Duke 79, Michigan 69
DURHAM, N.C. -- Guard Quinn Cook scored 24 points and helped lead a stubborn defense that guided 10th-ranked Duke to a 79-69 win over No. 22 Michigan on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The game was one of the premier matchups of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Duke (7-2) did much of its good work at the defensive end. Defense became a priority after the previous home game resulted in a 91-90 victory against Vermont that caused coach Mike Krzyzewski to make lineup changes.
Michigan trimmed what was a double-digit margin to 34-28 early in the second half and again at 46-40.
Duke reserve guard Andre Dawkins then hit two 3-pointers and scored on a short jumper in slightly more than a two-minute span to push the Blue Devils to a 57-42 edge.
Duke rebounded from last week's loss to Arizona in the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York.
Blue Devils freshman forward Jabari Parker scored a season-low 15 points, and forward Rodney Cook pitched in with 14 points.
Cook, who scored 18 of his points in the last 7 1/2 minutes, also provided nine assists.
Guard Caris LeVert scored 24 points for Michigan, which lost for the third time in its past six games. Forward Mitch McGary added 15 points, but guard Nik Staukas, Michigan's leading scorer, was held to four points, all on free throws.
The Wolverines (5-3) improved their shooting in the second half, but their inaccuracy from 3-point range was too much to overtime. Michigan was 1-for-11 from long distance before making their final two 3-point attempts.
Even a late technical foul assessed to Krzyzewski couldn't turn the tide for the Wolverines.
Guard Tyler Thornton's 3-pointer gave Duke a 32-22 lead at the half. The Blue Devils built a 12-point edge at several junctures before the break.
Hood scored 10 of the Blue Devils' first 25 points.
The first half became a defensive grind at times. Duke even went to center Marshall Plumlee, who sat out entire games, for some early minutes.
It took Michigan nearly 15 minutes to reach double figures in scoring. The Wolverines shot 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) from the field in the half.
With 5:06 left before halftime, Cook picked up a technical foul after throwing the ball at Wolverines forward Jon Horford, who was charged with an initial foul.
Stauskas, who missed the previous game due to an ankle injury, was back in the starting lineup. However, he seemed frustrated at times and missed his only two attempts from the field. He averaged 20.3 points per game prior to Tuesday.
NOTES: Duke improved to 22-8 in matchups with Michigan. The teams met as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the first time. ... Duke is 13-2 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, 6-0 record at home. ... Michigan is 5-8 in the challenge series, 1-5 on the road. ... Duke barely stayed in the Top 10 this week, so the Blue Devils played their 220th consecutive game with a top-10 rating. ... The Wolverines played a ranked opponent for the first time this season. ... Michigan, which played only one of its previous five games at home, returns home to play Houston Baptist on Saturday. ... Duke is off until a Dec. 16 visit from Gardner-Webb.
