Despite trailing by two points at halftime, Duke ended up blowing out Boston College with a 80-55 victory. The Blue Zone breaks down three key takeaways, three key stats and looks forward for the Duke squad:
Three key takeaways:
1. Cam Reddish is the key to breaking zone defenses
The reason Duke struggled to maintain a comfortable lead over an obviously outmatched Eagle squad in the beginning of the game was clear to everyone watching - the Blue Devils could not find the bottom of the net against the zone defense. The Blue Devils shot a putrid 31.6 percent from the field in the first period which resulted in just 28 points heading into the locker room at halftime. However, freshman Cam Reddish caught fire from downtown in the second half, which seemed to break open Boston College’s 2-3 zone and open lanes for the rest of the Blue Devils. After posting a 1-of-6 shot chart from deep in the first half, Reddish made the next three of his five 3-pointers to energize his team and spread the floor. This allowed Duke to take a commanding lead in the beginning of the second half and keep it for the rest of the game.
Most of Duke’s ACC opponents have opted to defend the Blue Devils in a zone, which has been somewhat successful due to Duke’s inconsistency from long range, however, if Reddish can keep his shooting hand hot, Duke will have an easier time beating zones moving forward.
2. No one can stop Zion Williamson from doing what he wants
Some would say freshman Zion Williamson’s game against Boston College was relatively tame for his standards - with a final statline of 16 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and four steals. Forget the fact that Williamson nearly executed an all-time in-game dunk, and forget the fact that Williamson locked down ACC stud Ky Bowman for a play and blocked his jumper, and you would still see a dominating performance from the Spartanburg, S.C. native. Even when it seemed like a rebound was sure to be corralled in by a nearby Boston College player, Williamson occasionally exploded to grab the offensive board and put it back for easy second chance points. Williamson’s athleticism and guard-like touch around the rim has made him virtually unguardable in the ACC and the rest of the country.
3. Tre Jones has another outstanding defensive performance
For the second game in a row, freshman Tre Jones faced a tough matchup against a seasoned point guard most heralded as scoring machines. For the second game in a row, Jones held that “scoring machine” to numbers much lower than his season averages. After holding Shamorie Ponds scoreless for an entire half last Saturday, Jones came out against Boston College’s Ky Bowman and locked in on defense, forcing him into bad shots and an uncomfortability handling the ball. Jones’ elite defense resulted in Bowman scoring just 11 points, a season low for the third best scorer in the ACC, on 29.4 percent shooting from the field. Jones has shown Blue Devil nation that it doesn’t take monster dunks or a knack for scoring to make a big impact on the game.
Three Key Stats:
1. 1-15 from deep in the first half
Duke again put its biggest weakness on display against the Eagles, with a terrible 1-15 3-point shot chart for the first period. Reddish was the only player to make a 3-pointer during that half, and it wasn’t because his teammates weren’t shooting. Boston College’s zone gave up many uncontested long range shots that just didn’t go in for the Blue Devils, and it once again shows why the zone defense could be the kryptonite to an otherwise unstoppable team.
2. 22 chances at the charity stripe
One thing that brought the Blue Devils back into the game was their aggressiveness to attack the pait time and time again. Duke shot the ball 22 times from the free throw line and made 15 of them, and while 68.2 is not the best percentage for a category of free points, because of how many times the Blue Devils got to the line, it worked itself out as a main contributor to Duke’s dominance.
3. 18 missed 3-pointers from Jack White
Junior captain Jack White has not looked like the same player since Duke’s devastating loss to Syracuse just a few weeks back, and his play has been alarming to say the least. Since the Syracuse defeat, White has averaged just 1.3 points per game and after missing both of his 3-point attempts against the Eagles, he has now missed 18 consecutive long range shots. As a leader for a young squad and the second best shooter on the team, Duke needs him to get out of whatever shooting slump he is in and knock down his open shots.
Looking Forward:
The Blue Devils finished off another conference victory, and will now travel to Charlottesville for a rematch with No. 3 Virginia this Saturday in what looks to be another college hoops classic.
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