It’s been farily quiet for the Blue Devils since the loss to Ohio State, taking on a trio of easy opponents (Elon, South Carolina State, Appalachian State), as well as Virginia Tech at home last week. All four ended up as wins, with the victory over the Hokies holding the most weight for conference standing purposes.
From a production standpoint, not much has changed in the past month. Paolo Banchero leads the way with 17.1 ppg and 7.3 rpg, while breakout star Wendell Moore is averaging 17.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5.0 apg. Sophomores Jeremy Roach and Mark Williams have been playing well in the starting lineup, while Trevor Keels is third in scoring at 12.9 ppg.
A big positive for Duke in the past month has been A.J. Griffin, a top-10 freshman prospect that was recovering from offseason knee surgery. He didn’t play much in November but has slowly gotten more minutes and has been a big factor as of late, scoring double figures in three of the past four games that include 13 points in 24 minutes off the bench in the win over the Hokies.
There’s no question that the Blue Devils are the No. 1 team in ACC Basketball but the emergence of Griffin being a real factor now makes them true national title contenders. But as the first half against the Hokies at home proved, it won’t be an easy run of games in league play for the next couple of months.