ACC: Duke Stops Losing Streak
It was supposed to be just a blip on the radar. ACC favorite Duke lost an 87-75 game on the road against NC State, but it was supposed to have been a fluke.
NC State made 10 three-pointers, BeeJay Anya and Kyle Washington had career best games against Jahlil Okafor, Trevor Lacey hit some ridiculous clutch shots, and Duke shot an uncharacteristic 25.9 percent from three-point range.
This game was not going to be an indication of future. It was just a bad game. But then it happened again.
On Tuesday night, Miami came into Cameron Indoor Stadium and whacked Duke 90-74. Miami’s guards absolutely destroyed Duke’s perimeter defense. Angel Rodriguez led the Hurricanes with 24 points while Manu Lecomte added 23.
Once again, Duke allowed their opponent to knock down 10 three-pointers and shot a disappointing 28.6 percent from outside. While the NC State game felt close and competitive, this one felt like Miami was in complete control. Their “penetrate and kick” style of play was a perfect recipe for beating the Blue Devils, considering how poorly Cook and Jones stop dribble penetration.
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Duke’s defense seemed nonexistent.
Rodriguez agreed.
“We felt like it was a great matchup and they were going to allow us what we wanted to do,” Rodriguez said during his post-game media session.
Jahlil Okafor continued to play well, putting up double-doubles in both games, but his fellow freshmen Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow seemed to hit the often talked about “freshman wall.” Jones shot 3-of-15 combined in the games against NC State and Miami, while Winslow shot 4-of-19.
These types of things are not supposed to happen to Duke. Especially during a season when many considered them to be the second-best team in the country. They don’t lose at home. The Miami win snapped a 41-game unbeaten streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Their defense is not supposed to be this bad. Their outside shooting is typically their primary strength. The Mike Krzyzewksi era has been about ferocious on ball defense and knockdown three-point shooting.
The last two games, those things have been absent. The most shocking thing is that Krzyzewski has said he thinks his team lacks confidence. With four national championships, 63 NBA players, and a swagger that haters dismiss as arrogance, Duke rarely lacks confidence.
But, this is still a talented team. There is a whole season left to play, and they still have the ability to regain their place as one of the best teams in the country.
That quest started at high noon in Louisville, Kentucky. Duke would take on the sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals who came in looking for a statement win in the ACC. In the end, it was Duke that would make the statement.
The Blue Devils ended their two game losing streak with a relatively easy 63-52 win. Duke held the Cardinals to 29.5 percent shooting from the field, and 16 percent from outside. The Cardinals shot 4-of-25 from behind the arc, a welcome change from the 20 combined three-pointers Miami and NC State made.
Much of the poor shooting had to do with Louisville’s own offensive deficiencies. The Cardinals have struggled to score all season and today their poor shooting reared its ugly head. Chris Jones and Terry Rozier combined to shoot 7-of-26 from the floor and 4-of-14 from outside. If those two are not making shots it’s usually going to be a long day for Louisville.
Montrezl Harrell added a quiet 10 points and 14 rebounds. He has started to rely on jump shots rather than playing to his strengths on the offensive glass and on post-ups. This led to several Dick Vitale rants.
One of the consistent performers in Duke’s back to back losses was Jahlil Okafor, and he continued his streak of offensive dominance. Okafor scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and also grabbed seven rebounds.
The other consistent force has been junior power forward Amile Jefferson (he gave Duke a strong 14-point, 12-rebound effort in the Miami debacle). Jefferson scored 19 points to lead all scorers, and also notched seven rebounds while playing his usual steady defense.
Tyus Jones had a bounce-back game. The freshman point guard scored 10 points and handed out eight assists. Justise Winslow struggled to score–he only had three points–but he was active defensively and collected seven rebounds.
They still struggled shooting from three-point range. As a team, Duke shot 26.7 percent from outside which continues the trend of shooting less than 30 percent from three. Okafor cannot do all the scoring alone, this is a problem that needs to fix itself, if Duke is going to play the way they did in non-conference play.
For now, they have stemmed the bleeding. They still have things to iron out, like their porous perimeter defense and suddenly cold outside shooting, but it was important to not let this losing streak continue to snowball.
They have a difficult stretch of games approaching that includes three straight road games against St. Johns, Notre Dame, and Virginia. Notre Dame presents the same set of problems that Miami and NC State caused the Blue Devils. Can they make the necessary adjustments to avoid another losing streak?
Duke is the most talented team in the ACC piece by piece. Time will tell if they can develop into the best team as a whole.