With 2014 coming to a close, the Blue Devils will look to finish the year on a high note in their final nonconference home game.
Duke will take on Wofford Wednesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 3 p.m. in its final contest of 2014. The Blue Devils enter the tilt less than 48 hours removed from their 86-69 win against Toledo, and although the score seems to say otherwise, it was far from a cakewalk.
After the Rockets exploded in the final minutes of the first half to cut Duke's halftime lead to four, the Blue Devils played what head coach Mike Krzyzewski called his team's best 20 minutes of basketball since a win at Wisconsin Dec. 3. Much of the Blue Devil success stemmed from its quality defensive play, as they forced eight of Toledo's 13 turnovers in the final period.
"It's not easy to play 40 minutes of hard defense where you're disciplined," assistant coach Jon Scheyer said. "That's something for our guys, we need to learn how to do for 40 minutes every game. I think we'll get there, because these guys have shown that they can do that."
If the Blue Devils continue the stinginess they showed Monday, they should have success in transition against Wofford. The Terriers (9-3) average 12.3 turnovers per game and have a 1.13 turnover-to-assist ratio—good for just 87th in the nation—opposed to Duke's 1.56, which ranks fifth in the NCAA.
Wofford is not exactly coming off its cleanest performance. The Terriers fell to then-No. 18 West Virginia 77-44 Dec. 22, as they coughed up the ball 21 times. The Mountaineers were able to turn those turnovers into buckets, as they outscored Wofford 27-1 in points off turnovers.
"Wofford runs a lot of sets, a lot of plays, and West Virginia was able to take them out of that and make it very uncomfortable for them," Scheyer said. "With Wofford, you can't just sit back and let them pick you apart, because they have really good plays, they have older guys, they have counters to all their stuff."
Duke forced just 13 turnovers against Toledo Monday, but was able to turn those miscues into 12 points on the other end and will look to build on that come Wednesday.
Despite Wofford's poor last showing, the Blue Devils can not afford to overlook the Terriers—a lesson that N.C. State learned the hard way. Wofford took down the Wolfpack 55-54 in Raleigh Dec. 14. The Terriers hung with a larger N.C. State squad inside, as the two teams tied for total rebounds at 33. Wofford held the Wolfpack to three offensive boards, zero second-chance points and outscored them 22-12 in the paint.
The Terriers' scrappiness inside will be a point of concern for the Blue Devils, as some of their first-half defensive lapses in Monday's game surprisingly came down low, as Toledo scored 38 of its 69 points in the paint. Duke out-rebounded the Rockets by just six boards, with nine Toledo rebounds coming on the offensive end. The Blue Devils were able to minimize the damage from those extra opportunities, though, allowing just five second-chance points.
The problem inside was not center Jahlil Okafor, as he held Toledo's starting center Nathan Boothe to nine points on 4-of-10 shooting before the Rockets' big man fouled out. The majority of the paint issues came from Toledo's guards, as Julius Brown—who led his team with 19 points—was able to penetrate the Blue Devil interior after establishing his mid-range jump shot.
"We need to protect our basket, and we need to do a good job of not relying on Jahlil to be the only guy protecting our paint," Scheyer said. "We like to pressure the ball, but as we do that we need to make sure that we keep guys in front of us. If a guy has to help, someone has to help him. Our team needs to move as one, and that's something we need to get better at, and hopefully we'll come out tomorrow and show that."
Amile Jefferson also struggled to contain the Rockets' athletic forward J.D. Weatherspoon, as the senior went for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of play. Although the Terriers do not boast a forward with the same athletic ability of the high-flying Weatherspoon, the mismatch could be something that comes into play as the Blue Devils gear up for ACC action.
Duke will look to shore up its interior defense Wednesday but can't forget about the perimeter in the process. Wofford has excelled throughout the season from beyond the arc, as the Terriers are connecting on 40.4 percent of their 3-pointers, pitting them as the 19th-best long-ball shooting team in the nation.
"They're really good coming off pin-downs, using screens off the ball. If you've cheated, they'll [cut backdoor]; if you chase them, they're really good at curling it," Scheyer said. "It takes 40 minutes of discipline against those guys and never relaxing, because they're always moving without the ball."
The Blue Devil guards have fared well defending against the triple this season, holding opponents to a 26.7 shooting percentage from behind the arc.
Aside from being another tough mid-major test for the Blue Devils, the game will be their final chance to work out any kinks before they dive into conference play. Duke will open its ACC slate at home Saturday against Boston College.
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