Utah upsets No. 7 Duke 77-75 in overtime in New York

Call it revenge for last spring if you want to, but Utah’s overtime win over No. 6 Duke on Saturday at Madison Square Garden wasn’t as big as an NCAA Tournament win in the Sweet 16. Late in the second half, Duke had three consecutive possessions end with blocked shots before Ingram’s 3-point attempt rimmed out, allowing the Utes to have the last shot in regulation. Utah forward Dakarai Tucker then fumbled the inbound pass away to give Duke a chance to win or tie. Kuzma had tied the game 60-60 on a layup with 1:50 left. Poeltl, who spent much of the game in foul trouble and fouled out in overtime, had 19 points and 14 rebounds, a career high. Blue Devils freshman Luke Kennard nailed a four-point play to cut a six-point lead to two with six seconds left.

Duke shot only 29.9 percent from the field in the loss.

One player who needs to step up for the Blue Devils is 6-10 freshman Chase Jeter, who came to Duke as a five-star recruit and potential starter in the post but has managed to score just 2.6 points per game. But Allen scored only seven points on 3-for-18 shooting and Utah owned the boards with an 18-rebound advantage to secure a win that should help the Utes in myriad ways going forward. Loveridge hit four big free throws in overtime, and Taylor made a three to start OT.

Duke (9-2), which used only seven players Saturday, struggles with depth, especially in the frontcourt, where they just lost senior Amile Jefferson for at least a month.

Keep an eye on sophomore guard Grayson Allen, who’s averaging 21.4 points a game for Duke.

Duke will now take a nine-day break from game action for the holidays, and will return to the floor December 28 against Elon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.