Michigan State Basketball: Report card for Duke loss in Week 2

Defense: B-

The reason the defense gets a B- is because Grayson Allen lit the Spartans up from deep even with hands in his face. There were times when Allen and the rest of the Duke offense got open shots, but that happens every game. The Spartan defense played well enough to force some turnovers which led to fast-break buckets.

The Blue Devils did have a tough time finding open shots all game long, making just 39 percent of their attempts from the floor as well as the 3-point line. That was even with Allen making 7-of-11 threes. The Spartans contested most of Duke’s shots and that led to a long day for the Blue Devils with shot accuracy.

Boxing out was the main issue on defense, but that’s next in the rebounding grade. With the way college basketball officiating is headed, the Spartans need to find a way to defend better without reaching. Hands up and alter shots with intimidation rather than bodying offensive players.

Far too often, the Spartans were called for touch fouls because that’s just what basketball has become. That gave Duke 29 free throw attempts and the Blue Devils made 19. Other than that, defense wasn’t as bad as the final score suggests. Take away Allen’s 3-point barrage and Duke was just 2-for-12 from deep.