Austin Rivers stars as Duke Blue Devils rout Colorado State Rams 87-64: NCAA Basketball Recap
College Basketball powerhouses Duke Blue Devils are without any ambiguity one of the strongest contenders for NCAA Basketball title this year.
They were already a talented team, but the addition of the sensational Austin Rivers has made this team into a bigger threat than it was in recent years.
Son of legendary Doc Rivers, Austin, just into his first year of college Basketball has proved he has got the temperament, composure and skills that probably would land him to bigger stage, NBA, soon.
He has already won Devils few games completely on his own and just few hours ago, he again marshalled the team to their 8th win of the tournament by scoring 17 points in an 87-64 win against Colorado State Rams.
Austin shot 3 for 5 from the three-point range and 4 for 6 from the charity stripe. Andre Dawkins pounded 15 for Devils while Miles and Mason Plumlee both added 14 each.
Greg Smith was the most outstanding player for Rams and finished with game high 18 points and forced 7 rebounds. Dorian Green, putting up an all round performance, completed a double-double by scoring 14 points and pulling down
10 rebounds while Wes Eikmeier chipped in with 10.
Duke fired right from the start and raced to a commanding position in the first nine minutes by taking a 23-13 lead. Greg Smith, Eikmeier and Green dominated the offense from the other end but failed to match the combined aggression
of the opponents. They managed to bring the deficit down to single figures at an instance, but failed to score in last few minutes of the frame.
In contrast, the Devils kept on chipping with points throughout which allowed them to finish the half in a dominating position leading by 17 points 47-30.
Heroics were needed from a few Rams players in the opening minutes of second frame to give their team a chance of winning, but unfortunately, it was not to be.
The Duke onslaught continued and within few minutes, the lead levitated to 20 odd points, one which the Dukes managed to maintain until the very end of the game.
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