In Mike Krzyzewski’s first career game as a head coach, his Army squad held Lehigh to 29 points as the Black Knights cruised to a 27-point victory.
But as the second-seeded Blue Devils prepare to take on the Mountain Hawks in the second round of the NCAA tournament at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Krzyzewski does not expect to have similar defensive success against a team averaging 76.2 points per game.
“I hope it’s the same score, but I think they may have 29 points after about eight minutes,” he said.
Lehigh’s explosive offense is paced by guard C.J. McCollum, who topped the Patriot League with 21.9 points per game this season. The 6-foot-3 junior also leads the Mountain Hawks with 6.5 rebounds per contest.
In the Patriot League tournament championship, McCollum carried Lehigh past Bucknell for an automatic berth in the Big Dance, displaying his wide array of talents with 29 points, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
“They have really one of the better guards in the country in McCollum,” Krzyzewski said. “He’d be a really good guard—an outstanding guard—in our league. He’s that good.”
McCollum is a part of a deep perimeter attack for the Mountain Hawks that averages 7.4 3-pointers per game, nearly on par with Duke’s shooting-oriented offense that drains 8.1. Nine Lehigh players have hit at least 10 deep balls throughout this season.
“They’ve got good 3-point shooters and depth,” Krzyzewski said. “They’ll be a tough game for us. We respect them.”
The Blue Devils, however, have been cold from beyond the arc in their last three games, with just 5.3 3-pointers per game in that span, on 23.9-percent shooting.
Forward Ryan Kelly, who is one of Duke’s best 3-point shooters at 40.8 percent, missed the ACC tournament with a sprained foot. While he may be available for sparse minutes off the bench, he is not yet able to assume his usual role.
The 6-foot-11 junior’s athleticism from the power forward position could be crucial for the Blue Devils going forward as they try to rejuvenate their offense while facing a quick team that does not play anybody taller than 6-foot-9.
“When we have the two Plumlees in there it’s a more congested court,” Krzyzewski said. “At times we were running offense [during the ACC tournament], and we were offensively challenged, which we haven’t been until Ryan went out.”
Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee played the majority of the post minutes in Atlanta and will both likely remain in the starting lineup as Kelly eases his way back into action. Krzyzewski lauded the duo as superior rebounders, but said the team’s other 3-point shooters suffer due to spacing issues with Kelly out of commission.
Duke’s post players will battle 6-foot-9 junior forward Gabe Knutson, who controls the paint for the Mountain Hawks, averaging 12.1 points on 50.2-percent shooting.
Beyond McCollum, Krzyzewski singled out Knutson and Mackey McKnight—who he called a “heady point guard”—as part of a Lehigh squad that will not go down easily. McKnight only scores 8.3 points per game but controls the team’s quick tempo effectively, boasting an assist-to-turnover ratio greater than 2:1.
“Our opponent is a good one,” Krzyzewski said. “I think Lehigh is a very confident, winning team.”
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