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NCAA Tournament 2017, Duke vs Troy: Highlights, score and recap

By Cody Williams

Feb 25, 2017; Coral Gables, FL, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Luke Kennard (5) reacts during the second half against the Miami Hurricanes at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2017; Coral Gables, FL, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Luke Kennard (5) reacts during the second half against the Miami Hurricanes at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Duke Blue Devils simply had too much offense and too many clutch plays for the Troy Trojans to handle on First Round Friday of the 2017 NCAA Tournament

Jayson Tatum and the Duke Blue Devils entered the 2017 NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Region. More importantly, though, they started their run in March Madness as one of the hottest teams in the country. That spelled bad news for the Troy Trojans.

Right out of the gate, Duke was simply overwhelming the Trojans on both ends of the floor. Especially when the polarizing Grayson Allen came off of the bench, the Blue Devils seemed to not be able to miss from distance. What’s more Tatum was an absolute freak and monster on the defensive end, causing turnovers at every turn.

After taking a 14-point cushion into halftime, Mike Krzyzewski’s group would’ve loved to pull away quickly and put a nail in the coffin of the Trojans. Instead, sophomore forward Jordon Varnado wouldn’t let the Trojans go quietly. They fought for 40 minutes and never relented.

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Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t match the explosive perimeter shooting of the Blue Devils and then didn’t have an answer for their length and athleticism when trying to attack their defense. Thus, Duke increased their lead comfortably down the stretch and put Troy away to advance to the Second Round.

Highlights

Three Stars

Grayson Allen, Duke – Though he’s been coming off of the bench recently, the maligned star for the Blue Devils came up big. Allen finished with 21 points, four assists and five rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting overall and with 5-of-9 shooting from three.

Jayson Tatum, Duke – Tatum didn’t have an overly efficient game, but he did a bit of everything on both ends of the floor. He finished with a monster overall effort with 18 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and four blocks.

Jordon Varnado, Troy – The sophomore forward for Troy came up huge in trying to keep his team close to Duke in this game. He finished the night with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists…albeit with seven turnovers.

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