No. 2 Duke is 12-0 and has won every game by double-digits, including wins against then-No. 19 Michigan State, a Temple squad that beat Kansas by 25 points, then-No. 2 Wisconsin and a Stanford team that won at then-No. 9 Texas.
A big reason why?
Its ability to shut down opponents from beyond the arc.
Entering Wednesday's contest against Wofford, the Blue Devils were holding teams to 27.2 percent from downtown and had allowed just two teams—the Badgers and Army—to shoot better than 40 percent from long range.
Against the Terriers—who were shooting 40.4 percent prior to facing Duke, the 19th-best mark on triples in the nation—Duke let Wofford go 4-of-7 from 3-point range to stay within seven points in the first half.
Then the Blue Devils tightened the screws.
Duke forced four turnovers and a missed 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run to start the second half. The Blue Devils went on to hold the Terriers to 1-of-10 from downtown in the final period and win by 29; Wofford never got closer than nine after Duke's initial push.
"They defended very well in the second half," Wofford head coach Mike Young said. "They're so good defensively and jack you up and take you out of the things you want to do. They certainly amped it up a bit in the second 20 minutes."
Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski agreed, citing the efforts of reserve guards Matt Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon as a big reason why the Terriers and leading scorer Karl Cochran struggled in the second half.
After going 2-of-4 from downtown in the first half, the dangerous senior guard was just 1-of-5 in the second.
"Our bench really helped us a lot," Krzyzewski said. "Cochran is a heck of a player and he didn't get open looks—he had to shoot turning."
Teams are now shooting just 27.4 percent on 3-pointers against Krzyzewski's team this season—the 13th-worst clip in the country—and only three teams have made more than five triples against Duke.
Digging deeper into the numbers reveals even more positives about the Blue Devil perimeter defense.
Even at Wisconsin Dec. 3—when the Badgers went 9-of-21 from downtown—the team's stars Frank Kaminsky and Traevon Jackson combined to go 5-of-9 while the rest of the team went just 4-of-12 en route to falling 80-70.
Army also posted a respectable clip from long range by going 7-of-16 the game prior Nov. 30, but again relied on its best players' skill and not consistent open looks to have the success. Sharpshooters Tanner Plomb and Kyle Wilson combined to go 5-of-8 and the Black Knight role players were only 2-of-8 in the 93-73 loss.
The Blue Devils have scored less than 70 points just once this season and will likely keep putting up big offensive numbers led by dominant freshman center Jahlil Okafor, so the inability of opponents to get timely 3-point looks for role players does not bode well for ACC teams with conference play set to begin for Duke Saturday against Boston College.
The Blue Devils will have to take on more proficient offenses from long range, most notably No. 14 Notre Dame, but also showed they can play a variety of lineups and still lock down opponents Wednesday. The Fighting Irish lead the nation in field goal percentage by making 55.4 percent of their shots and rank seventh with their 41.7 percent clip on 3-pointers, but like all Duke opponents will have to figure out how to create open looks against.length and speed.
As they have all season, against Wofford the Blue Devils played their small lineup with swingman Justise Winslow at the four for extended minutes. And although the group created problems on the offensive end once again, the primary focus for Winslow and company is wreaking havoc defensively when undersized.
"When we go small, we really just want to get out, extend and guard," Winslow said.
But for the first time this year, Duke also played a big lineup featuring Okafor and reserve center Marshall Plumlee for extended minutes. Defending on the perimeter would be expected to be more of a concern with the group, but Krzyzewski and his staff were still pleased with the results.
As the Blue Devils continue to incorporate their big lineup while shutting down opponents from beyond the arc, they will add yet another weapon to an already-scary arsenal that begins with extended man-to-man defense.
"We'll look at that more going forward because Marshall is playing well," Krzyzewski said. "I don't want him to just be behind [Okafor]. Marshall is such a good athlete that he can defend the four—he can go out and put pressure."
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