Despite having only two regular season games to adjust to their new lineups, the Blue Devils still have high postseason hopes.
No. 10 Duke will play its first game of the ACC tournament Friday at 6 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. The second-seeded Blue Devils received a double-bye and will take on the seventh-seeded Georgia Tech. Duke beat the Yellow Jackets 64-47 when the teams last matched up Jan. 5.
The team that defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta looked very different from the Blue Devil squad that will take the court in search of a second consecutive ACC tournament title this weekend. Duke's lineup in that contest featured point guards Chelsea Gray and Alexis Jones, both of whom have since been sidelined due to injury.
Despite lacking a true floor general, the Blue Devils know the only way to move forward in tournament play is to focus on the opportunity in front of them rather than their misfortune.
“There’s no precedent I don’t think for the men’s side or the women’s side on the losses we’ve had in the guard position, but with all that said I think we’ve got terrific talent,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “The tournament’s atmosphere is just a blast. The players love it, the fans are great with it, and you never know what happens. We just need to focus on what we do, and make sure we play our game.”
One of the biggest strengths of Duke’s new rotation is its length. The Blue Devils (25-5, 12-4 in the ACC) feature three players 6-foot-3 or taller at all times and can wreak havoc out of their zone defense. In Sunday’s loss to North Carolina, Duke’s length forced seven Tar Heel turnovers that helped spark a 16-0 Blue Devil run that got the team back in the contest.
Duke trailed 50-31 early in the second half after a 20-0 North Carolina run, but started aggressively trapping out of its zone and communicating to locate shooters to hold the Tar Heels scoreless for 10 minutes. The Blue Devils will likely try to use the same defensive tactics to disrupt Georgia Tech (19-10, 9-7) and play with the same aggression.
“It was a terrific comeback,” McCallie said. “We were down by quite a bit. It showed our ability to fight, and now you want to fight, you want to finish, and you want to get after it because it’s March and it’s a great opportunity to do so.”
The Yellow Jackets will likely try to expose Duke’s offense the same way the Tar Heels did—by playing fundamentally sound man-to-man defense and doubling the Blue Devil stars—Tricia Liston and Elizabeth Williams. All of Duke’s players are being forced to adjust to their new roles on the offensive end, and it showed Sunday.
The Blue Devils frequently tried to make too many one-on-one plays and were held to a season-low 60 points as a result.
“[Offensive sets] need to work differently with this team,” McCallie said. “If somebody’s doubled, somebody’s open; recognizing to move the basketball quicker [will be vital]. We have to be very smart, control the tempo, and we have to control the ball.”
Another Duke focus entering the postseason will be rebounding. The Blue Devils failed to capitalize on their length against the Tar Heels and were outrebounded 35-33, but saw the benefits of crashing the offensive glass. Williams and Liston were able to get their easiest opportunities in transition and off offensive rebounds.
Both of Duke’s All-ACC first team performers will need to continue to find different ways to score while receiving heavier defensive attention, but the Blue Devils will also need more performances like the one they got from junior guard Ka’lia Johnson Sunday. Johnson had a career-high 12 points off the bench and took advantage of all of the attention being paid to Liston and Williams.
Duke knows that to succeed this weekend, its role players must continue coming through—especially given the strength of the ACC. The Blue Devils are hoping the valuable lessons learned in conference play help them when it matters most.
“The league has been incredible,” McCallie said. “I think it’s something that might have even caught people by surprise relative to the depth of the league, the terrific players, the new young players, the terrific young players, and then you’ve got the new coaches that are fantastic. There’s no doubt the ACC has proven to be the best women’s basketball conference in the country. Hopefully all of that will be represented in the NCAA tournament.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.