Duke’s Blue Devil mascot was trying to be funny when he etched out “Buzzkill” on the athletic tape across the oversized forehead of his costume. Pretty apt description, though, of what Georgia Tech was going for on Tuesday night.
The Yellow Jackets spent the first half trying to shock No. 16 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a premiere team trying to regroup after a loss at Notre Dame. Tech was supposed to be regrouping too, without Robert Carter Jr., but didn’t look like it the first 20 minutes.
But Duke still looked like Duke for the final 20 minutes and ran off with a 79-57 win. Standout freshman Jabari Parker still wasn’t quite himself for the Blue Devils with a relatively tame 12 points, but Rodney Hood blitzed Tech from 3-point range, hitting 5 of 7 shots from behind the arc on his way to 27 points.
“I told our guys I like the team that I coached tonight a lot better than the one on Saturday,” Tech coach Brian Gregory, referring to the Jackets’ blowout loss at Maryland. “But at the same time, we need to keep improving and keep getting better.”
Two games into the treacherous new ACC schedule, with Carter Jr. in Atlanta Tuesday having arthroscopic knee surgery, the Yellow Jackets (9-6, 0-2) hung with Duke for a half behind some stellar play from Daniel Miller. The senior center went 4-for-4 from the floor and nearly had a double-double in the first half on his way to 14 points and eight rebounds overall.
But the tide turned in the first two minutes of the second half. Miller, who made his first five shots, missed on a dunk, of all things. And that was the sliver of an opening the Blue Devils needed. Quinn Cook sank a 3-pointer on the other end to spark a 9-2 run that forced Gregory into a timeout two minutes into the second half.
Tech was down by eight, 43-35, after trailing by no more than six in the first half. The Yellow Jackets kept the margin at about eight points until Duke got separation on back-to-back 3-pointers from Hood with 6:31 left.
“They hurt us on the dribble drive,” Gregory said. “We’ve got to stop the penetration first because so many of their 3s are created off the dribble drive.”
Kammeon Holsey picked up his third foul on the first possession of the second half, forcing Tech to go smaller. That also allowed Duke to go smaller, moving Hood from the wing to the power forward spot, and Tech couldn’t contain him there.
Hood made four consecutive 3-pointers during a 19-7 Duke run that turned a 60-50 lead with 7:14 left into a blowout. The Blue Devils (12-3, 1-1) had led by that same margin and score midway through their game at Notre Dame on Saturday and lost.
“We let up,” said Duke sophomore forward Amile Jefferson. “Tonight we didn’t. We kept our foot on the gas because we knew this was a must-win game.”
The Blue Devils moved to 22-1 after losses over the past five seasons. Jefferson had 10 rebounds in 28 minutes to help Duke become the first opponent this season to out-rebound the Yellow Jackets.
Hood was 8-for-12 from the floor and made all six of his free throws. That was a variation on a theme for Duke. The Blue Devils went 22-for-25 from the free throw line, while Tech was 0-for-6.
Tech lost its aggressive edge in the second half, settling for some tough outside shots. Marcus Georges-Hunt had set the tone early, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the first half, including three monster drives through the heart of Duke’s defense. He finished with 18 points.
Tech’s senior point guard Trae Golden was held to eight points on 4-for-11 shooting but played 38 minutes and committed only one turnover.
“Not many point guards can leave here saying that,” Gregory said.
Golden was only on the bench for those other two minutes because he was cramping again, a recurring issue for him lately.
Miller had the most complete game for the Yellow Jackets in a place he loves to play. He went 7-for-11 from the floor, had two assists, only one turnover, a blocked shot and Tech’s only three steals of the game.
“He doesn’t get any pub, any credit,” Gregory said. “And he’s as good as any center in the league because he rebounds the ball, he defends extremely well, he’s shooting the ball well, helps us in every aspect, every phase of the game.”
Miller was left shaking his head, dejected after he got caught on a switch watching Cook hit a tough step-back jumper late in the game. Gregory was quick to console him from the sideline.
After the game, still flushed from 32 minutes of work, sitting in a chair in a hallway outside Tech’s locker room, Miller had a little easier time offering some perspective when asked what Tech could take from the game.
“We can be pretty good if we want to be,” Miller said. “We just have to play harder the whole time.”
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