Duke basketball controls the glass in win against UNC-Asheville

After being outrebounded in its first two games 70-51, Duke has turned its focus to the glass, and the attention has paid off in back-to-back wins.

For the first time this season, Duke outrebounded its opponent by double digits, holding a 42-28 advantage on the glass en route to a 91-55 victory against UNC-Asheville. After holding a three-rebound advantage last Friday against Florida Atlantic, this was just the second time the Blue Devils outrebounded an opponent this season.

“[Head coach Mike Krzyzewski] has been harping on [rebounding for] two games now,” sophomore forward Amile Jefferson said. “So for us to really go out there and win the rebounding battle, it was a big part of [the win].”

Through three games, the Blue Devils’ opponents had racked up twice the amount of offensive rebounds, with Duke being overpowered on the glass 34-17. After yielding seven offensive rebounds in the first 10 minutes, Duke looked to be headed toward losing the rebounding battle for the third time in four games. But the Blue Devils held UNC-Asheville to six boards on the offensive end in the final 30 minutes of play.

“That’s what we’re trying to work on—the intangibles,” freshman Jabari Parker said. “Like I said last time, the offense is going to be there because we have so many weapons. But the little things are what are going to win us big games, like rebounding, limited turnovers and free throws. That’s what we try to emphasize."

The Blue Devils outsized the smaller Bulldogs, who boast only six players taller than 6-foot-5—Duke has nine. Although UNC-Asheville’s backcourt is particularly small, with starting point guard Andrew Rowsey standing at 5-foot-10, the Bulldogs did have 6-foot-10 D.J. Cunningham and 7-footer Jaleel Roberts. Jefferson and Josh Hairston shared the assignment of covering the two big men throughout the game, limiting the pair to a combined 10 rebounds.

“[Rebounding] was an emphasis,” Jefferson said. “We know we can score. We have guys who can really score the ball well. So it was especially up to the interior guys to put bodies on people and keep them off the glass.”

UNC-Asheville seemed poised to take advantage of Duke’s smaller front line in the opening half. Cunningham and Roberts combined for eight points and eight boards in the first 20 minutes. After making some halftime adjustments, the Blue Devils came out of the break and held the pair to six points and two rebounds in the second half.

Parker, who led the team in scoring with 21 points, also led the rebounding effort. The Chicago native pulled down 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Jefferson, who was assigned the task of handling the Bulldogs’ big men, contributed six rebounds.

“[The key was] just putting bodies on everyone," Parker said. "There were long rebounds and they were bouncing in weird places, so [our focus was on] making sure all of our guys were getting to the ball. And when we did that and everyone boxed out, we did a great job on the glass.”

Although the two teams tied each other with 13 offensive rebounds, Duke prevented UNC-Asheville from taking advantage of more second-chance opportunities by pulling down 29 rebounds on the defensive end. The Blue Devils held the Bulldogs to 11 second-chance points and outscored them in the paint 38-22.

Duke's back-to-back victories coincide with back-to-back victories on the glass, which is not a random occurrence. The play of Kansas’ frontcourt hurt Duke in its loss to the then-No. 5 Jayhawks. The Blue Devils gave up 50 points in the paint and were outrebounded 39-24 in the defeat.

With a lineup that emphasizes speed and athleticism instead of size, rebounding was never meant to be Duke's strong suit this season. But as Krzyzewski pointed out after his team's win, it is an area that the Blue Devils will emphasize as it continues with nonconference play.

“We are working on it,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t think we are a great rebounding team, but we need to be a better rebounding team. We were that tonight—the kids are trying.”