After playing just twice in the last 25 days and taking a nine-day break for Christmas, Duke can finally return to the rhythm of the season.
With the No. 9 Blue Devils’ last high-profile nonconference test behind them, two tune-up games remain before conference play opens Jan. 4 against Notre Dame. The first is against Eastern Michigan at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday at 2 p.m.
Although Duke's penultimate nonconference test will serve get the team back into the swing of consistent competition, it will serve as a primer for the Blue Devils' two ACC matchups with second-ranked Syracuse this season. Head coach Rob Murphy was an assistant under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse from 2004-11 and brought with him the Orange’s 2-3 zone to Eastern Michigan. Like Syracuse, the Eagles use their length to block shots, create turnovers, and force opponents to shoot many 3-pointers.
“Their zone is very good. Over the past few years, since Rob Murphy’s been there, they’ve been one of the better teams in the country in field goal percentage defense,” Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel said. “Their zone is very, very active. They get a lot of deflections, a lot of steals, and they force you to play on your heels.”
The Eagles’ 2-3 zone limited teams to only 59.1 points per game last season, thanks largely in part to Syracuse transfer Da'Shonte Riley. The 7-footer averaged 2.0 blocks per game a year ago and has become even more of a presence this season, averaging 3.8 blocks along with 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. He is joined in the frontcourt by Arkansas transfer Glenn Bryant, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who averaged 10.6 points per game last season and is an outstanding interior defender.
Duke (9-2) has faced a number of different zone defenses throughout nonconference play and came away with varying degrees of success. With ACC expansion introducing more teams that favor zone looks into the conference, this serves as useful preparation for the Blue Devils.
“You have to penetrate it, whether that’s off the dribble or whether that’s on a pass and guys have to be ready to shoot,” Capel said. “I think we’ve done a better job of attacking zones since the Vermont game.”
Playing against the zone, Duke will hope to improve on its 3-point shooting from its last game against UCLA, when the Blue Devils shot just 34 percent. Redshirt senior Andre Dawkins and junior Quinn Cook, who have been two of the team's more reliable long-range shooters this season, combined to hit just 3-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc.
“An effective zone makes you stand up and put the ball over your head instead of attacking. Sometimes it makes you play out a little bit further on the floor than you want to,” Capel said. “We have to be strong with the ball, we have to be strong with our passes, we have to be strong when we drive, and we have to take rhythm shots.”
Going up against a mid-major opponent with what Capel described as a "high-major frontcourt," rebounding will be a major priority for Duke against Eastern Michigan (7-3). After being their Achilles’ heel earlier in the season, the Blue Devils have significantly improved on the glass of late. Duke has won the battle of the boards in each of its last three games.
The Blue Devils have also shown improvement on the defensive end of the floor. Heading into the game against UCLA, the Bruins ranked third in points per game at 89.1. The Blue Devils held UCLA to only 63 points and one of the country’s most explosive scorers, Jordan Adams, to just 10 points. Against Eastern Michigan, Duke will be faced with stopping junior forward Karrington Ward, who enters play leading the team at 15.4 points per contest.
“He’s a guy that’s a tremendous 1-on-1 player, but he can also catch and shoot and he’s a good offensive rebounder," Capel said. "He can score in a lot of different ways. He can hurt you in transition, behind the arc, mid range and he can post. The main thing is that he’s such a hungry scorer."
Although freshman Jabari Parker continues to make his case as the country’s top player and redshirt sophomore Rodney Hood and Cook remain at the forefront of the Blue Devils’ success, it has been the team's two sophomores who have stepped up as of late. Rasheed Sulaimon and Amile Jefferson lost their starting spots to senior captains Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston early in the season and saw their minutes drop drastically. After not playing against Michigan and recording only five minutes against Gardner-Webb, Sulaimon played 18 minutes and scored eight points versus UCLA. Jefferson grabbed 10 rebounds, five of which were offensive, in just 12 minutes against Gardner-Webb and found his offensive touch and continued his improved rebounding against UCLA, recording 11 points and seven rebounds.
“[Against UCLA,] Amile Jefferson was terrific and Rasheed Sulaimon came in and played very, very well for us,” Capel said. “Two guys that in the beginning of the year, we thought would be starters for us, those guys remain steadfast, continue to work, and came up very big for us.”
Daniel Carp contributed in reporting.
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