Duke defeated Western Washington Saturday afternoon behind a solid offensive performance. On the otherside off the ball, The defense needs some work.

The freshmen had solid performances. Rasheed Sulaimon had 20 points, 18 in the first half. Amile Jefferson had 13 points and 3 boards. Alex Murphy only played 19 minutes and had 6 points.

Mason Plumlee had his traditional double double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Kelly added 22 points, 6 rebounds, and lead the team with 4 assists. Seth Curry did not play due to injury.

The story of the game was the mediocre defensive effort by the Blue Devils. Paul Jones lead WWU with 20 points on a 10 of 17 shooting night. John Allen added 17 points and Richard Woodworth scored 13, showing a vulnerable Duke perimeter defense. The lack of defensive intensity showed, but never enough to ever hold the final outcome in doubt.

This is the preseason and Duke will surely adjust before the first regular season game. The team will adjust and adjust, and adjust once again until the defense starts to click, because as we learned last year anyone can beat anyone, and Duke as always will have that target on their back.