Rebounding, ball movement and defense: How Duke remained undefeated
After two one-sided wins on its famed home court, Duke survived a second-half challenge to put itself in position to be the nation’s No.1 team.
Its shooting was mediocre, even on shots close to the basket. But its rebounding and defense were superb, and the Blue Devils took care of the ball to use a key stretch to pull away and beat Georgia State 74-62 last Friday night.
The standouts were Tre Jones (31 points) and Vernon Carey (20 points, 14 rebounds).
But, with the benefit of analytics to provide a deeper look at the win, Duke (4-0) had plenty of other contributors.
That’s why the Blue Devils won and moved up one spot in Monday’s new AP Top 25 poll to become the nation’s No. 1 team.
Here’s a closer look at Duke’s latest win, looking an analytical statistics compiled by Synergy Sports Technologies and KenPom.com.
Shooting
Duke beat Georgia State despite making a season-low 34.2 percent of its field goals. Jones made 10 of 19 shots while Carey hit 7 of 14. So they combined to go 17 of 33 (51.5 percent). Everyone else combined to go 8 of 40.
One game after their best 3-point shooting night of the season, 9 of 18 against Central Arkansas, the Blue Devils dropped back down to 25 percent (7 of 28).
As was the case all over the court in nearly every category, Jones boosted Duke by making 4 of 8 3-point shots. Sophomore Joey Baker hit 2 of 5.
Every other Duke player combined to make 1 of 15.
We knew Duke wasn’t going to be a great 3-point shooting team this season. But against Georgia State, the Blue Devils missed out on great scoring chances in the lane.
Duke hit only 44.4 percent (16 of 36) on layups, dunk, tip-ins and hook shots in the post.
Jones had six such shots and made five while drawing eight fouls. Carey made 7 of 13 and was fouled six times.
Freshman forward Cassius Stanley took seven of those shots, making just one. That’s a big reason why he was 2 of 12 overall in the game.
Defense
So on a night when Duke didn’t shoot well from near and far, its defense once again played well.
Georgia State hit only 41.7 percent of its two-point shot attempts. Duke recorded 10 steals, contributing mightily to Georgia State’ 17 turnovers. Jones had a team-best four steals.
The Panthers produced only 0.85 points per possession. While that sounds low, it’s actually the best offensive efficiency any team has produced in a game with Duke this season. Kansas, in losing 68-66 to Duke, was at 0.82 points per possession.
Georgia State made 12 of 29 shots in the second half, making only one shot outside the lane.
Duke’s rebounding prowess was a big part of its defensive success. More on that later.
Ball movement
The Blue Devils recorded assists on 52 percent of their made field goals with 13 on 25 shots made. Duke’s only other game this season better than 50 percent on its assist rate was the Kansas game when the Blue Devils were 52.2 percent.
Jones had six assists, setting up Carey for three baskets inside and finding Baker open in each corner for his two made 3-pointers. Jones’ other assist set up Stanley’s only made two-point basket of the game.
Jack White contributed four assists, setting up Jones and Stanley for their made 3-pointers and Carey for two baskets in the lane.
Ball protection
Duke’s 17 turnovers meant the Blue Devils turned it over on 23 percent of their possessions against Georgia State. That’s a season-worst percentage for Duke. Only the Kansas game (20 percent) was close.
On a night when they produced so many positives, Jones turned it over four times and Carey three.
Alex O’Connell had two turnovers in the game’s first four minutes, which is a big reason why he played only 12 total minutes in the game. Both of Wendell Moore’s turnovers came in the first half when he played only four minutes.
Most of Duke’s turnovers, 10, came in the first half.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski chastised his team for not being “strong with the ball” early in the game.
The Blue Devils had only seven in the second half when they pulled away from a three-point halftime lead to win by 11. Duke turned it over only twice over the first 12 minutes after halftime, when they built a 60-44 lead.
Controlling the boards
This is where the Blue Devils did their best work against Georgia State, winning the rebounding battle 58-32.
Duke’s 30 offensive rebounds were the most it has recorded in a game during Krzyzewski’s 40 seasons. The Blue Devils rebounded 55.6 percent of their own missed shots. That’s a big reason why Duke attempted 73 shots to Georgia State’s 60.
Carey had seven of Duke’s offensive rebounds while fellow freshman Matthew Hurt grabbed six and White had four.
Even players that struggled overall in the game contributed offensive rebounds. Moore had three in his 11 minutes while O’Connell had two in his 12 minutes. Each had four total rebounds.
Carey led Duke with 14 total rebounds with White grabbing 10 and Stanley nine.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Rebounding, ball movement and defense: How Duke remained undefeated."