DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s closing act of nonconference play put its freshmen on display Saturday.
Using an all-freshman starting lineup, the No. 15 Blue Devils hammered Maryland-Eastern Shore, 82-55, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (10-2) has nothing but ACC games the rest of the season when the schedule resumes following finals week on Dec. 20 at Wake Forest.
Junior guard Jeremy Roach sat out the game as the medical staff opted to have him rest the ailing toe on his right foot, which he injured in a 75-56 loss to Purdue on Nov. 27.
That opened a spot for freshman forward Dariq Whitehead to get his first start of the season. He joined classmates — guard Tyrese Proctor, center Dereck Lively II and forward Kyle Filipowski — as starters.
Whitehead and Proctor led Duke with 15 points each while Filipowski scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Blue Devils blitzed Maryland-Eastern Shore (3-7) with an early 11-0 run on the way to a taking a 30-9 lead during the first half.
Here are other notable things the Blue Devils showed in the win:
Roach takes a veteran day off
Duke’s lone team captain and the only returning starter from last season’s Final Four team, Roach rested his nagging right foot injury on Saturday.
The 6-2 Roach had previously started every game for Duke this season.
But with only two games scheduled the rest of December following Saturday’s game, the opportunity to get him an extended break presented itself and Duke’s medical staff took advantage.
In three games since he hurt the right toe on Nov. 27, Roach has played well. He scored 22 points on Tuesday night in New York when the Blue Devils beat Iowa, 74-62.
Though Duke won, the Blue Devils missed their floor leader as they committed a season-high 19 turnovers.
An assertive Lively
Starting his ninth game of the season despite missing a month of practice due to straining a right calf muscle in October, Lively is still not performing like a player projected to be a first-round pick in next summer’s NBA draft.
He entered Saturday averaging 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while playing 17.2 minutes per game.
But the 7-1 Lively played his most aggressive overall game against the smaller Hawks. He blocked four shots in the first half alone before finishing with eight points, nine rebounds and five blocks for the game. He played 21 minutes.
Getting Lively to play 30 minutes a game, while extrapolating that production over the increased playing time, would go a long way toward making Duke the Final Four contender it intends to be.
Whitehead starts
Like Lively, Whitehead isn’t producing up to preseason expectations due to injury. The 6-7 Whitehead fractured his right foot on Aug. 29, had surgery the following day and sat out Duke’s first three games.
Also projected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft if he leaves Duke following this season, Whitehead’s first start on Saturday showed he’s getting closer to finding his stride.
Whitehead missed his first five shots and was 1 of 6 from the field in the first half. But he caught fire after halftime, finishing 6 of 14 from the field. He played a season-high 25 minutes after playing 21 minutes against Iowa on Tuesday night.
