NCAA Basketball: Smart’s hot seat, Duke’s weakness and more takeaways

2) Duke‘s big weakness

Duke is the most talented team in the country. You can argue that either Tennessee, Michigan State, or even Gonzaga is the best team, but Duke is undeniably the most talented – and they have one big flaw they’re going to have to overcome if they’re going to win a national championship.

That flaw is their perimeter shooting. The Blue Devils rank just 321st in the country in three-point shooting, making just 30.2 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. And, we’ve seen that come back to bite them against teams that force them to shoot over the top of them.

Georgia Tech carried a lead into the second half in Durham on Saturday because they played zone – Duke made just three three-pointers all game. In their most recent loss to Syracuse, the Blue Devils shot more threes than they have in any other game. Syracuse, of course, is notorious for their zone defense.

Seeing a trend? Teams that play mostly zone against the Blue Devils are experiencing success.

It’s not like Duke has a team full of bad shooters, but it’s certainly not their strong suit.

Cam Reddish came out of high school with the reputation of being a good shooter and logic says he’ll break out of his slump at some point. R.J. Barrett can make threes, too, but is inconsistent. Reserves Jack White and Alex O’Connell have also been hot and cold.

Still, expect them to face a lot more zone during the coming weeks. They certainly have enough talent to overcome their shortcoming in this area but we’ll see how they handle it.