Banchero Stays Dominant as Duke Defeats Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 21 points, with 14 coming in the second half, and No. 9 Duke held Notre Dame to 27.9 percent shooting in a 57-43 win Monday night at Purcell Pavilion.

Classmate AJ Griffin added 13 points, and he along with Banchero and graduate transfer Theo John each grabbed nine rebounds to help the Blue Devils (18-3, 8-2 ACC) hand the Irish (14-7, 7-3 ACC) their first home loss of the season.

The 43 points allowed marked the fewest Duke has given up to an ACC opponent since a 68-40 victory against Clemson on Jan. 8, 2013.

Duke won its fourth straight on Monday night to pull into a first-place tie with Miami atop the ACC standings, while Notre Dame, which entered the game 9-0 at home this season, saw its four-game winning streak end.

Paul Atkinson Jr. was the only Irish player in double figures with 14 points and nine rebounds. Leading scorers Blake Wesley and Dane Goodwin, who were each averaging 15 points or more this season, were held to six and zero points, respectively.

Though shooting at just a 39.4 percent clip offensively, the Blue Devils outrebounded Notre Dame 51-36. In addition to Banchero, Griffin and John’s nine boards apiece, sophomore Mark Williams brought down eight while junior Wendell Moore Jr., had five. Williams also recorded three blocked shots – the 18th game this season with multiple blocks for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

The game was the makeup of a Jan. 1 contest postponed due to health and safety protocols in the Duke program. Notre Dame led just once at 2-0, before the Blue Devils scored the next seven points and gradually increased their lead against the Irish, who were held to 18.8 percent shooting in the first half. Notre Dame closed the deficit to four, 18-14, on a pair of Atkinson dunks, but Duke finished on a 9-0 run to lead at halftime 27-14.

Duke doubled the score to 40-20 on a Banchero dunk with 14:42 to play and was in control the rest of the way.

The Blue Devils wrap up their three-game road swing on Saturday night at North Carolina. The two historic programs are set to clash in the 256th installment of the Tobacco Road Rivalry at 6 p.m. on ESPN.