Duke Basketball: Making or breaking potential march to 2020 Final Four

Dictate the pace of play

With Tre Jones at point guard, the Blue Devils have ascended to the top of the ACC in pace of play by averaging 72.9 possessions per 40 minutes. The next tournament bound team sits in 6th place in Florida State and average 69.4 possessions a game. The pace of play by itself does not guarantee success, for both teams get possession of the ball an equal amount of time, but it is how the Blue Devils execute these possessions that will make their march in the tournament a long one.

Not only is Duke comfortable getting up and down the court, but they also do it with a purpose and are able to execute this purpose at a higher efficiency than any other team in the ACC.  Duke leads the ACC in field goals attempted, which would be expected with the most possessions, but their field goal percentage is the highest as well at 47%.

The numbers of their success continued to be woven together when you consider the fact that they average under 20 three-point attempts a game. The two main reasons for this high success rate that allows Duke to average 82.3 points a game are Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr.

The bona fide star duo are the owners of the two top usage rates on the team. Carey Jr is taking advantage of these possessions as he is hitting more than 58% of his 2-point field goals. Tre Jones’ usage rate is in the low 20s, only because he assists on 30.7% of his teammate’s field goals while he is on the court.

Not only does Duke like to have more possessions in a game than a lot of teams, but they are also good at executing these possessions into baskets. It is a true marriage of quantity and quality.