Defensive effort on the perimeter
Okay, yes, I understand that after a 104-40 point victory over a 10-win team defensive effort probably isn’t what you would expect at the top of the Blue Devils’ Christmas list. The Blue Devils did everything right against the Evansville Aces and, while I think it is indicative of how dominant this team can be, I believe it is an outlier for now.
Another outlier is their loss to Boston College in which Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman absolutely obliterated the Blue Devils from range, combining for 54 points. Throw in Jordan Chatman going 5-9 from three-point range, and the Blue Devils’ perimeter defense was not just bad it was downright concerning.
The scouting report on Boston College should have said nothing but “limit Bowman and Robinson,” and the Blue Devils could not even do that. They have looked so good and so unbeatable at times this season that we began to ignore a concerning trend of letting three-point shooters get their shots when and where they want them.
Don’t believe me? The Florida game instantly comes to mind, where Duke just allowed the Gators to rain threes instead of closing them out. Sure, this works sometimes, as the threes fail to fall, but sometimes a team like Boston College pulls off the upset because of this method.
If you are not the Houston Rockets, don’t play defense like the Houston Rockets.
Anyway, like I said, I do believe this loss to be as much of a negative outlier as the Evansville win is a positive one, and the perimeter defense problem could just be a blip on the radar moving forward.