Duke Basketball: Biggest keys for Blue Devils in final month of 2019-20

Coach K and Duke

While this team stills starts three and sometimes four freshmen, this is a bit of a throwback. Duke ranks fourth in the country in points per game, but it is the defense that makes this team go.  In Duke’s two most recent victories against FSU and Notre Dame, they turned their opponents’ strengths into weaknesses.

In fact, Duke is so proficient on both offense and defense that their 34 point win over Notre Dame was the fifth time the Devils have beaten an ACC opponent by thirty-plus points this season.  That is the most of any Duke team coached by Mike Krzyzewski.

The Seminoles and Irish are both known for their shooting from three and the low number of turnovers.  Duke was able to run both teams off the three-point line and are the best in the ACC and 11th in the country in defending the three.  The Noles shot 17% from three and 38% overall while the Irish shot 24% from three and 37% overall.

Duke’s tenacious man to man defense spearheaded by Jones, Goldwire and Moore drive offenses far out on the perimeter and tries to pin them on one side of the court.  On the back-end, Duke ranks seventh in blocks and 21st in rebounds per game.  The Devils also rank 16th in steals.  Their defense sets the table and allows them to get easy buckets out in transition.

I mentioned earlier about the lineup versatility and the new group that saw Carey and Goldwire with Duke’s three shooters.  This lineup got a little upgrade against ND as Jones ran point with Carey having the entire paint to operate in and Baker, O’Connell and Hurt bombing away from three.  This was the rotational group that saw Duke’s lead balloon to thirty in a matter of minutes.

Duke has no regular line up this year which is a far cry from what we have seen for most of the last decade at least.  Coach K is almost becoming a mad scientist, tinkering with the possibilities that a ten-man deep rotation can give him.  He really seems to enjoy this group and their wide-ranging skill sets.  I’m sure having his grandson as part of the team is an added thrill that makes this year even more special.

He’s thrown shooting line ups out there to punish zones or compacted defenses and driving groups to spread them out, attack the bucket and get fouled.  He’s put defensive-minded players together as a unit to hound the opposition into fouls and turnovers, into frustration and submission.

It’s getting harder for teams to game plan for all the possibilities that Duke can present.  Recent wins from behind, with key pieces missing, horrid assist to turnover ratios and uneven performances from various important players show that Duke has the highest ceiling of any team in the field and the best chance to cut down the nets for the sixth time come March.