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INDIANAPOLIS – Kentucky No. 2 has more experienced players than No. 4 duke.
The fabulous Blue Devils first-year students collectively laughed as if it mattered Tuesday night.
RJ Barrett scored 33 points, Zion Williamson added 28 and Cameron Reddish 22 as Duke took control of the game and never gave up the victory in the 118-84 Wildcats Classic win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
No team has ever scored more points against the Kentucky team coached by John Calipari.
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The opening match of the season between two of the top five ranked teams in the country was designed to be a preview of the final four.
But in the first night of the season, the young Blue Devils (1-0) looked like the best team in the country and left Kentucky (0-1) wondering what had happened.
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– Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 7, 2018
Starting with four freshmen, Duke shot 54% while making 12 points at 3 points.
In addition to their score, freshmen contributed in another way. Jones had seven assists while Barrett had six. Williamson had seven of 38 rebounds from Duke.
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The freshmen had a lot of help from Duke's inexperienced veterans. Junior Jack White came off the bench to score nine points and 10 rebounds, the best of the team.
Duke has swamped Kentucky since the opening board, showing his versatility and offensive efficiency while building a 21-point lead within 10 minutes of play.
Wildcat fans outnumbered Duke fans on the neutral site, but their voices were quickly quieted.
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Duke's four beginners scored the first four goals for the Blue Devils, while Jones, Reddish and Williamson scored the third goal and Barrett shot in the line while Duke led 11-4.
Kentucky was relegated 11-8 to the mark when Duke scored the next nine points in less than two minutes. Reddish hit another pointer to 3, Jones and Bolden, layups and Barrett ended an acceleration with a slam dunk to give Duke a 20-8 lead.
When Barrett scored at 11:47, Duke had 11 of his first 19 shots and six Blue Devils scored to create a 27-10 lead.
Duke led 34-13 with 10:37 left in the first half.
This @DukeMBB the team is scary! ? pic.twitter.com/I22ufhPE8F
– NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) November 7, 2018
The Blue Devils found themselves in trouble while six players, including Reddish, Williamson and Bolden, had two fouls each in the first half. This allowed Kentucky to come back as close as 12 points.
But Duke closed the half-day by getting easy baskets from Barrett, on a Jones pass, and Bolden, on a Barrett pass, to lead 59-42 to the intermission.
A Williamson layup and a reddish 3-pointer in the first minute of the second half gave Duke a 64-42 lead.
This did not matter.
A red flight and a slam after the resumption of play reinforced Duke's lead at 66-42.
This article was written by Steve Wiseman of The News & Observer and was legally licensed by Tribune Content Agency via the NewsCred Publishers Network. Please send any licensing questions to [email protected].
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