Winslow paces Duke over Utah in Sweet Sixteen dogfight

Utah is all about slowing the game down, but Duke is about making adjustments. 

The Blue Devils were forced to play at the Utes' pace, yet they held on for the 63-57 victory and a berth into the Elite Eight.

A night after West Virginia set the ugly record of scoring the least points in a Sweet Sixteen game since the shot clock was introduced, Utah had no problem forcing both teams down that same path. 

It didn't happen, of course, but it sure felt that way for a while.

The Blue Devils went into the break with a 27-22 lead with no reason to believe they had the game under control. It was being played at Utah's pace, regardless of the outcome.

The Utes continued to hold their own, despite senior guard Delon Wright sitting out the better part of the first half due to foul trouble. He finished the night with a mild 10 points and six rebounds. 

Nevertheless, the game plan remained constant - prevent potential player of the year Jahlil Okafor from scoring and force his teammates to do the damage. 

Okafor's line of six points, seven rebounds and game-high four turnovers are among his worst numbers of the season. The Utah double-team prevailed, except the rest of the opposition came to play, negating the game plan entirely.

Justise Winslow stole the spotlight with a clutch double-double performance, notching a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Tyus Jones scored 15 points to go with four rebounds, while Quinn Cook pitched in with 11 points and four boards.

Across the court, Utah was simply unable to keep up with Duke. The Blue Devils took advantage of every free shot given to them, converting 42.6 percent of their attempts from the field. 

Brandon Taylor led the way with 15 points and five rebounds, including a game-high three 3-pointers. Big man Jakob Poeltl also did his part, scoring 10 points while pulling down eight boards and helping to keep Okafor at bay.

After what has been a rather easy road for Duke to this point, the Blue Devils will square off against national title contender Gonzaga in the Elite Eight. 

Should they jump out to a quick first-half lead, Duke will throw the Bulldogs off their second-half game plan. But they'll be going up against a squad hungry for its first ever Final Four berth.