NEW YORK (AP) — Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak says the Utes weren’t fixated on avenging the Sweet 16 loss to Duke in March.
That doesn’t mean the Utes aren’t savoring the 77-75 upset of No. 7 Duke at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points to lead Utah (9-2) and Jakob Poeltl had 19 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 31 seconds left in OT.
“It’s a very emotional win,” said Poeltl, who finished 8 of 11 from the field. “It’s just a great feeling.”
Duke’s Luke Kennard led all scorers with 24 points. But the Blue Devils lost for the second time this season, falling to 9-2.
Duke’s Grayson Allen entered the game averaging 21.4 points, but he didn’t score until 1:50 into the second half and finished with seven points. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Allen had been sick for two days with the flu.
“I thought both teams played their hearts out,” Krzyzewski said. “Either one would have been worthy of winning, so I’m not disappointed in my team.”
Utah led 73-67 after Jordan Loveridge made four free throws in a 10-second span. But Kennard brought Duke back, scoring eight points in 16 seconds to cut Utah’s lead to 77-75.
Following a turnover by Dakarai Tucker, Duke had a chance to tie, but Brandon Ingram missed a layup and Kuzma grabbed the rebound to end the game in the Ameritas Insurance Classic.
According to Krzyzewski, there was a malfunction with the clock and Duke was forced to change its play on the fly.
“That’s a good thing for our team,” Krzyzewski said. “They were able to then set up the next (play) and put us in that position. We not only had a chance to tie, you might win.
“Our guys did some incredibly good things to give us an opportunity to win that game.”
The Utes had the last possession of regulation, but Kuzma missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Kuzma had tied the game at 60 on a layup with 1:50 left.
Lorenzo Bonam added 12 points for Utah.
Duke leads the all-time series 3-2. Utah’s other win against the Blue Devils happened on March 14, 1970, in New York City. Duke had won four in a row at the Garden.
But the Utes made sure there wasn’t going to be a fifth.
Utah took a 65-60 lead after its first two possession of overtime. Brandon Taylor opened with a 3-pointer from the left side and Poeltl followed with a jumper.
Duke took its first lead since early in the game on a 3-pointer by Matt Jones with 11:10 left for a 47-44 advantage. The 3-pointer highlighted a 12-0 Duke run in a three-minute span, including Ingram’s steal and breakaway jam to tie it 44-all.
Kennard followed his missed 3-pointer with a putback, then later made a 3 from the right side to extend the lead to 60-55.
During the second half, the Blue Devils limited Utah to 10-for-29 shooting from the field.
“We probably won’t face anybody like that the rest of the year that’s capable of doing what they did,” Krystkowiak said.
Utah attacked Duke’s interior defense in the opening 20 minutes to lead 33-30 at halftime. The Utes had 11 layups or dunks in the first half and shot 14 for 27 from the field.
“Let’s face it, with (Amile) Jefferson being out that certainly was a stroke of good luck,” Krystkowiak said of the player sidelined with a broken right foot. “I think everybody in the basketball world understands they’re playing a little bit undersized. That’s been a focal point.”
TIP INS
The Blue Devils came into the game averaging 87.3 points per game, 10th best in the NCAA.
Utah finished the game shooting 45.2 percent from the field.
The announced attendance for the neutral-site game was 13,174. Utah played its first game at Madison Square Garden since 2003.
Stats: Utah 77, Duke 75 (OT)
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