Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs. Boston College

No. 11 Duke nursed just a four-point edge against Boston College heading into the locker room Saturday night, but used an inspired second-half performance on both ends of the floor to take command of the game. Behind 29 points and 16 rebounds from Jabari Parker, the Blue Devils rolled to an 89-68 victory in Chestnut Hill.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Stay disciplined against Hanlan and Anderson: Boston College guard Olivier Hanlan had his way for the most part offensively, pouring in a team-high 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting. The sophomore was able to find some driving lanes where the Blue Devil coaching staff would've liked to bottle him up. Fortunately for Duke, the other half of the Eagles' dynamic duo was held largely in check. Anderson took a hard fall to the floor midway through the first half, and never seemed to get touches in dangerous positions on the floor after that. He finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
• Execute the offense on the road: Duke sprinted out to an 11-4 lead behind streaky 3-point shooting, but the shots did not keep falling at the same clip for the rest of the half. The offense at times looked stagnant, and Boston College was able to score on the other end to keep the game close heading to halftime. In the second half, Rasheed Sulaimon excelled at driving the lane, where he repeatedly found an open Parker. The Blue Devils continued to knock down timely outside shots and also caught the Eagle defense napping to convert some set plays. Duke also got out in transition in the second half, leading to easy baskets to remain in rhythm.
• Stay focused on the task at hand: The game was a story of two halves for the Blue Devils. In the opening frame, they settled for outside shots and allowed the Eagles to find quality looks at the basket. In the second period, they exploited their size advantage with Parker down low and clamped down on defense until the game was very much out of hand.

Three key plays:

• 9:23 remaining, first half: Anderson tries to finish a shot in the paint around a contesting Parker and comes up short. He hits the deck hard, grimacing after landing on his shoulder. For the rest of the game, Anderson struggled to establish a rhythm in the Boston College offense, a good sign for a Duke frontcourt that has struggled to contain opposing posts at times.
• 19:46 remaining, second half: Duke opens the second half with the ball, and Rodney Hood immediately finds Parker for a flush, setting up a personal 5-0 run for the freshman that gave the Blue Devils breathing room and dealt a punishing blow to the confidence of the Eagles, who never recovered from the nine-point deficit.
• 12:42 remaining, second half: Quinn Cook knocks down a 3-point shot to give Duke a 59-44 lead. The junior broke out of his slump in a big way Saturday night, hitting three of his five triples in the second half. Consistent production from Cook was important to the win against the Eagles, but maybe even more important for Duke's future success against the likes of North Carolina and Syracuse later this month.

Three Key Stats

• Rasheed Sulaimon and Tyler Thornton distribute six assists apiece: It wasn't a great shooting night for Sulaimon, who was 2-for-8 from the floor, but he more than made up for it with his court vision off the dribble. His passes to Parker were both flashy and accurate, and ignited the game-changing run early in the second half. Quietly productive as always, Thornton dished out six helpers of his own, and also drilled two more 3-pointers.
• Jabari Parker scores a career-high 29 points: The freshman didn't just have a monster night scoring the ball—he did some of everything. He grabbed 16 rebounds for his fourth double-double in six games, shot 12-of-17 from the field, and tallied three blocks, some of them emphatic rejections. The one area in which Parker struggled Saturday was his free-throw shooting—he was just 5-of-10 from the charity stripe.
• Andre Dawkins plays eight minutes, Marshall Plumlee plays zero: Duke saw its liberal substitution pattern come to an end Saturday, as Dawkins saw minimal action while Plumlee never made it into the contest. Plumlee is reportedly dealing with a knee injury that contributed to his lack of playing time. Freshmen Matt Jones and Semi Ojeleye were inserted into the contest ahead of Dawkins in the second half.

And the Duke game ball goes to...Jabari Parker.

There wasn't much Boston College head coach Steve Donahue could do Saturday night—his team just could not find an answer for Parker's offensive explosiveness. Half of Parker's made field goals were dunks, and several other baskets relied on his sheer athletic advantage against smaller defenders. Parker certainly had help tonight, notably from the slump-busting Cook, but the freshman continues to be the engine powering the Blue Devil express.

And the Boston College game ball goes to...Olivier Hanlan.

Hanlan is a gifted scorer, able to get off a shot even when well-guarded, and was able to create opportunities for himself Saturday night. However, the sophomore did not have much of a supporting cast, especially with Anderson unable to establish an inside presence against Parker and Amile Jefferson. The next step forward in Hanlan's game will be figuring out a way to distribute more, so that he does not become the sole scoring option of the Boston College offense.