Jon Scheyer: Duke defense was key in first half vs. Michigan State

It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest half, but Duke headed into halftime of Tuesday’s Champions Classic game against Michigan State with a 31-20 lead. Neither team shot better than 50% from the field through the first 20 minutes, and Jon Scheyer pointed out defense was going to be the name of the game going forward.

Duke shot 45% from the floor in the first half, led by nine points from Mark Mitchell, and committed just two turnovers in the last eight minutes. But Scheyer said the biggest difference was on the defensive end as the Blue Devils held Michigan State to just 29% shooting, including 2-for-13 from three-point territory.

Despite the 11-point advantage, though, Scheyer pointed out Duke could’ve done more to extend its lead late in the half.

“Just sticking with it,” Scheyer told ESPN’s Holly Rowe about cutting down on turnovers. “Our defense was really good. We have to be smarter on offense, and that’s on me. We’ve got to get a shot up. … It’s not two-for-one. We have to hold it for the last shot, and we didn’t get a shot off at the end. But they’re playing hard. Flip [Kyle Filipowski], we got him out of the half with two fouls. We just have to keep up with our defense.”

Duke did most of its damage in the first half against Michigan State inside the three-point line through one half of play, taking just eight shots from downtown. It wasn’t easy, though, with plenty of contested looks against a tough Spartans defense.

On the other side of the court, the Blue Devils made it a point to focus on the paint. Michigan State scored 12 points in the paint in the first half as it struggled from three-point distance. Scheyer said that’s the key the rest of the way against Michigan State.

“For us, that’s going to be who we’re going to have to be,” Scheyer said. “We have to protect our paint, we have to do it collectively. It’s not just going to be one guy. I thought our effort was great on defense. It’s not going to be perfect on offense. We have to continue to play. And they’re really good on the defensive end.

“They make it hard on you. They do the same thing, they want to take away their paint. So we need to have better poise, be stronger with the ball in traffic and when we have our shots, shoot them with confidence.”