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For all of Tom Izzo’s college basketball success, there was one thing he had never done: clinch a victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium over Duke.
Till Tuesday.
The No.8 Michigan State came back from an early nine-point deficit to beat No.6 Duke 75-69 in Game 1 of the Champions Classic.
“We came here to win a game,” said Izzo, who went 0-3 to Cameron. “I think I’ve done a bad job over the years. Either I’m too excited for the game or I’m giving them too much credit. I thought we were a good team that could beat them. I thought that. they had a good team, but I thought about our defense and our depth – and it turned out like that. “
It also marked Michigan State’s first victory at Duke, with the previous three attempts being under Izzo.
It was Duke’s third non-conference home loss since 2000, but the second in the past two seasons after the 85-83 loss to Stephen F. Austin last November. There were no fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium for Tuesday’s game, but that won’t hold Izzo’s victory back.
“I know one thing: I’m not going to put that as an asterisk,” he said. “It was a good win for us against a good team, a great program and a very, very well-trained team.”
Rocket Watts led the way with 20 points for Michigan State, but Joey Hauser and Malik Hall both had double-doubles and Aaaron Henry finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals. .
“For the things he’s done for me and all the times he’s had my back, behind closed doors, in my face, not in my face, it’s the least I can do for him,” a said Henry. “He’s helped me in more ways than just getting the win for him tonight. I really appreciate that. I’m happy for the coach and the career he’s had, and I’m happy to be one of the players who got him a win here at Cameron. It’s a tough place to win from what I understand, with or without fans, and it was still tough. But I’m glad it happened. be produced, and I’m glad I got to do it with him. “
Michigan State turned him over seven times in the first 10 minutes, helping Duke get some easy baskets en route to an early lead. But once the Spartans settled in and stopped letting the Blue Devils get points in transition, the momentum shifted to Michigan State. Duke couldn’t score consistently against a defined defense and the Spartans increased the pressure on the attacking side, becoming more aggressive with the ball and attacking the basket.
Duke only shot 5 for 23 from a distance of 3 points, and the only player to consistently find ways to score in the second half was Matthew Hurt, who finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
“I thought we had taken a huge leap since our first game,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We just have to keep improving. I’m not disappointed with my team. They came to win, and they didn’t. But we lost to a very good team.”
Michigan State got off to a stronger-than-expected start after bidding farewell to U.S. point guard Cassius Winston and draft colleague Xavier Tillman. Returnees have made strides forward, especially Hall and Watts, while the return of Joshua Langford and the arrival of Hauser have brought experience.
And on Tuesday, the emergence of the second Julius Marble made the difference. Marble only played six minutes in total in the first two games, but came off the bench to score 12 points in 12 minutes against Duke.
“He’s another guy I’m so proud of,” Izzo said. “He kind of weathered the storm. We put him on the scout team … And he took full advantage of it. Was that a surprise? No. I’ve been seeing this for two weeks. He’s smart. , he’s athletic, he has one thing that I love, he’s tough. “
David Hale of ESPN contributed to this report.
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