Duke Makes Its Point With Win Over Unbeaten Virginia

Imagine a game with hardly a fast break and only 14 total assists, having you in suspense for practically the entire 40 minutes. Well, that’s pretty much what happened in Duke’s exciting 72-70 win over Virginia, to the delight of the Cameron Crazies Saturday night.

In a low possession game played almost entirely on the half court, the Blue Devils managed to function just fine without freshman point guard, Tre Jones, while handing Virginia its first loss of the season. There were many (myself included) who thought Duke would struggle against Virginia’s stingy defense without Jones at the point, but it hardly mattered with gifted slashers RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson handling the ball most of the time and getting to the rim at will. With Michigan falling earlier in the day at Wisconsin, the short list of two unbeaten teams vanished in a matter of hours. At a time when parity in college basketball might just be at an all-time high, there is no dominant team around, with several who should be in the running to win a national title come March Madness.

Duke and Virginia are surely teams that will be in the mix. And if Saturday’s win over Virginia is any indication, Duke could be the team to beat in the NCAA’s if the Blue Devils’ improve their 3-point shooting. Imagine a team entering the week ranked No. 1 in the polls, with a 3-point shooting percentage that is 192nd in the country? As ESPN commentator Jay Bilas noted at one point during the first half, the Blue Devils will pretty much be unstoppable if their 3-point shooting ever comes along.

No argument here. On his way to a game-high 30 points, Duke star freshman RJ Barrett had some incredible finishes at the basket around and over a Virginia defense that might be the best in the country. Ditto that for the Blue Devils’ other star freshman Zion Williamson, who slashed and bulldozed his way to 27 points. The two combined for 57 of Duke’s 72 points. Is there another college team that enjoys the luxury of having two 6’7 wings (lefties nonetheless) who play like point guards and are such relentless finishers at the basket? Might be hard pressed to find a better slashing combo with this kind of size in the history of the NCAA.

Still, Barrett made just 1-of-6 attempts from the arc, and the Blue Devils’ best 3-point shooter, Cam Reddish, yet another talented freshman, also hit only 1-of-6. Barrett, the team’s leading scorer averaging 23.8 points, is probably the key to Duke overcoming its 3-point shooting challenges. He is second on the team in 3-point attempts behind Reddish (who’s shooting 35%) but has made only 31% for the season. And that percentage is considerably lower when playing against the top defensive teams. In Duke’s wins over Virginia and Texas Tech, two of the best defensive teams in the country, Barrett made just 1-of-13 from the arc. If Barrett can find a way to consistently make 3’s against the better teams, Duke’s chances of losing will be slim to none.

While on the topic of 3-point shooting, let’s give Duke credit for shutting down Virginia from the arc. The Wahoos entered the game 7th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage at 41%, but confused by Duke’s defensive scheme, they converted just 3-of-17. Mike Krzyzewski showcased his Hall of Fame coaching credentials with some savvy game preparation and late-game coaching decisions.

Coach K turned the absence of Jones at the point into an advantage on the defensive end by electing to switch all screens positions 1 through 5. Duke started a lineup of Barrett, Williamson, Reddish, Jack White, and Marques Bolden, ranging in height from 6’7 to 6’11, and all with the mobility to switch screens. With the smaller Jones in the lineup, Duke would not have been able to switch all five positions. Virginia’s blocker-mover motion offense came to a complete halt, especially the Wahoos’ ability to free up perhaps the ACC’s best shooter, Kyle Guy, for open 3’s coming off screens. Duke’s switching limited Guy to only 7 attempts from the arc — he made just 2 and one of those was meaningless in the closing minute.

Early in the second half, Virginia found success isolating forward De’Andre Hunter (18 points) and point guard Ty Jerome (14 points) for match-up advantages getting to the basket attacking the 6’11 Bolden on the Blue Devils’ ball screen switches. After trailing by five at halftime, the Wahoos tied the game midway through the half. With the Blue Devils’ switching defense losing its edge and Virginia scoring on almost every possession (so was Duke, with Barrett and Williamson going wild on the other end!), Coach K made a bold move and elected to go to a 2-3 zone. Knowing Virginia’s 3-point shooting percentage entering the game, this appeared to be a choice better suited for a Kamikaze pilot, but Coach K knew better. Duke’s switching man-to-man defense never allowed the Wahoos to get into a shooting groove, and as a result, they looked tentative when the Blue Devils switched to zone. Down the stretch, Guy missed two wide open 3’s, including one that would have tied the game at 63 with just a few minutes remaining.

All things considered, there was plenty of positives to be taken from the game for both teams. Duke and Virginia were limited in what they do best and made the proper adjustments like really good teams do. Probably the best team in the country playing in the open floor, Duke was able to run very little on a Virginia team that plays transition defense as well as anybody. But the Blue Devils were extremely efficient on the half court, a promising sign for such a young team, and created openings for Barrett and Williamson to drive on a defense that is outstanding in protecting the basket. “We moved their defense just enough to get driving lanes,” said Coach K. “But not every time.”

Meanwhile, with all the switching going on, Virginia could not execute its blocker-mover motion offense with much proficiency. Still, having to make adjustments on the run, Hunter and Jerome showed the surprising ability to make plays on their own, especially in the second half. Normally, a high assist and low turnover team with their methodical team-oriented offense, the Wahoos finished with just eight assists and as many turnovers. Which ended up pretty much a wash, as Duke had only six assists and eight turnovers as well.

No wonder by early in the second half, we had ESPN’s Bilas telling us on more than one occasion this was turning into a matchup of isolation offenses in a game that was probably a must win for Duke in the ACC. The Blue Devils, who have not won an ACC title outright since 2006, lost to Syracuse at home earlier in the week. Another loss at home would have put Duke two games behind the Wahoos heading into another showdown between the two teams at Virginia in three weeks. The Wahoos would have been in a strong position to capture their fourth regular-season ACC title in the last six years. Now, the ACC is up for grabs, and we anxiously await another game between these two great teams in a few short weeks.