Beyond the arc: Duke basketball vs. Georgia Tech

After opening ACC play with a road loss to Notre Dame, Duke rebounded at home to notch a 79-57 win against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets kept things close early, only trailing 34-33 at halftime, but the Blue Devils held Georgia Tech to just 24 second half points on their way to their first conference win of the season. Rodney Hood led Duke with 27 points.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Get out to a quick start: The Blue Devils were able to build an 18-12 advantage, only to see the Yellow Jackets bounce back and go on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 18. Georgia Tech kept the Duke lead at bay for the remainder of the half, tying the game on more than one occasion, but was unable to take a lead in the first half. The Blue Devils led 34-33 at halftime.

• Find Jabari Parker: Parker got off to a slow start in the first half, scoring only six points on 2-of-9 shooting. In the second half Parker did not fare much better, adding six more points to finish the game with 12. Parker was scoreless from 3-point range. The freshman also picked up four personal fouls, which caused him to accumulate extra time on bench.

• Crash the glass: Although Duke has had difficulty out-rebounding opponents this season, the Blue Devils outrebounded Georgia Tech on both the offensive boards (8-6) and the defensive boards (25-19). Forwards Amile Jefferson and Parker were huge contributors on the glass, grabbing eight and 10 rebounds respectively. Even guard Rasheed Sulaimon found himself helping on the boards, ending the game with five rebounds.

Three key plays:

• 2:56 first half: Yellow Jacket guard Solomon Poole finds senior center Daniel Miller who makes a jumper to tie the game at 29-29. Miller’s score would tie the game for the fifth time in half and signaled that Georgia Tech was not going away in the waning minutes of the opening half.

• 16:43 second half. Rodney Hood finds Sulaimon, who sinks his second three point shot of the game from the left wing. Sulaimon’s tre would give Duke some breathing room with a 48-38 lead early in second half.

• 6:32 second half. Running the pick-and-pop, Sulaimon returns the favor to Hood, finding the forward for a 3-point shot. Hood’s 3-pointer gave the Blue Devils a 16-point lead, their largest of the night at that point.

• Hood scores 27 points. With the Yellow Jackets playing stout defense against Parker, holding him to just 12 points, Hood stepped up for the second game in a row and provided Duke with an offensive spark. He shot 5-of-7 from behind the arc, with all five 3-pointers coming in second half. The redshirt sophomore was a major reason why the Blue Devils lengthened their lead late in the game.

• Georgia Tech scores 24 points in the second half. The Duke defense was outstanding in the second half, limiting the Yellow Jackets to just 11-of-25 shooting. Miller and Georges-Hunt, who combined for 21 points in the first half, scored just 15 points in the final 20 minutes. The strong defensive effort led to transition opportunities for the Blue Devils, fueling their offense.
  

And the Duke game ball goes to....Rodney Hood

For the second game in a row, Hood came up huge for the Blue Devils. The redshirt sophomore scored 27 points and shot a perfect 5-of-5 from three point range in the second half. He also remains hot at the free-throw, remaining perfect from the stripe for the second straight game. But unlike Saturday’s game, Hood’s play resulted in a winning outcome.

And the Georgia Tech game ball goes to....Daniel Miller

Miller was a forced to be reckoned with in the paint, scoring 14 points, while registering eight rebounds. Miller’s 11 first half points were a major reason why the Yellow Jackets were able to keep the contest close early in the game.