Five observations from Duke men's basketball's first half against Virginia Tech

<p>Cam Reddish has been a consistent force from beyond the arc for Duke.</p>

Cam Reddish has been a consistent force from beyond the arc for Duke.

BLACKSBURG, Va.— Duke’s first half against Virginia Tech was a grudge match, as neither team shied away from the big lights, making tough shot after tough shot. The Blue Devils head into the locker room against Virginia Tech trailing 37-34. Here are five observations from the first half of play:

Player of the half: Cam Reddish

There wasn’t a breakout half for any of the Blue Devils, but freshman Cam Reddish played an important role in keeping Duke in the game. The Norristown, Pa., native sunk two 3-pointers and went 5-for-7 from the field, keeping the Hokies’ defense honest and opening up the lane for the rest of the Blue Devils. Reddish is not usually asked to take on a leading scorer role, but with fellow freshman R.J. Barrett not playing up the par, Reddish did a good job of picking up the slack.

A back and forth affair

Neither team could take control of the game early on, as the lead changed constantly  throughout the opening minutes. Both offenses were cooking, as most opposing baskets were answered quickly and surely to keep the game close. The two teams did not miss many shots in the first period which led to a quick pace to begin the game. 

Duke utilizes a never before seen lineup

In the middle of the first half, head coach Mike Krzyzewski put in five players Duke hasn’t really seen on the floor together as of yet—an interesting group consisting of freshmen Tre Jones and Joey Baker, sophomore Alex O’Connell and juniors Marques Bolden and Jack White. This squad, without Reddish and Barrett was somewhat successful despite how strange it was, as the better-than-usual spacing for Duke was good enough to get Marques Bolden good looks down low.

R.J. Barrett has a quiet half

Many expected Barrett to be the focal point of Duke’s offense, especially with freshman Zion Williamson out for the second full game in a row due to injury. However, Barrett was held scoreless until the 15th minute of the game, and was nowhere to be seen for most of the half. He shot 1-of-7 from the field and did not look comfortable against the Hokies’ defense.

Duke careless with the ball

In an uncharacteristic outing for Duke, the team coughed up the ball seven times in the first half, allowing Virginia Tech to control possession and dictate the game speed. Jones, who is near the top of the country in his assists to turnovers ratio, gave up the ball three times to just four assists—not a great statistic for the usually intelligent starting point guard.

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