Stat Chat: Gimme That!

It's hard to ask for a more complete game from Duke than the one they played this past Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Shooting well behind the arc? Check (45.8 percent). Sharing the ball? Check (19 assists on 33 field goals). Getting to the free throw line? Check (18-of-21 from the stripe). All of these numbers are fantastic, but the real difference maker came from great man to man defense.

The Blue Devils used a similar rotation strategy to the one I referenced last week, using a hockey-style substitution to start each half. Each unit has its main offensive threat (Jabari Parker and Rasheed Sulaimon) and its best on-ball defender (Matt Jones and Tyler Thornton). Parker and Sulaimon combined for 36 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, but it was the collective defensive effort that paced the offensive game in transition.

When you initially look at the numbers for N.C. State, it would appear as though Duke's defense was sliding back into its bad defensive habits. The Wolfpack shot 48.1 percent from the field! But the Blue Devils used a full-court press nearly the entire contest, meaning that there were several occasions where N.C. State failed to get a shot off. In all, Duke forced 21 turnovers—14 of which came via steals.

The Wolfpack appeared surprised by the immense amount of pressure from the start. In the first half, the Blue Devils forced 15 turnovers, nine of which came by way of steals. Here in lies the problem for N.C. State: Duke scored 23 points off of those 15 turnovers. That means that in the first half, the Blue Devils averaged 1.15 points off turnovers per minute and 51.1 percent of the teams total points came off of turnovers.

In 40 minutes of game play, Duke amassed a total of 21 turnovers, leading to 33 points. Further breakdown of the numbers suggests that some of the guys who have been harped on the most for a failure to commit on the defensive end were the ones making the biggest plays. Parker and Rodney Hood each had three steals, resulting in eight points—six of which came from Parker—and two of the biggest highlights of the game—a pair of Parker dunks.

Perhaps the most impressive individual performance came from Quinn Cook and his man-to-man defense, specifically on Wolfpack guard Anthony Barber. Barber, a talented freshman for a squad that is clearly rebuilding, was harassed all day, failing to find as many shots as usual (six versus his season average of 9.9) and turning the ball over more frequently as well (four versus his season average of 2.1). Cook himself didn't have the same flashy numbers as some of his fellow players, but he clearly stepped up his defensive game to lock down Barber.

Wednesday, Duke will play a Miami squad that averages 10.9 turnovers per game and ranks dead last in scoring in the ACC. Translation: it could be a long night for the Hurricanes if they turn the ball over as much as NC State did.