After two weeks of Madness, the only thing standing between the Blue Devils and their first trip to the national title game since 2001 is West Virginia and its renowned 1-3-1 zone defense. More than anything else, how Duke attacks the Mountaineer zone will significantly impact who moves on from this marquee Final Four matchup.
Winning against solid zone defenses has proven to be one of Duke’s biggest challenges this season, but one that it has managed to overcome several times already. Against Miami in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils had to deal with a tenacious defensive effort from the Hurricanes that kept the game close throughout, with Duke finally pulling out a 77-74 win.
In the Baylor game Sunday, the Blue Devils again had to put up with a 2-3 zone that limited penetration into the paint. For the most part, that strategy kept the Duke offense centered around outside shooting and second-chance opportunities off of offensive rebounds, but the Blue Devils were able to exploit the zone and earn a physical Elite 8 win over the athletic Bears.
Like Baylor, West Virginia is stacked with players that are able to challenge opponents both on the ball and on the boards, resulting in one of the stingiest defenses around. Throughout the course of this season, the Mountaineers have held opposing teams to only 63 points a game. Moreover, West Virginia is 27-0 when holding opponents to less than 69 points a game and 28-2 when holding the other team to under 50 percent shooting.
And although man-to-man may be used occasionally Saturday, Duke is preparing to face a zone defense for the bulk of the game.
“They have such length when Devin Ebanks or Da’Sean Butler are at the top of that 1-3-1,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Indeed, the focus of the West Virginia zone will be to put pressure on the ball above the key using the athleticism of Butler, Ebanks and Joe Mazzulla. The Mountaineers hope to force turnovers and keep Duke away from the paint, where West Virginia only has one body in the low post. As with the game against Baylor, the Blue Devils’ backcourt will have to deal with intense defense as soon as it steps over the halfcourt line.
“You really need to watch out for those two wings because they come up really high,” Jon Scheyer said.
Fortunately for Duke, several elements of the team’s success this year, namely solid guard play and offensive rebounding, are effective weapons against the zone. Scheyer is one of the best in the nation in terms of assist-to-turnover ratio, and Nolan Smith has proven himself to be a solid secondary ballhandler.
As for the frontcourt, Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas and Miles and Mason Plumlee not only make Duke the biggest team remaining in the Tournament, but also gives it a significant advantage when it comes to grabbing missed shots. The foursome grabbed 18 offensive rebounds against Baylor, and a similar domination of the glass is crucial for success against West Virginia, especially if the shots aren’t falling. But with any luck, the Mountaineer zone won’t be enough to kick the Blue Devils out of Indy.
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