Duke Blue Devils Edge Out Xavier Musketeers at Moda Center in Men's Basketball Showdown
The Duke Blue Devils, ranked 8th nationally, secured a hard-fought victory over the Xavier Musketeers at the Moda Center with a final score of 71-64. The Blue Devils now hold an impressive season record of 8-0, while the Musketeers fall to a record of 0-1.
In what was a closely contested game, the Duke Blue Devils demonstrated their offensive efficiency by shooting an impressive 50 percent from the field and converting on nearly half of their three-point attempts with a success rate of 46 percent. The team's scoring was well-distributed among players, with significant contributions coming from both starters and bench players. The Blue Devils' defense also played a pivotal role in their victory as they managed to block four shots and secure nine steals throughout the game.
The first half saw the Duke Blue Devils come out strong, putting up 40 points against Xavier's defense. They maintained this momentum into the second half by adding another 31 points to seal their win. A notable aspect of Duke's performance was their ability to capitalize on turnovers; they scored 12 points off turnovers while limiting themselves to only eleven.
On the other hand, despite falling short in this matchup, Xavier Musketeers showed resilience and competitive spirit. They shot at a lower percentage than Duke with just over 38 percent field goal accuracy but excelled at free throws where they achieved an outstanding rate of nearly 90 percent accuracy.
The rebounding battle between both teams was almost even; however, Duke managed to edge out Xavier with one additional rebound for a total count of thirty-three compared to thirty-two for Xavier. Points in paint were also dominated by Duke as they scored ten more than Xavier did.
Looking ahead for fans of the Duke Blue Devils is another exciting matchup against Purdue Boilermakers at Moda Center scheduled for November 27th at Portland’s Moda Center. This upcoming game will be broadcasted nationally on ABC network starting at approximately (convert scheduled time from UTC+00:00) allowing fans across different regions to tune in and support their team as they continue through what promises to be an exhilarating season.