NBA Players React To Duke’s 34-Point Spanking Of No. 2 Kentucky In College Basketball Debut

Fill out your brackets now and write Duke on that very last line because if last night’s 118-84 win over No. 2 Kentucky was any indication, the Blue Devils are going to run through the month of March like warm butter. Don’t give me this ‘it’s just one game!’ rubbish. What we saw last night was one of the most convincing college basketball performances of all-time, especially considering it came against Calipari’s one-and-done Kentucky team.

Duke’s three star freshmen Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish all looked like they could star on the current day Cleveland Cavaliers.

If you missed the game last night, here are 5 wild takeaways.

1. Duke’s four freshmen outscored Kentucky’s whole team 89-84, with both RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson breaking Marvin Bagley’s Duke record of most points in a debut game (25).
2. Duke’s three star freshmen outscored Kentucky’s three returning sophomores, 83-9.
3. 118 points is the most given up by ANY team under John Calipari. 105 was previously the most.
4. At 285 pounds, Zion Williamson would be the  second-heaviest player in the NBA behind Boban Marjanovic. He’s 35 pounds heavier than LeBron James. Zion is 18 FUCKING YEARS OLD.
5. Duke scored 59 points in the 1st half en route to a 17-point halftime lead over Kentucky. They didn’t score 59 points in a half against a major conference team all of last season. [via]

NBA players who tuned into watch the spanking expressed their awe with Duke’s basketball squad.

Does Duke run the table and become the first team to go undefeated since Indiana did it in 1975-76 for Bob Knight’s first title? Too soon to tell? Maybe you’re right.

[h/t For The Win]