Duke Basketball: Keys and storylines for road matchup at Boston College

The Blue Devils

Duke exploded for 97 points in their victory over the Orange.  They were highly efficient and engaged in a performance that I think deserves more attention.  If it were not for the 19 turnovers, the game wouldn’t have been nearly as close.

The Blue Devils shot 57.4% from the floor and a respectable 35.3% from three.  The biggest surprise was Duke hitting 29-33 free throws for 88%.  This is by far the best the Devils have shot it from the free throw line and includes 10-10 from Tre Jones and 8-10 from Vernon Carey.

This is twenty points better than they shoot it on the year and it is not realistically sustainable.  If they can shoot in the low seventies and especially Carey, Duke becomes tough to beat.

Speaking of Vernon Carey, he was an absolute monster and his last two games need to be the case study going forward.  Twenty tens should be the new normal except in games where Duke is so far ahead the risks outweigh the rewards.

26 points and 17 rebounds on 9-14 shooting in a better than average 28 minutes was phenomenal.  The fact that he did it against double and some triple teams are even more special.  Syracuse didn’t have the size to match up and neither does BC.  Duke needs to establish Carey early and often like they have the last two games and let him work.

Duke needs to build off their three-game winning streak and not have a let-up going into Carolina.  Ideally, Carey gets his in the first half and sits most of the second.  This needs to be a get right game for a lot of Duke’s players.

Jordan Goldwire only played 15 minutes and didn’t score after his best game of the year against Pitt.  Joey Baker didn’t play at all after struggling against the Panthers.  Alex O’Connell saw his success against Syracuse continue and looked good scoring eleven, dishing three, corralling two and stealing two more with a block.  More importantly, he had only one turnover and did it all in 15 minutes until the Orange started to press and he exited for better ball handling.

Duke also saw the return of Wendell Moore who played with energy.  That’s a nice way of saying he did some good things and he did some bad things.  He played 24 minutes, hit a three-pointer, had a steal and three assists while scoring five points.  He did a good job shadowing Hughes and Boeheim and forcing tough shots, but he also had five turnovers and fouled out.

Duke rotational players outside of Carey and Jones need to play against the Eagles and play well to keep the rotational versatility a strength of the team going forward while also making a concerted effort to limit turnovers as they did following their week off against Pittsburgh.