Duke defeated Notre Dame 57-43 in South Bend on Monday night.

This was an ugly game that was not as close as the final score makes it appear. The Irish scored just 14 points in the first half and Duke led by as many as 22 points after the break.

Paolo Banchero led the way with 21 points and 9 rebounds. He’s continued to be Duke’s most effective scorer this season.

Freshman AJ Griffin had another good game, scoring 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He also grabbed 9 rebounds.

Duke has now won four straight games since falling at Florida State in overtime on Jan. 18. The Blue Devils are currently in a tie for first place with Miami atop the ACC standings at 8-2.

Tonight marked the return of freshman Trevor Keels, who suffered an injury in that game vs. the Seminoles. He eased his way back in by coming off the bench and dishing out a team-high 4 assists.

This is Notre Dame’s first home loss of the season. The Fighting Irish really need to find a way to win this game to boost its NCAA Tournament résumé. Instead, they shot just 27.9 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.

Duke faces North Carolina on Saturday.