CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils, the top seed in the South Region, at times made it look too easy in handing the Robert Morris Colonials an 85-56 drubbing in second-round play in the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday.
“I thought our defense was excellent tonight,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
“We obviously shared the ball really well.”
Quinn Cook’s team-high 22 points, highlighted by six three-pointers, went along with four rebounds to lead a well-rounded Duke offensive performance that featured five players finishing in double-digits.
Jahlil Okafor (21 points, 3 rebounds) directed the supporting effort that also included Tyus Jones, Amile Jefferson, and Marshall Plumlee, who all finished with 10 points each.
Rodney Pryor’s game-high 23 points along with Marcquise Reed’s 22 points fueled the Colonials’ offense.
Justise Winslow (6 points, 7 assists) and Plumlee led the Blue Devils in rebounding with 11 and 10 apiece, as Duke outrebounded RMU by a 40-28 margin.
Duke’s ball distribution in tallying 28 assists helped to bolster its 63-percent shooting, while RMU finished with a 36-percent conversion rate from the field.
Both teams took advantage of their perimeter strength with the Blue Devils dropping 10 three’s and the Colonials scoring six from beyond the arc.
Match-up: Top-seeded Duke (30-4) made its 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance while 16th-seeded Robert Morris (20-15) made its eighth.
The Colonials earned their spot against the Blue Devils after beating North Florida 81-77 on Wednesday.
This was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Top Performers:
Duke – (34-54/10-21 3Ptr) – Quinn Cook (22 points, 4 assists), Jahlil Okafor (21 points, 3 rebounds)
Robert Morris – (24-66/6-19 3Ptr) – Rodney Pryor (23 points, 5 rebounds), Marcquise Reed (22 points, 4 rebounds)
Halftime: Duke 42, Robert Morris 25
Duke – (17-27/5-10 3Ptr) – Quinn Cook (16 points, 3 rebounds), Tyus Jones (7 points, 6 assists), Jahlil Okafor (9 points, 2 rebounds)
Robert Morris – (11-32/3-7 3Ptr) – Marcquise Reed (12 points, 1 rebound), Rodney Pryor (6 points, 3 rebounds)
What happened: While Pryor and Reed helped Robert Morris take a quick 5-2 lead, Cook eventually took control by draining his first three shots, all 3’s, and quickly put Duke ahead 16-7.
The Blue Devils kept up their offensive pace and extended their margin to 17 points, leading 26-9 by the midpoint of the opening half.
The Colonials were shooting at a 26-percent clip and struggling – dropping only 5-of-19 from the field.
A one-hand dunk from Okafor pushed Duke further ahead while RMU fought to drop a few baskets.
Duke was shooting 80 percent, connecting on 12-of-15, and didn’t intend on slowing down.
Cook didn’t let up – scoring a three, stealing the ball, and running in for the layup to push the Duke lead up to 37-16 with six minutes to play.
A monster dunk from Plumlee continued the run, but Reed answered back with a more subtle basket.
A Blue Devils turnover then allowed Pryor to highlight his dunking skills as RMU trailed 39-22 with three minutes to play.
Duke led 42-25 at halftime, even after slowing down to convert on only two of their last eight shot attempts.
The Blue Devils’ 63-percent shooting rate made the difference in overwhelming the 34-percent effort from the Colonials.
Pryor led the Colonials to a quick 8-3 run, trailing 45-30.
Duke took its time, but after a giveaway, foul, and a steal, finally turned the heat back up early in the second half.
A block by Okafor on Lionel Gomis eventually led to a a highlight dunk by the freshman at the other end.
Reed matched it, but Okafor obliged and the Blue Devils led 51-32 with 15 minutes to play.
Winslow stuffed another Colonials layup as Duke started to flex its defensive muscle.
As Duke slowed offensively for a few minutes, RMU’s baskets provided its fans with hope that something magical would happen.
Two straight three’s from Pryor, a layup from Lucky Jones (7 points, 3 rebounds), and another jumper from Pryor pulled the Colonials to within 10, trailing 54-44 with 12 minutes to play.
Krzyzewski called a timeout to settle the Blue Devils down.
Okafor responded with a layup inside, but missed the ensuing free throw on the and-1.
Pryor scored an uncontested layup and it was still a 10-point game as the Colonials pushed hard to keep Duke back on its heels.
“I thought we really came together and responded,” Plumlee said of the Blue Devils’ eventual resurgence coming out of the emotional timeout.
Winslow stood up and was counted – scoring five straight points by himself – a three and a layup – that put Duke ahead by 15.
He then assisted on Jones’ rainbow three, and the Colonials’ work had been undone, trailing 64-46 with 10 minutes to go.
Okafor extended the run to 10 points while Robert Morris began to show some wear, missing seven consecutive shot attempts before Reed dropped two free throws.
Plumlee’s two monster slams sandwiched a Cook jumper from the wing and it was a 25-point game – the largest margin up to that point.
It continued to grow as another three from Quinn had Duke more than firmly in control, leading 79-52 with 3:24 to play.
The rout was complete as the Blue Devils rode out the remainder of the game matching baskets with the Colonials while their starters watched from the bench.
“We feel good about our performance,” Krzyzewski concluded.
Up next: Duke moved on to the third round to face the winner of No. 8 San Diego State and No. 9 St. John’s on Sunday.
Robert Morris ended its season with a 20-15 record.