Entering the season, Duke was expected go to 10 deep, playing all five scholarship players on its bench to spell its five starters throughout games.
But as the Blue Devils started facing stronger programs like Michigan State, Stanford and Temple, 10 quickly became eight as forward Semi Ojeleye and guard Grayson Allen were unable to find enough minutes to be consistent cogs in what rapidly became a well-oiled machine on both ends of the court.
Ojeleye announced his decision to transfer Dec. 14 and since that time, there have been major questions about Duke's second unit. Only the trio of Matt Jones, Rasheed Sulaimon and Marshall Plumlee has seen consistent minutes—with Allen playing sparingly—and the results were not pretty in the four games after Ojeleye's announcement.
Against Elon Dec. 15, the Blue Devils were outscored 35-14 in bench points and Sulaimon committed Duke's first technical foul of the season. The next time out, Dec. 18 against reigning national champion Connecticut, the Blue Devils got zero points from their bench.
Following the team's holiday break, Duke got a bit more bench production on the offensive end against Toledo Monday, but was still not satisfied with its defensive effort until Jones helped spark Wednesday's 84-55 win against Wofford with his hustle and tenacity.
Still, the DeSoto, Texas, native had not made a 3-pointer since Nov. 26 after starting the season 10-of-17 from long range and Sulaimon had committed 10 turnovers in his three prior games leading up to Saturday's ACC opener against Boston College. Plumlee had been solid in spelling Okafor all season, but without more production from Jones and Sulaimon, it was unlikely that the Blue Devils could turn around their bench play and maintain their streak of double-digit wins.
The message from the coaching staff to turn things around? More attention to detail on the defensive end and more hustle plays to inspire teammates.
"They just have to go out there and play hard," assistant coach Nate James said Friday. "We really try to get those guys to understand 'We just need you to make plays.' Focusing on your shooting never gets you out of whatever slump that you believe you're in. Eventually they'll hit their shots because they'll get involved in so many [other] plays."
Saturday against the Eagles, Duke's bench seemed to take those instructions to heart.
Jones and Sulaimon used their respective 6-foot-5 frames to change the game for Duke on the defensive end. In the first 10 minutes of the game, Boston College star guard Olivier Hanlan hurt the Blue Devils on pick-and-rolls, frequently turning the corner to score or set up opportunities for center Dennis Clifford inside.
The explosive junior guard scored nine points to start the game and his team only trailed the No. 2 team in the country by just three points with 10:28 left in the opening half despite being picked to lose by 23 points by the experts in Las Vegas.
But with either Sulaimon or Jones hounding the Quebec native the rest of the half, the Eagles went into a sudden drought, making one of their next 15 shots and committing four turnovers. Hanlan did not score a point in the stretch, nor did the team's leading scorer, Aaron Brown, who entered the game averaging 16.1 points per game. Brown was held scoreless in the first half.
After the Boston College drought, Duke took a 38-20 lead thanks to the length of its two 6-foot-5 reserve guards and never really looked back en route to an 85-62 victory.
"They were great from the time they came in—they did an amazing job," junior forward Amile Jefferson said. "[Sulaimon] was pressuring the ball like crazy and when we were getting stops, his emotion was just great. Matt [did] the same thing. That's big time for our team. We [all] feed off each other."
And just as James predicted Friday, once the duo was engaged on the defensive end and making plays, the rest fell into place. Each player scored five points, made a 3-pointer and had a steal in the first half. The duo also combined for four rebounds.
In the second half, Jones and Sulaimon helped stem the tide after Boston College made its first eight shots of the period with more tenacious defense and again saw the offense come as a result.
When the Eagles cut the lead to 10 with 14:41 left in the game, Jones answered with a corner 3-pointer just five seconds later after an advance pass from point guard Tyus Jones.
Later in the half, Sulaimon had one of his best sequences of the season when he hit a 3-pointer, found senior guard Quinn Cook for a triple of his own then canned another trey to extend the lead from 14 to 23 and put the game out of reach.
By game's end, Jones and Sulaimon accumulated 19 points, five 3-pointers, seven rebounds, three assists and the two first-half steals. Perhaps most importantly, Sulaimon committed just one turnover and looked more like the tenacious freshman that Duke fans grew accustomed to watching two seasons ago, infusing Cameron Indoor with energy.
Add in Plumlee's three points, six rebounds and four blocks and Saturday was by far the best performance by the bench since the Blue Devils' statement 80-70 win at then-No. 2 Wisconsin Dec. 3. It also showed how Duke can use its bevy of guards and strength of its frontcourt to match up with different personnel groups as ACC play continues—but it all starts with defense.
"We are a longer and taller perimeter and more athletic with [Jones and Sulaimon] in," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "At times when they're in with Marshall, Marshall can be an outstanding defender because he's a good athlete. He can play the ball screens differently than [Jahlil Okafor]. He can blitz them [or] trap them. It gives us a different look."
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