NCAA Tournament 2019: Top takeaways from second night of Sweet 16

Duke 75, Virginia Tech 73

RJ Barrett deserves more credit
We all know the story with Barrett by now. He entered the season as the top recruit and consensus No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft but showed some inefficiencies in his game early in the year and has been overshadowed by Zion Williamson ever since.

This is not to say that Barrett is a better player than Williamson as Zion is an elite talent. But Barrett is still playing like a potential franchise player and showed why again on Friday night.

A noted scorer, the Canadian was held to just three points in the first half yet still found a way to be a contributor with seven assists. Then, as Duke needed someone to step up in the second half, Barrett elevated his game with 15 second-half points.

He finished with 18 points and a career-high 11 assists, which is not the first time the player once billed as being too selfish has put up a high number of assists. He had seven in Duke’s ACC Tournament win over UNC, seven more against both Syracuse and Miami over the past month, and 10 in a triple-double he had against NC State.

Zion continues to put up Zion numbers, but Barrett’s spectacular all-around play deserves more credit than he’s getting and is just as important to Duke’s success.

Tre Jones, sharpshooter?
UCF’s strategy of essentially not guarding Tre Jones on the perimeter because of his three-point shooting struggles was thought to be the thing that could slow Duke’s offense. Virginia Tech didn’t do this quite as egregiously as the Knights did but still left him open.

Jones made them pay as he went 5-7 from behind the arc to finish with 22 points. How unlikely was the feat? It was the first time since Nov. 19 that the freshman made more than one three-pointer in a game.

Don’t expect Jones to suddenly become a guy that makes five three-pointers a game on a consistent basis, but this game will go a long way in raising his confidence and making opponents respect him on the perimeter.