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CHICAGO (AP) -- The scary thing is, No. 1 Duke is going to get
better.
Facing its first top 10 opponent of the season, Duke made easy
work of Iowa (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) on Tuesday night, beating the Hawkeyes 80-62 in the first night of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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Player of Game
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| GAME STATISTICS |
| MIN |
PTS |
REB |
AST |
FGS |
FTS |
| 34 |
22 |
14 |
1 |
7-13 |
8-9 |
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The Blue Devils (5-0) got contributions from just about
everyone, and served notice they can be as dominant as last
season's NCAA championship squad -- even without Shane Battier.
"This team is not in competition with last year's team," Duke
coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "This team has to run its own race.
This team has to go through its own process and handling the mantle
of being No. 1.
"They have a lot of pressure on them. I believe we can become
better as a result."
They're pretty good already. Jason Williams scored 25 points and
had five assists, and Carlos Boozer had his third straight
double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
Chris Duhon had 11 assists to go with his nine points --
including a nice alley-oop feed to Williams. Mike Dunleavy had 18
points, going 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
Duke broke the game open with an 8-2 run late in the first half,
and Iowa never recovered. The Hawkeyes (4-2) cut the lead to 73-61
on Luke Recker's layup with 4:21 to play, but they just didn't have
the firepower to keep up.
"We can't allow ourselves to get down like that," Recker said.
"We're not at their level."
Recker led Iowa with 15 points, but he was 7-of-18 overall and
just 1-of-8 from 3-point range. Reggie Evans, who came into the
game averaging 21.6 points and 11.4 rebounds, was held to eight
points and nine rebounds.
It was Iowa's second loss to a top 5 team in the past week. The
Hawkeyes lost to then-No. 5 Missouri last Wednesday.
"We know we're very good," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "We
didn't have one of our better nights and Duke's very good. They had
a lot to do with us not playing well tonight."
The Blue Devils improved their record against ranked teams to
34-13 since 1997-98.
It may only be the end of November, but this had all the makings
of a late-season matchup. Both teams played with the energy and
intensity of a tournament game, and when Williams appeared to get
knocked over early in the second half, things got a little testy.
Both coaches protested to referees, and there were some hard fouls
on each side the rest of the game.
But it takes more than a physical game to derail Duke.
"We came in with a big-game mindset," Dunleavy said. "There
was the usual anti-Duke crowd, so it was a fun game."
|  | | Nick Horvath and Blue Devils held Reggie Evans to eight points, 13 below his average. |
The Hawkeyes won four games in as many days at the United Center
last March to capture the Big Ten Tournament title, and the
pro-Iowa crowd sensed another big victory as Duke got off to a
sluggish start.
In the first eight minutes, the Blue Devils turned the ball over
five times and were outrebounded a whopping 15-5. And when
Chicago-area native Ryan Hogan hit a 15-foot jumper to spark a 7-0
run that gave Iowa a 17-12 lead with 10:52 left in the first half,
the crowd was on its feet and roaring.
But in a two-minute span, Duke took control of the game. After
Hogan connected on a short jumper, Duhon hit a 3-pointer from the
left corner. Recker responded with a pull-up jumper, but Duhon came
right back with another 3.
Then Williams picked off a bad pass by Pierre Pierce and raced
downcourt for the easy dunk. Just like that, Duke had a 30-23 lead
with 4:45 to play in the first half.
"We've got a lot of potential, and our club has the ability to
play together," Williams said. "You see the talent on some NBA
teams, but they can't play together like we can."
The Hawkeyes kept at it, but the Blue Devils had an answer for
everything. When Recker hit a 3, Dunleavy connected on a spinning
jumper. When Pierce made a layup, Dunleavy hit one of his own and
Williams followed with a beautiful alley-oop from Duhon.
And when Glen Worley scored on a layup to pull Iowa to 38-32
with 41 seconds left, Dunleavy coolly drilled a 3-pointer from 24
feet.
"The NBA 3-pointer by Dunleavy at the end of the half was
huge," Recker said.
Krzyzewski agreed.
"The way we ended the half was huge because the first half was
kind of even, though we were up by nine," he said. "We'd just
scored on a dunk with Jason and Mike stepped back and hit it. Going
back to last year, he hits big shots."
And the Blue Devils didn't let up at all after halftime.
Dunleavy sparked a 10-2 run with another 3. Williams capped the
spurt with a 3-pointer, and Duke had a 51-34 lead with 17:01 to
play.
"Iowa is a good team," Krzyzewski said. "They're going to be
a tough out for anybody. I thought this was a good one."
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Duke vs. Iowa