Zion Williamson takes the dunking to a new level

DURHAM, N.C. – Zion Williamson launched a lob alley for RJ Barrett, and on the next run, Barrett returned the favor by hosting a dunk for Williamson.

For these blue devils of high flight, this ranking No. 1 seems to correspond to reality.

Williamson scored 21 points, Barrett added 20 and Duke dominated eastern Michigan 84-46 on Wednesday night in his first game of the season as the country's first team.

"It's good to be # 1, but no one really cares about who is # 1 at the moment," said Williamson. "The goal is to win a championship in March."

Javin DeLaurier and Jack White added 10 points each for the Blue Devils (3-0). Playing two days after beating Kansas for first place in the Top 25 AP, they all seemed to be part of the top-ranked team.

They shot 47%, shot 20 U-turns by the Eagles in 31 points and took the lead with a first-round 21-1 marked by an assortment of Williamson's dunks.

"Zion's dunks are crazy," Tre Jones, a freshman from the Blue Devils, told the press. "RJ had dunks, Javin [DeLaurier] had his first dunk of the year … we have a lot of guys who dunked tonight. But I have to go with Zion [as the best]. "

Damari Parris had nine points in first place against East Michigan (3-1), who shot 31 percent and was stuck in a single-digit score for about 17 and a half minutes.

Unlike their last game – in which the Army had suspended them for about 30 minutes three days earlier – the Blue Devils eliminated the drama earlier.

"Everything we did worked well," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, "but it worked because we played so hard."

Williamson placed Duke by 20 for the middle of the first half with the highlight of the evening – jumping so high to make a seemingly wandering pass that his armpits were at the same level as his opponent before he dipped. Set of 30 points with a bucket with about five minutes before halftime.

"The atmosphere has earned us the best of the first 6 to 7 minutes of the game," said East Michigan coach Rob Murphy. "It was difficult for us to score in the first half, and once you're in that building … it's pretty hard to come back."