No.1 Duke Advances To Maui Championship After Beating No. 8 Auburn 78-72

The No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils (5-0) took down the No. 8 Auburn Tigers (4-1) 78-72 Tuesday evening to advance to the Maui Invitational championship game.

Duke tops Auburn In Maui Invitational

After draining ten triples in their 90-64 victory over against San Diego State Aztecs (2-1), the Blue Devils were held to less than 30 percent beyond the arc by the Tigers.

Duke’s leading scorer, R.J. Barrett struggled to find his stroke and matched Cam Reddish with 18 points. Barrett made just seven of his 20 shots from the field.

The Blue Devils took advantage of Auburn’s inability to convert from the three-point line in the opening minutes and spurted out to an early double-digit lead that grew to 33-16 with 5:51 left in the first half.

But the Tigers eventually found success using a trio of triples and a couple of dunks to cut the Duke lead down to as few as six, and the Blue Devils entered the locker room with a 41-33 lead.

“This is the best, by far, that we have protected our basket in a few years,” Krzyzewski said about Bolden’s performance. “The defense was exquisite. It was at the highest level. Seven blocks and changing some shots, man, that’s a heck of a performance.”

Duke will play in the championship game Wednesday against No. 3 Gonzaga, which knocked off Arizona 91-74 Tuesday night. This game will air on ESPN at 5 p.m. EST from Lahaina Civic Center.