The Gophers had no answers for Mason Plumlee, who scored 20 points and pulled down 17 rebounds. Credit: JOHN BAZEMORE/AP

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas—Duke didn’t miss many open shots and Mason Plumlee dominated under the basket on both ends of the floor. As a result, the No. 5 Blue Devils were able to beat Minnesota 89-71 in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

“Duke hit every big shot that they needed to,” Minnesota forward Rodney Williams said. “No matter how good the defense was that we were playing.”

While the Gophers (4-1) hung around throughout the game, Duke’s shooters never went cold. Minnesota had held its previous opponents to 28.6 percent shooting from the field. The Blue Devils, though, shot 54.5 from the floor, a season-high. And while Duke attempted a season-low 10 shots from behind the arc, 80 percent of them went in, including a running 3 at the end of the first half from Quinn Cook that gave Duke a seven-point halftime lead.