive crew pounce on them and open an 8-0 lead earlier than they might catch their breath — an eerie reminder of final 12 months’s second-round loss to Tennessee. Head coach Jon Scheyer wanted a solution, and he wanted it quick.
Enter Ryan Younger, a sixth-year graduate pupil identified for his hustle — however actually not his athleticism. The unlikeliest of heroes towards what was essentially the most bodily imposing crew the Blue Devils have confronted this season, Younger helped settle the crew’s nerves and convey Duke again into the sport. On the finish of the primary half, the Blue Devils had constructed a one-point lead, and Younger was +12 within the field rating. By the top of the sport, he was a team-high +18.
In a sport determined by simply three factors, that’s not solely exceptional, however invaluable.
Scheyer’s bench has thinned considerably since freshman guard Caleb Foster suffered an ankle damage towards Wake Forest, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. That could be an understatement; in its final 5 video games heading into the Candy 16, Duke ranked 361st out of 362 Division-I groups in bench factors per sport, per CBBAnalytics.
Stars win video games in March, and the Blue Devils’ trio of senior Jeremy Roach and sophomores Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor made some big performs down the stretch towards Houston. However a crew can not solely depend on its prime gamers, particularly towards a tire-you-down squad just like the Cougars. Duke badly wanted one among its position gamers to step up, and Younger answered the decision.
“We would not have gained that sport with out Ryan,” Filipowski mentioned after the sport.
“His protection, his physicality to match what they do. I believed that was an enormous distinction within the sport,” Scheyer added.
One of many logos of Houston’s play fashion is its relentlessness on the offensive glass. The Cougars rank eleventh within the nation in offensive rebounds per sport, and till Younger checked in, they appeared able to bully the Blue Devils on the boards.
The skilled large man was capable of field out Houston’s forwards — typically a number of on the identical time — and clear issues up down low. His presence within the paint additionally took a number of the burden off Filipowski’s shoulders, liberating the 7-footer as much as leap for rebounds of his personal.
As soon as the Cougars might now not persistently depend on a number of pictures per possession, Duke was capable of lock them down defensively. Particularly after senior guard Jamal Shead was compelled to depart the sport with an ankle damage, Houston couldn’t discover any rhythm on offense — ending simply 20-for-49 from the sector. Whereas this was actually a collective effort, Younger’s time on the ground was the spark that lit the Blue Devils’ defensive hearth.
If Younger’s rebounding was a spark, then his dunk early within the second half — simply his third of the season — was an explosion. The 24-year-old proved he might nonetheless rock the rim, catching a go from Filipowski and ending by contact for an emphatic end.
“It stunned me a little bit bit. If I see a man coming down the lane like that attempting to dam [me], it is usually a pump faux, however I felt good,” Younger mentioned concerning the play.
Whereas his dunk will doubtless find yourself on some spotlight reels, the previous Northwestern switch’s greater influence on Duke’s offense was once more his impact on his teammates. With out Younger within the sport, the Blue Devils set nearly all of their ball screens utilizing Filipowski, and the Cougars guarded them nicely. Ball handlers obtained double-teamed laborious and had no straightforward targets to seek out for an escape.
Nevertheless, with Younger setting the display, Proctor and Roach might search for and see Filipowski ready for an outlet go. As soon as issues began rolling and Filipowski was capable of make performs both to attain or go, Duke instantly began seeing a lot better appears. Even when Younger was compelled to overlook time within the second half with foul bother, the Blue Devils had constructed sufficient confidence on offense to proceed to work by Filipowski with out shedding the ball to traps and doubles.
“All of us [have] roles on this crew, and we execute them so nicely. However I imply, Ryan got here in, he was prepared. He is aware of what to do. He is aware of his job so nicely,” Filipowski mentioned. “And it is so good for us.”
The important thing moments of Saturday’s win — Roach’s clutch pictures down the stretch, Filipowski’s inventive 3-pointers or Proctor’s big defensive stops — are particular person feats, similar to Younger’s efforts which helped allow the Blue Devils to take management. However they’re additionally a product of a crew, 5 gamers shopping for into their roles and doing what it takes to win. That’s what it takes to win a nationwide championship, a feat Duke is now simply three wins away from.
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| Assistant Blue Zone editor
Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity sophomore and an assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle’s 119th quantity.