Duke shouldn’t have only won this game by 8 points. They were cruising deep into the second half and seemed to be on their way to one of their easiest wins of the ACC season. However, as they’ve done some this year (see St. John’s), they took their foot off the gas and allowed a clearly inferior opponent to come back into the game.
Now, there were some bright spots. Mason Plumlee showed fight and hustle, getting to the line 9 times. Even more impressive, he dropped 8 of those free throws. For a player shooting a shade under 49% from the charity stripe, that is very impressive.
Quinn Cook got extended minutes (17) and showed the ability to get into the lane and create for his teammates. While he only had 3 assists, he’s the best player on the roster at getting the ball to his fellow Blue Devils in scoring position. If I were on the UNC coaching staff, I’d give Quinn more credit for his “team assists”.
Ryan Kelly was in full on White Raven mode, hitting 4 of 5 from deep and 5-6 from the free throw line for a game-high 23 points. Duke needs offense from more than just Austin Rivers and Seth Curry and while different guys seem to show up every game, Ryan Kelly’s shooting ability from the power forward position presents one of the biggest matchup problems for Duke’s opponents.
Miles Plumlee cleaned up on the glass again, grabbing 11 rebounds, 5 of them offensive. Duke only had 9 offensive rebounds in the game. Wake Forest only had 4. He is becoming a monster on the boards and Duke will (and has) needed that as their defense hasn’t been up to typical standards.
Duke shot 50% from the 3-point line. They DOUBLED their accuracy from deep when compared to the Virginia Tech game. That extra day of rest must have done some good, and the five day rest between now and UNC on Saturday to decide the ACC race will hopefully give Duke their shooters’ legs back.
Perimeter shots will have to go down in order for Duke to get the win this weekend and if not, Miles and Mason will need to grab the misses. That task will be tougher against UNC, the nation’s best rebounding team.
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