CHICAGO, Sporting Alert – Duke guard Grayson Allen says the Blue Devils must quickly “move on” from Tuesday night’s college basketball defeat to No. 2 Kentucky in Chicago.
The defending national champions were unable to match to Wildcats’ athleticism and energy throughout the 40-minutes on the court and ended up losing 74-63.
Allen, who went into the game as the leading scorer for No. 5 Duke, failed to spark as the Kentucky defense kept him quiet.
The sophomore admitted that it was disappointing to lose at the United Center, but added that they need to quickly move on.
“Kentucky played a great game,” Allen told reporters after the game Tuesday night. “We’ll have to look at the film, get back on it, and then move on and improve.”
Allen, before the game with Kentucky, was averaging 27 points and was seen as the main threat to the Wildcats.
However, the guard from Jacksonville, Fla., went 0-for-9 in the first half and finished the game with just six points and went 2-of-11 from the field overall, while turning the ball over four times.
In all honesty, there were some who predicted that Allen would have struggled against the Wildcats (3-0) on Tuesday night, seeing that it was the first real test for him since his impressive performance in helping Duke win the national title last.
The Blue Devils (2-1) also struggled to keep up with Kentucky in scoring as they led for only five seconds in the game.
Kentucky also forced Duke into committing 16 turnovers and scoring 17 points off them, while outscoring the Mike Krzyzewski’s side 18-4 in fast-break points.
Freshman guard Brandon Ingram, who was averaging 18 points per game for the first two contests of the season, also struggled to break through the strong defensive wall of Kentucky as he finished with four points on 1-for-6 shooting from the floor.
It was a good night, though, for redshirt senior Marshall Plumlee, who tied a career-high for points with 12, while setting a new career-best for block shots with six.
