2/15/2019 basketball Edit

Scouting Duke

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

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Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils host NC State at 6 p.m. Saturday. (USA Today Sports)

Duke has a miracle comeback win against a top 16 squad under its belt and poured one out from three-point range to beat another top five program. Both games were on the road. And that is just in the last week.

The No. 2-ranked Blue Devils had a stunning display to take down then No. 3-ranked Virginia 81-71 in Charlottesville on Feb. 9. Duke shot an amazing 57.8 percent from the field and 13 of 21 on three-pointers.

When it appeared Duke had the proverbial letdown game at Louisville on Tuesday, the Blue Devils roared back from a 23-point deficit to win 71-69 against the No. 16-ranked Cardinals. Duke improved to 22-2 overall and 10-1 in the ACC.

Duke's four freshmen of forward Zion Williamson, wings R.J. Barrett and Cameron Reddish and point guard Tre Jones have become the biggest show in college basketball.

NC State is its next opponent in the lone meeting between the Tobacco Road rivals at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. The Wolfpack have won their last two games to improve to 18-7 overall and 6-6 in the league.

Here is a breakdown of Duke:

Season Overview

Duke has only lost two games, and one of them was due in part to illness and injuries.

The Blue Devils lost 89-87 to Gonzaga on Nov. 21, and then fell in overtime 95-91 against Syracuse on Jan. 14. Freshman wing Cameron Reddish missed that Orange game with the flu and freshman point guard Tre Jones got injured six minutes into the contest. Duke also shot a miserable 9 of 43 on three-pointers against SU.

Duke blew out Kentucky in the season opener Nov. 6, and has also topped Auburn, Indiana and Texas Tech. The Blue Devils have swept Virginia, and has wins over Florida State and that miraculous comeback win against Louisville this past Tuesday.

Rankings

In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, through games of Feb. 14, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 2 in the country. KenPom.com has Duke at No. 1, and ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has Blue Devils at No. 3.

The Blue Devils are ranked No. 2 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

For comparison, NC State is 22nd in BPI, 31st in NET, 39th in Kenpom.com and 107th in RPI.

Shooting

Duke is second in the ACC at 48.4 percent, just a tad behind Virginia Tech in field-goal percentage, but the Blue Devils aren’t a good three-point shooting team this season. Duke is languishing at 13th in the league at 31.6 percent on three-pointers this season. However, the Blue Devils shot lights out on three-pointers at Virginia.

Reddish leads the starters at 34.8 percent on three-pointers, with Barrett at 33.8 percent. Reddish has made at least three three-pointers in 13 games this season, including going 7 of 13 from beyond the arc for 25 points in a 94-72 win over Army on Nov. 11.

Further showing that shooting is not Duke's strength however is the fact that the Blue Devils is last in the ACC at the free throw line (68.0 percent).

Rebounding

The dominance of Williamson has Duke second in the ACC in rebounding margin at plus-6.7, and are second behind UNC at 42.1 rebounds per game. The Blue Devils lead the league at 14.0 offensive rebounds per game, just ahead of NC State, and are second in defensive rebounding.

Defense

Duke has one of its best defensive teams in years, allowing 65.6 points per game, which is good for sixth in the ACC. The Blue Devils’ are second behind Virginia in having opponents shoot 38.7 percent from the field, and third in the league in allowing 29.7 percent on three-point field-goal percentage.

Three Duke players are averaging at least two steals per game — Williamson, Reddish and Jones — and Williamson and junior center Marques Bolden are combining for 3.9 blocks per game, plus junior Jack White is chipping in 1.2 blocks per contest.

Depth

Duke is playing four players off the bench, but the falloff from the starters is telling. White, junior post player Javin DeLaurier, sophomore guard Alex O’Connell and sophomore point guard Jordan Goldwire have been the main reserves. White leads the way at 4.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per contest. DeLaurier has started in the past and is averaging 3.6 points and 3.5 rebound per game.

O’Connell and Goldwire, both guards from Georgia, provide different strengths. Goldwire is adept on the defensive end, and O’Connell is shooting 36.7 percent on three-pointers.

Star Watch

Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson is averaging 22.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. (USA Today Sports)

There was a time where Williamson wasn’t considered a phenomenon in high school. His hype went to an entirely new level after his junior year at Spartanburg (S.C.) Day.

Williamson had unofficially visited NC State twice, including coming to a Primetime With The Pack with his mother. His father played football at NC State and Livingstone, and his step-father was a basketball player at Clemson. He eventually picked Duke over Clemson, Kansas, Kentucky and others, and he became a national sensation with over 1.3 million followers on Instagram.

Rivals.com ranked Williamson at No. 5 in the country in the class of 2018 after an injury-plagued senior year. He is now projected to go No. 1 in the NBA Draft this June.

Williamson is averaging 22.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and an impressive 2.0 blocks per game. He is shooting a ridiculous 68 percent from the field and is 14 of 47 on three-pointers for 29.8 percent.

He has scored at least 11 points in every single game, topped 20 points in 15 contests and has 10 double-doubles for points and rebounds. The blocked shots have been surprising, and he has 16 rejections over his last six games.

Likely starters:

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Jr., 10.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.0 spg)

SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 195, R-Jr., 12.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 spg)

G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Soph., 10.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.8 apg)

F — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 13.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 33 Wyatt Walker (6-9, 240, R-Jr., 5.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg)

Duke

PG — 3 Tre Jones (6-2, 183, Fr., 8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.4 apg, 2.0 spg)

SG — 5 R.J. Barrett (67, 202, Fr., 22.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.0 spg)

SF — 2 Cameron Reddish (6-8, 218, Fr., 14.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.1 spg, 2.0 spg)

PF — 1 Zion Williamson (6-7, 285, Fr., 22.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 spg, 2.0 spg)

C — 20 Marques Bolden (6-11, 250, Jr., 5.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.9 bpg)

Stats To Watch

Don’t forget about R.J. Barrett: For all the hype about Williamson, Barrett has an interesting stat of note, becoming the second fastest Duke player under coach Mike Krzyzewski to reach 500 points, trailing only J.J. Redick, who needed 19 games in 2005-06.

Barrett has 544 points on the season, and in October he was the one expected to go No. 1 in the NBA Draft in June. He also was the Rivals.com No. 1-ranked player in the class of 2018, after he made the move from the 2019 class. The 6-7, 202-pounder from Mississauga, Ontario, has scored at least 13 points in every game, and has reached 30 or more in four contests.

Williamson's shooting: This is easier said than done. Williamson is challenging to set the ACC record for best field-goal percentage in a season. He is currently at 68.0 percent, which trails the mark set by former UNC center Brendan Haywood, who shot 69.7 percent in 1999-00. He would break Jahlil Okafor’s freshman record of 66.4 percent, which he set for Duke in 2014-2015.

Williamson is the only player in the country to average at least 20 points and shot over 65 percent from the field. He currently is 10th in the country in field-goal percentage, with UCF 7-6 center Tacko Fall leading at 75.6 percent.

Tre Jones a factor on defense: Duke freshman point guard Tre Jones has held 14 players below their season average for points per game. He locked up both St. John’s Shamorie Ponds and Boston College’s Ky Bowman, holding the high-scoring guard duo to 8 of 28 for 11 points. Ponds is averaging 20.5 points per game and Bowman is right behind at 20. Jones will likely guard NCSU junior point guard Markell Johnson.

Game Within The Game: Braxton Beverly vs. Tre Jones

Duke freshman point guard Tre Jones has made his mark on the defensive end this season. (USA Today Sports)

NC State likes to switch along the perimeter, but it will be interesting to see what happens with sophomore guard Braxton Beverly. At a listed 6-0 and 180 pounds, it could be hard to have guard either Barrett or Reddish, leaving junior point guard Markell Johnson with that task.

The 6-2, 183-pound Jones isn’t an easy matchup either, but he isn’t as offensive-minded as past Duke point guards. The former No. 14 overall player in the country by Rivals.com is averaging 8.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Jones, who is the younger brother of former Duke point guard Tyus Jones, has reached double figures in 10 games. He was a good scorer in high school, but has taken a pass-first approach with the Blue Devils. He had a season-high 17 points against Gonzaga. Jones has struggled on three-pointers, going 12 of 45 from beyond the arc for 26.7 percent. He has limited his turnovers to just 26 this season.