In a battle of undefeated teams, a sluggish start doomed No. 15 Michigan, who could not keep up with sixth ranked Duke, falling 82-75 in the Maui Invitational.
The Blue Devils started the game on a 9-0 run and carried a 34-22 lead into halftime, so even as Michigan outscored them 53-48 in the second half and made a late run led by Tim Hardaway Jr. in the final minutes, the early deficit proved too much to overcome.
Duke guards Seth Curry and Austin Rivers led the way for the Blue Devils, lighting up the Wolverines for 20 points each. Curry was particularly devastating to Michigan, making all four of his three-pointers and hitting 7-8 shots overall from the field.
While Michigan dropped its first game, the night was not a total loss, as freshman guard Trey Burke was mostly up for the challenge of playing of in a high-profile matchup early against the hyped Duke guards, hitting for a career-high 17 points along with eight assists. Sophomore forward Jordan Morgan also impressed for Michigan, shooting 6-7 for 12 points. Hardaway Jr. recovered from a slow start to to lead Michigan with 19 points.
With the loss, Michigan falls to 4-1 and on Wednesday will face the loser of the Kansas/UCLA game, who face off later tonight. The win pushes Duke to 6-0, and they will face the winner of Kansas/UCLA.