2018 Maui Invitational: San Diego State Hold #1 Duke To 90 Points First Round Loss
Unstoppable #1 Duke overpowers the talented Aztecs; unlike Kentucky San Diego State keeps Duke well under 100.
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San Diego State didn’t roll over for Coach K’s “phenom five” squad. Zion Williamson windmill dunks aside- they competed.
Lahaina, HI- Brian Dutcher knew San Diego State had their work cut out for them with an opening pairing against #1 Duke in the 2018 Maui Jim Invitational.
Duke owns five Maui Invitational titles and after tonight holds a 16-0 record combined with the previous five appearances on the island.
While no team should enter a game anticipating certain fate, it’s possible that only true die-hard Aztecs fans believed they’d upset the very special Duke squad.
The Blue Devils have the nation’s top three freshmen out of the 2018 class: Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish. That’s pretty incredible.
Williamson was averaging 25.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and 82.1 percent shooting due to monstrous dunks which have been an effective approach.
Tonight, the Aztecs held him to finishing with just 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting, but he did grab five steals and 1 block as the Blue Devils moved past the Aztecs in the Maui quarterfinals.
Zion Williamson played just seven minutes in the first half of Duke’s Maui Invitational quarterfinal matchup with San Diego State, scoring five points and going 1 for 5 from the floor, but two fouls sent Williamson to the pine, and normally that would help the Aztecs.
The Aztecs got little relief with or without Williamson as Duke made six of its first seven three-point attempts. R.J. Barrett scored 16 points and dished out four assists in the first 20 minutes. For a good portion of the first half the Aztecs did keep the score within 8-12, but then the Blue Devils drove toward the end of the half and entered halftime leading by 17. They then maintained dominance during the second half, letting players get time.
San Diego State had four starters in double digits, including Jalen McDaniels. The Aztecs bench also saw considerable play time but did not make a meaningful contribution.
The Aztecs will face Xavier at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
