Michigan State Spartans at Duke Blue Devils

Allen leads No. 5 Duke past Michigan State 78-69

Allen scored 24 points, Luke Kennard added 20 and the Blue Devils beat Michigan State 78-69 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Allen has been dealing with lingering foot injuries for the past two weeks, with coach Mike Krzyzewski saying he hurt his toe before the Penn State game on Nov. 19 and limped through the Rhode Island game the next day. He checked out of the Appalachian State game early three days ago when he reinjured the toe.

"Grayson does not practice one second," Krzyzewski said. "So when he's out on that court, it's a gutty performance. ... That kid has played unbelievably, and he's limping."

Amile Jefferson had 17 points and 13 rebounds while freshman Frank Jackson finished with 11 points and keyed a timely 11-0 run for the Blue Devils (7-1), who won their fourth straight despite shooting just 27 percent from 3-point range.

"I didn't think Miles played as hard as he's been playing," Izzo said. "He'd been playing hard, and just got caught standing around."

Seconds after Bridges gave the floor a firm slap, Jackson blew past the Michigan State guards for a layup that gave Duke its largest lead to that point, 55-48, with just under 13 minutes left.

"I guess it didn't work for them," Jackson said. "I just tried to stay aggressive."

BIG PICTURE

Michigan State: Izzo has admitted he might have overscheduled these Spartans, whose four losses have all come to teams ranked 16th or better in the current AP Top 25, with the last two coming against top-10 teams. They've only played twice so far at the Breslin Center, but at least they won't have to leave East Lansing again until Dec. 27.

"We've been through the gauntlet, no question about it, but we competed almost to the end," Izzo said. "I'm going to build on this."

"Every team's season is a little bit different," Krzyzewski said. "We just have to run our race the way we're running it, and eventually, hopefully, we'll get all those guys."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

This is the kind of victory that will keep the Blue Devils in the top five, and in all likelihood, keep them near the top of the RPI.

STAT LINE

UP NEXT

Michigan State: The Spartans get some relief from their brutal early season schedule and begin a run of five manageable home games Saturday when they play host to Oral Roberts.

Duke: The Blue Devils wrap up their four-game homestand Saturday with a visit from Maine before returning to New York to face No. 24 Florida on Dec. 6.

---

Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap.

---

More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.

How can I watch Michigan State vs. Duke?

• TV Channel: Michigan State at Duke 2021 College Basketball, week 4, is broadcasted on ESPN.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.