Duke basketball found its 3-point shooting touch. Here’s how the stats break down.
Currently, Central Arkansas is the second-worst opponent on Duke’s schedule this season.
The Bears are rated No. 261 in the country by KenPom.com. Only No. 277 Stephen F. Austin, which plays the Blue Devils Nov. 26, is worse.
So, of course Duke had no problem rolling over Central Arkansas 105-54 on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
What does No. 2-ranked Duke get out of such a game? Experience. That’s basically it. But for this Duke team, that’s important because coach Mike Krzyzewski, more than ever, is figuring out which players, or groups of players, work well together.
The Blue Devils used their third different starting lineup in three games. Normally a lineup change is a sign that a player didn’t perform as well as the staff wanted in practice or in the previous game.
That’s not the case, as much, this season.
“Questions about starting lineups with this team are not the same as if you asked them last year or the year before or the year before,” Krzyzewski said following Tuesday night’s win. “We’re just looking at different combinations.”
Against Central Arkansas, freshman forward Matthew Hurt came off the bench for the first time and performed well. That’s one thing to notice in this analytical breakdown of the Blue Devils, using advanced statistics compiled by KenPom.com and Synergy Sports Technology.
Shooting
The Blue Devils had their best 3-point shooting night of the young season, making 9 of 18 (50 percent).
Hurt led the way, making all three of his 3-point attempts to score a game-high 19 points. All three of his made 3-pointers came when he took a pass and shot without dribbling. Over Duke’s first two games, Hurt took 11 no-dribble 3-pointers, making three. Perhaps he found his rhythm against Central Arkansas.
Junior guard Alex O’Connell hit two 3-pointers against Central Arkansas on six attempts.
Overall, the Blue Devils were 3 of 8 on jump shots inside the 3-point arc. Sophomore guard Tre Jones made two of three even though he played only nine minutes due to a collision with a Central Arkansas player.
Jones is looking to score more this season. So far, he’s 7 of 12 on jumpers from inside the 3-point line (not counting layups or dunks). That’s encouraging.
Defense
Duke suffocated Central Arkansas with its pressure defense, allowing the Bears to post an offensive efficiency of just 0.67 points per possession. Central Arkansas turned the ball over 21 times, ending 25.9 percent of its possessions with a turnover while shooting only 35.3 percent.
Again, Duke did all this with Jones, its best perimeter defender, only playing nine minutes. Freshman forward Wendell Moore (four steals), along with freshman guard Cassius Stanley (three) and junior guard Jordan Goldwire (three) took over as perimeter pests.
The Blue Devils had seven blocked shots, recording blocks on 19.4 percent of Central Arkansas’ two-point attempts. For the season, Duke has a block rate of 14.4 percent, which is better than the national average of 9.1.
“The plan is to play good defense,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s what we’re going to keep attempting to do and we’re doing it.”
Ball movement
Duke recorded assists on 18 of its 42 made field goals for an exceptional 42.9 percent assist rate. Compare that to last Friday’s 89-55 win over Colorado State, where Duke assisted on 37.8 percent of its makes.
Duke’s best example of setting up its players via good passing so far this young season was the 68-66 win over Kansas on Nov. 5 when the Blue Devils assisted on 52.2 percent of their baskets.
Against Central Arkansas, Jones had two assists before his injury.
Goldwire led Duke with four assists while Hurt and Moore added three each. Those three assists by Hurt were his first three of the season, a sign of improvement for the freshman.
Ball protection
Duke’s 12 turnovers meant the Blue Devils turned the ball over on 14.8 percent of their possessions against Central Arkansas. That’s a tick up from the 11.8 percent turnover rate Duke compiled on Nov. 8 against Colorado State.
But there’s an encouraging sign. Moore logged some minutes at point guard with Jones out of the game. In 25 minutes of play, Moore had just one turnover.
Compare that to the seven turnovers he committed in 27 combined minutes against Kansas and Colorado State.
Controlling the boards
The Blue Devils took full advantage of their height and athleticism against Central Arkansas to win the rebounding battle 46-26.
Duke rebounded 89.7 percent of the Bears’ missed shots, only allowing them four offensive rebounds.
Freshman Vernon Carey, Jr., a 6-10 center, turned in his first double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Javin DeLaurier, a 6-10 senior forward, had three of Duke’s 11 offensive rebounds as the Blue Devils got additional offense by rebounding 33 percent of their missed shots.
Georgia State at Duke
When: 7 p.m., Friday
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
Watch: ACC Network
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Duke basketball found its 3-point shooting touch. Here’s how the stats break down.."