The Blue Devils have primarily relied on their perimeter shooting this season to put points on the scoreboard. And though Duke’s outside shooting struggles continued against Boston College, the team’s frontcourt stepped up in a big way and made large contributions on both sides of the floor.
After a first half that featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, the No. 8 Blue Devils (14-2, 2-1 in the ACC) eventually blew out the Eagles (10-7, 1-2) 79-59 Wednesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Though Duke did not get into a rhythm early, the Blue Devils came out strong in the second half and earned a much-needed conference victory.
Nolan Smith scored 24 points and dished out four assists, including an alley-oop to swingman Kyle Singler early in the second half that sparked a 22-6 Duke run.
Singler bounced back significantly after a less-than-inspiring performance against Georgia Tech and posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. But against the Eagles, Duke’s interior play—not its long-range shooting—proved to be the difference.
“[Tonight] was really satisfying for the big guys,” center Brian Zoubek said. “At Georgia Tech, we relied a little bit too much on the guards. And for us to help those guys out when they are not having that great of a game shooting from the three point line feels really good and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
Zoubek had six points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive side. The senior’s success on the boards enabled second chance opportunities that are critical when outside shots are not falling.
Fellow big man Miles Plumlee also played well and had arguably his best game in a Blue Devils’ uniform, scoring 12 points and adding five rebounds.
The team’s post players both anchored the defense effectively and their interior presence dictated the game’s tempo in the paint.
“I thought Miles and Brian… if you just added their two totals up it would have been a monster game,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Brian especially in that second half…had a couple buckets that he just scored, he kind of roughed it out.”
Plumlee has also made tremendous strides as of late, Krzyzewski said.
“[Miles] is gaining experience. He’s started every game and has played well. It’s a matter of getting accustomed, especially once we get into conference play, to the physicality. Playing the people that we have played has given [Miles] some experience with that. There’s a lot of contact and you have to learn to play through and shoot through contact. A big guy has to do that and as a sophomore he is coming on.”
Plumlee showed his strength under the basket throughout the game against the Eagles. Midway through the first half, off a missed outside shot, the sophomore grabbed an offensive rebound, drew contact and managed to connect to complete a three-point play. Plumlee repeated the same feat just a few minutes later.
The Eagles could not match up with the Duke physically and the Blue Devils took advantage of their size despite shooting a season-low 21 percent from behind the arc.
Duke outrebounded Boston College 40-27, and managed 18 of those on the offensive glass. The Blue Devils’ dominance under the basket was evident as the team scored 47 points in the paint and had 21 second-chance points.
This success on the boards, however, is no surprise for Duke’s players.
“[Rebounding] has really been a point of emphasis for us in terms of helping out the guards on defense and on offense, especially against a team where we have a little bit of a size advantage,” Zoubek said. “We had to make sure we took advantage of it on the boards.”
Though Duke has a number of players capable of shooting the ball from the perimter, the team will inevitably endure cold streaks. And when those slumps occur, the Blue Devils need the versatility they showed Wednesday to make up for not being able to connect from behind the arc.
“(Rebounding) is something we work on hard every day in practice.... Now we have got to do that every game to be at our best,” Plumlee said. “It should be something we hang our hat on.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.