Duke Basketball: 3 takeaways from Blue Devils win over Arkansas in Elite 8

AJ Griffin is the Key to Duke’s Success

AJ Griffin has had 11 points or more in 19 of Duke’s 38 games this season, Duke has won every single one of those games, and on Saturday night, the freshman from White Plains, New York went for 18 points, three rebounds, and added a steal and a block as well, and he was the Blue Devils’ leading scorer as he helped them back to their first Final Four in seven years.

Griffin has been Duke’s best three-point shooter for a majority of the season, but against Arkansas on Saturday night, he wasn’t reliant on the three-point shot and was finding his points elsewhere. Griffin shot only three threes on Saturday, making two of them, but he was able to make up for it elsewhere as he was 5/6 on two-point attempts.

Griffin making his shots is massive for the Blue Devils due to the fact that Duke isn’t exactly reliant on Griffin’s production, but when he is able to produce, they’re practically unbeatable. Griffin has had a solid tournament so far for Duke averaging 11.5 points, and 4.8 rebounds, and is ultimately a large reason why Duke has had so much success.

Now, they have the goal of winning two more games and standing on the stage listening to one shining moment on April 4th, and if they want to do it, they’re going to need AJ Griffin to produce on the offensive end.

Griffin has done a phenomenal job of getting open and also knowing when to take the shot, and when to pass out for a better shot, and his field goal percentage shows that as he shot 78% against Arkansas, and has an overall field goal percentage of 49.5% through Duke’s four tournament games.

If he can continue to have that level of production, Duke will continue to have success, and they will have a great chance to end Coach K’s storied career, with a storybook ending.