For those of you who have lived under a rock for the past year or so, Duke won the 2010 national championship in Indianapolis. There are several variables that contributed to the fourth title in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure at the university, but three central areas were the foundation for the success: high percentage shots, offensive rebounding and the emergence of a post presence.
While the roster has changed this season, the statistics have remained remarkably similar.
Going into the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils were searching for a post presence, and they found it with the dynamic duo of Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas. This team faces the same challenge.
Enter the Plumlee brothers.
Mason and Miles Plumlee have stepped up to close the season, highlighted by outstanding performances in the ACC tournament. The two combined to average 6.4 offensive rebounds, 13.4 total rebounds and 16 points per game, all of which are improvements in comparison to their regular season statistics.
A similar coming out party occurred in the very same tournament last season, when Zoubek and Thomas averaged 7.2 offensive rebounds, 15.3 total rebounds and 10.5 points per game, with all categories representing a step up from regular season play.
An added edge in the paint should provide ample opportunity to score, although shooting the ball was and is rarely a problem for Duke.
Last season, the team shot a dazzling 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc. While this year’s squad may not shoot the ball as frequently, attempting almost 70 fewer shots at this point of the season, the Blue Devils are just as deadly, maybe even deadlier.
The 2010-11 team has shot 47 percent from the field overall and 38 percent from 3-point land, nearly identical numbers to that of the 2009-10 squad.
Although shooting wasn’t an issue, second chance opportunities were for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 squads. Look at any loss for Duke over the last two seasons and there is one common flaw: an inability to make shots. The paramount concern for any Duke team the past few years has been their ability to grab offensive rebounds and give shooters another look at the basket.
Luckily, in the ACC tournament, Duke improved their offensive rebounding, and it showed on the stat sheet. Second chance points were at a premium coming in, but the Blue Devils scored 14.7 a game, higher than the regular season average.
The rebounding has not only paid dividends on paper, however, but also in the win column.
With improved offensive rebounding, no game finished closer than 14 points. For a team that has won a great majority of its games by double digits (24 of the 30 total) this may not seem like a big deal, but each of the three teams the Blue Devils faced in Greensboro were quality opponents and two of them had beaten Duke in their previous meeting.
The road will be tougher than last year, as the bracket draw for the journey to Houston is more challenging than last year’s. But, if history really does repeat itself, one fact remains the same—the Duke Blue Devils will be back-to-back national champs.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.