Banchero, No. 5 Duke hands Holmgren, No. 1 Gonzaga first loss of the season
It came down to the wire Friday night, as No. 5 Duke handed top-ranked Gonzaga its first loss of the season and snapped its 36-game regular-season win streak by defeating the Zags 84-81 in a thriller.
It was a huge early-season matchup that saw big-name coaches, big-name prospects and two of the most highly-touted programs in college basketball go to head-to-head in Las Vegas in front of the largest crowd in T-Mobile Arena's five-year history.
With this win, Duke moves to 7-0 on the season. Gonzaga, which lost only one game last season — in the national championship game vs. Baylor — drops to 6-1.
Duke was in the unusual spot of being an underdog against a mid-major program, but that didn't stop the Blue Devils from making a statement in what could be a preview of a huge NCAA Tournament matchup to come.
Duke's highly-touted freshman Paolo Banchero made a huge statement, accounting for 18 of Duke's first 34 points. He scored 20 of his game-high 21 points in the first half before his second half was interrupted by a bout with cramps.
Blue Devils forward Wendell Moore was another key contributor for Duke, going 6-for-10 for 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals, while center Mark Williams went 8-for-9 for 17 points. Williams was a force in the middle with nine rebounds and five blocks.
On the other side, Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren — another powerhouse freshman player and arguably Banchero's main competition to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft — finished 8-for-13 for 16 points, adding seven rebounds and three blocks for good measure.
Holmgren got a lot of backup from Julian Strawther, who led the Zags with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Drew Timme (17 points, five rebounds) and Rasir Bolton (15 points, six rebounds). Despite these efforts, it wasn't enough to seal the deal for the Bulldogs.
Duke, which beat then-No. 9 Kentucky in its season-opener, now has two huge wins under its belt and looks primed to be a championship contender.
Gonzaga is also building a strong early-season résumé, possessing wins over then-No. 5 Texas last Saturday, and No. 2 UCLA on Tuesday, plus the narrow loss to Duke.
Here's how the sports world reacted to Friday's game.
