They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details—and numbers.
Each week, the Blue Zone will dissect five key numbers from last week's action in Duke sports, whether they be historic or underwhelming. This week, let the numbers take you inside two more wins for Blue Devil men's basketball and football's return to the postseason.
0
So far, no team in the country has been better on offense than the Blue Devils. According to basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings, Duke has been better than even No. 4 Villanova, which has already dropped 90-plus points in four games. On the defensive end, however, the Blue Devils are clearly not as stellar, ranking No. 53 overall. In all, the efficiency numbers aren’t that far off from last year’s, when, Duke ranked No. 6 in offensive efficiency and No. 47 in defensive efficiency.
54
In a 72-52 loss at the hands of No. 5 South Carolina on Sunday, the Blue Devils surrendered a whopping 54 points in the paint—more than they scored in total. Erin Mathias and Duke’s post players couldn’t slow the Gamecocks down low. With much of the attention paid to All-American A'Ja Wilson in the post, senior Alexis Jennings cashed in with 21 points and 10 boards, while Wilson turned it on in the second half with Erin Mathias in foul trouble to finish with 18 points and ten boards. The post domination was too much for a Blue Devil team that made just one three and got 8-of-22 shooting from its star guards Lexie brown and Rebecca Greenwell to overcome.
Find out the whole story—South Carolina's strong frontcourt duo overwhelms Duke women's basketball in the paint
13
After being quiet for most of the season, sophomore forward Javin DeLaurier broke out for a career-high 13 points. In just 15 minutes of play against South Dakota on Saturday, DeLaurier nearly picked up a double-double with nine boards. After playing a combined 22 minutes against Indiana and then-No. 7 Florida, DeLaurier could figure to see more minutes in the rotation going forward.
Find out the whole story—Javin DeLaurier scores career-high 13 points in effective game off the bench for Duke
5
After playing in bowl games just eight times from 1939 to 2011, Duke will play in its fifth bowl game in six years when it travels to Detroit Dec. 26 to take on Northern Illinois in the Quick Lane Bowl. After losing the first three bowls of the Cutcliffe era, the Blue Devils beat Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl in 2015 before missing out on the postseason in 2016 with a 4-8 finish.
Find out the whole story—Start your engines: Duke football to face Northern Illinois in Quick Lane Bowl
50
With Rebecca Quinn back on the field in 2017, Duke women’s soccer made had a nearly 50 percent better shot-to-goal ratio—in part due to her prowess at setting up good shots for her teammates. With her on the field, the Blue Devils hadn’t lost a game since the 2015 national championship—until falling in the Final Four to No. 2 UCLA in a shootout.
Find out the whole story—Olympian Rebecca Quinn entering final weekend of best Duke women's soccer career ever?
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.