Bonzie Colson and Notre Dame Basketball Continue To Be Duke’s Kryptonite

Most people would be impressed by the fact that Duke has only eight losses in the last two years. I’m guessing Bonzie Colson would not be one of them.

After handing the Blue Devils two of their four losses last season, Colson and Notre Dame took down Duke at Cameron in front of a bunch of fans tired of seeing green and gold. Notre Dame is now 3-1 against Coach K’s team over the last four games. Like in last year’s meetings, Colson was a huge factor in securing the victory.

I don’t know what it is about Duke, but Colson always plays like he’s got a grudge against the Blue Devils. He exposed Jahlil Okafor with his face-up ability in the ACC Tournament last year, scoring 17 points in limited time. Today, Colson bullied Brandon Ingram on the block for a career-high 31 points and 11 rebounds. What he gave up in height, he made up for in heart. It honestly looked like Colson was a grown man backing down a little boy at times. Maybe the sophomore was motivated by losing his starting spot, or maybe he’s tired of the hype that inevitably comes with Duke. Maybe he’s tired of the Blue Devils treating his jump shot with such disrespect. Whatever the influence was, Colson proved once again that he shines in the bright lights.

Notre Dame’s victory was truly a team effort, though, as they had a number of huge contributions against a Duke team that shot 52 percent from the floor. The most talked about play of the game was Luke Kennard’s nasty jab step that sent Irish freshman Rex Pflueger on a flight back to South Bend. While Pflueger may have shattered his ankle for a moment, he made a full recovery and held Kennard to one made field goal and three turnovers over the final 14 minutes. He put together the breakout performance of his career thus far, scoring seven points to go with two assists and two blocks. The freshman should have the confidence to make an impact for the remainder of the year. Notre Dame also got big games from their backcourt as Demetrius Jackson finished with 24 points and Steve Vasturia had 22.

No matter what Duke did, they never seemed to have a strong grip on the game. Once again, Mike Brey beat his coaching mentor, this time in front of a hostile arena of Cameron Crazies. We may have to come to the conclusion that Bonzie Colson and the Fighting Irish have the Blue Devils’ number.