Duke Downs Xavier 71-64

And moves on to the finals of the Phil Knight Legacy.

After a frustrating offensive night against Oregon State on Thanksgiving afternoon win in the Phil Knight Legacy, Duke had a very different outing against Xavier.

The Blue Devils scored 71 and hit 50 percent from the floor, including 5-11 on threes.

But Kyle Filipowski and Ryan Young didn’t carry the team this time, as they did Thursday. The scoring was much better distributed: Filipowski had 12, while Young had eight. Filipowski had four rebounds while Young added six.

Mark Mitchell, who wasn't a serious factor Thursday, made sure he was today. He put a lot of pressure on Xavier’s defense and finished with 16.

Dariq Whitehead showed more signs of improvement and finished with five, as did Jaylen Blakes.

Dereck Lively didn’t score much again - just two - but was a major factor defensively. His shot-blocking skills are becoming quite clear: you don't want to lose track of him.

The key to Duke’s offensive success, though, was Jeremy Roach, who had 21 on 9-15/2-4.

More importantly, when Duke needed something, which happened a lot because Xavier didn't quit coming, Roach consistently made big plays, and not just scoring plays either. He also had four rebounds, five assists and two steals. And a lot of that came at critical times, helping to kill potential rallies by the Musketeers.

He was really, really good Friday.

Duke still had some coltish moments. Filipowski still needs to understand when he can do his moves. Clearly he has them, but they aren’t appropriate for every situation. He needs to know when they’re going to be a good idea. Tyrese Proctor, like Mitchell and Lively, is still inconsistent. Time will take care of that.

Special praise for Jaylen Blakes, because his defensive effort has been tremendous in every game. He still makes a few mistakes on offense, but when he’s smart, he doesn’t.

We’re seeing the outlines of a good team now. Duke has a lot of options offensively and can be a wrecking ball on defense. No one is playing selfishly. Watching them grow is going to be a lot of fun.

Duke gets the winner of Gonzaga-Purdue and either way is a real challenge. Gonzaga has Drew Timme, who is a superb all-around player, or Purdue’s massive Zach Edey. At 7-4 and 295, Edey is one of the biggest players in NCAA history and the biggest in the long history of the Big Ten.

We’ll see how that one turns out later Friday.

• X-MEN: Duke men’s basketball takes down Xavier, punches ticket to Phil Knight Legacy championship game
• Duke basketball reaches Phil Knight Legacy final with 71-64 win over Xavier in Portland
• Xavier falls to No. 8 Duke, gets Gonzaga or Purdue on Sunday
• No. 8 Duke locks down late, holds off Xavier 71-64
• MBB: Roach Scores 21, No. 8 Duke Advances to PK Legacy Title Game