Notre Dame shocks No. 9 Duke at Cameron

What took place on the court Saturday at No. 9 Duke when the Blue Devils hosted Notre Dame is what they had in mind in the offseason when rules changes were instituted with hopes of increasing scoring in men's college basketball.

The teams combined for nearly 100 points in the first half and played an up-and-down game about as entertaining as any contest to this point in the season.Notre Dame ultimately prevailed 95-91 behind a monster game from forward Bonzie Colson, who came off the bench to deliver 31 points and 11 rebounds.

Of course it helped that both teams rank among the top 35 in the nation in field goal percentage. Duke also entered the contest as the fifth highest scoring team in the nation at nearly 87 points per game and the Fighting Irish score nearly 80 in each contest.

The result was the latest example of how unstable the top-10 in the national polls has been. Five top-10 teams have lost at least one game this week as of mid-day Saturday.

The offensive output was made all that more impressive when considering how limited the benches are for both teams because of injuries. Duke is also playing four freshmen and a sophomore minutes they might not have been able to play in other years with different Duke teams. Two of those freshmen nearly led the Blue Devils to a win Saturday regardless of their inexperience and the depth issues.

Luke Kennard scored 30 for the Blue Devils and grabbed eight rebounds and Brandon Ingram added 25 points.

One of the biggest plays of the game for Notre Dame came in the final seconds when Demetrius Jackson went to the free throw line with a two-point lead and four seconds remaining needing to make the front end of a one-and-one. He missed but the rebound was snatched by forward Zach Auguste, who was immeditely fouled and buried his two free throws to clinch victory.

The loss was the second of the week for the Blue Devils to an unranked opponent. They also lost to a red hot Clemson team on Wednesday. The Tigers continued their winning ways Saturday with another upset. This time the victim was No. 8 Miami.

It was easily the best win so far for coach Mike Brey and Notre Dame, which had lost in both previous games it played this season against ranked opponents and didn't really have a victory to get too excited about prior to Saturday.

The Blue Devils and coach Mike Krzyzewski find themselves in the unusual position of being in the middle of the pack in the ACC standings early in conference play. It probably wouldn't be of great concern in other years but this Duke team is clearly missing injured forward Amile Jefferson.

Jefferson could make a big difference on both ends of the floor for Krzyzewski but he is out indefinitely with an injured foot. What's clear is he is expected back later in the season and when he returns the Blue Devlis could be a much different team than the one opponents are facing now.