Number three Duke fell against St. John's today, but this was no fluke or close game, Duke trailed by 20+ points for a good portion of the game.  Duke cut down the lead during garbage time, but they were still just outplayed by the Red Storm.

Duke ended up losing by 15 to an unranked St. John's team, causing many people in the basketball to wonder if Duke is overrated and how this could happen.

I attended the game today, and I noticed a few factors that led to Duke's destruction.  Even though it pains me to do this as a Duke fan, I have compiled five reasons as to why Duke lost today.

1. Disruptive Defense

All wins start with the defense, and the Johnnies Defense just stifled Duke.  Duke could not beat the Red Storm due in large part to their turnovers and lack of three point shooting.

Duke only scored 25 first half points, a far cry below their average of 85.7 PPG.  Duke could not hit from three, and for a team that relies so heavily on the three ball, this cannot happen.  Duke made only one of their first 21 threes and shot under 20 percent for the game solely because they made four of their final five threes in garbage time.

The Blue Devils' overall shooting wasn't a whole lot better, as they shot 29.6 percent (eight of 27) in the first half.  Duke committed way too many turnovers to win the game, too.  From the stands, it seemed like every other possession was a turnover.

St. John's defense just smothered Duke so that they could not run their offense effectively.

2. Persistent Press

St. John's utilized a three-quaters court press against Duke, especially in the first half.  Right out of the gate, Duke's guards were surrounded and could not get into any type of flow.

Duke looked confused and bewildered by the press, and they had a lot of turnovers in the first half.  Duke's 25 points in the first half were a result of the Johnnies' press.  As a spectator, it seemed like St. John's had about 12 players on the court, not five.

The press killed Duke and disrupted their offense, and if other teams took notes on this game, Duke is in trouble.

3. Perfect Passing

St. John's passing was absolutely unreal.  The Johnnies knew how to combat the Duke help-defense.  Whenever a Duke player came over to help, the Johnnies would dish the rock to a teammate who had a better shot, which led to them almost shooting 60 percent from the floor.

As proof of their efficient passing, the fact is that the Red Storm had 21 assists on 32 field goals, a ridiculous 65.6 percent of their shots came off of assists, way over the average of the league.  The Red Storm had a balanced attack, which led to their 46 and 47 points in the halves.

Because they could swing the ball or drop it in down low so well, St. John's shot 3-5 from three and did not even have to attempt a three point shot in the second half.

The way to beat the help-defense is by passing, and the Johnnies did that flawlessly.

4. Driving and Controlling the Paint

St. John's driving was an impressive feat for those of us who attended the game, and the way the adapted was amazing.

In the beginning of the game, the Red Storm drove and passed it on their drives which was very effective against the help-defense.  Once Duke caught on, however, they faked the pass and drove through the lane and scored easily.

This driving and control of the paint is the reason why St. John's shot only five threes in the game, all of which were in the first half.

St. John's knew that Duke did not have the inside presence to stop them, so they attacked the paint over and over and over.  Duke needs to get their inside game figured out soon.

5. Seniority

Surprisingly, St. John's has 10, yes 10, seniors this season.

It is because of their seniority that they always knew what they were doing on the floor.  The balanced attack of the Red Storm was due in part to the fact that the Johnnies essentially had 11 coaches at once.

The time and effort was obviously put in by the Johnnies because they knew exactly how to pick apart Duke's defense and how to disrupt their offense.  The seniors of St. John's were the leaders who put in the work and beat the Duke Blue Devils not on luck, but on skill.

Their wise seniors knew that they had to show up in both halves even after leading by over 20 points at the half.  Any team with double-digit seniors is bound to be good, and the Red Storm demonstrated that today.