Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs Boston College

Although it wasn't always pretty, No. 15 Duke came away with its first road win of the year with a 81-64 victory against Boston College. Despite struggling early in the game, the Blue Devils had a strong offensive showing in the second half and topped 80 points for the ninth time in their last 10 games. 

Revisiting the three keys to the game

• Catch fire from the perimeter: Duke's numbers from long range could be best described as putrid in the early going Saturday. The Blue Devils made just two of their first 11 3-point attempts and settled for contested outside jumpers. But junior Matt Jones and freshman Brandon Ingram knocked down seven of the team's eight threes and once they were able to see the ball go through the net, it opened up the floor for Duke to attack Boston College in a variety of ways as the game progressed. Despite a poor effort from outside, the Blue Devils still finished the game with a 55 percent shooting clip from the field. 
• Contain the top threat: If there was one player for the Eagles that had the potential to hurt Duke, it was Eli Carter. Although the graduate student faced foul trouble late in the game, he was all around the Blue Devils early and often. Carter led his team in both points and assists, finishing the game with 19 and five, respectively. He also turned the ball over just twice in 36 minutes of play, running the point for Boston College most of the afternoon. Carter mixed in baskets of his own with highlight-reel assists to some of his team's post players for easy scores.
• Get solid "footing" on the road: The biggest unknown of the afternoon was how Duke would handle its first true road affair of the season. With senior Amile Jefferson out indefinitely, the Blue Devils looked for consistent scoring from their top-ranked freshman class and got it. Ingram and guard Luke Kennard combined for 42 points—more than half of the team's total on offense. If the Blue Devils are to compete with the upper echelon of the conference, they will need their young studs to keep putting up big numbers.

Three key stats

• Teams combine for 32 turnovers in ugly contest: Duke and Boston College finished with 16 apiece in a sloppy start to conference play. For the Blue Devils, the backcourt was sluggish early and with the exception of Marshall Plumlee, all of the Duke starters registered at least three turnovers. After coming into the contest with only one turnover since Dec. 15, Ingram committed three turnovers Saturday. But the Eagles returned the favor and gave far too many chances to their opponent, allowing a total of 22 points off turnovers—many of which came in transition.
• 19-of-30 from the charity stripe for the Blue Devils: It was a uncharacteristic performance from the free-throw line Saturday afternoon. Plumlee made just 1-of-4 from the line and Kennard missed only his fifth free throw of the entire season. Although the poor performance didn't affect the end result of the game, Duke will have to stay sharp from the stripe against better opponents.
• Kennard finishes with 11 second-half points: The 6-foot-5 freshman made a major impact on the game despite struggling to put the ball through the net in the first half. After missing his first three 3-pointers, Kennard made five of his last six shots from the field and tallied 11 key second-half points, sparking a Duke offense that pulled away from Boston College in the early portion of the latter 20 minutes. Perhaps the most encouraging sign for Blue Devil fans was that Kennard was able to score in multiple ways, flashing his ability to hit from deep while also knocking down midrange jumpers off screens.

Three key plays

• 3:47 remaining, first half: Ingram's highlight reel added another play Saturday evening in the waning minutes of the first half. The Kinston, N.C., native caught the ball on the left elbow, crossing over his defender and driving down the lane. He finished the play with a nasty two-hand slam over a pair of Eagles defenders, sparking the Blue Devils' end-of-first-half run.
• 0:24 remaining, first half: Duke's late run was capped off by a pure effort play by Marshall Plumlee. After hedging out on a Boston College screen, the 7-footer was able to poke the ball away from center Dennis Clifford and sprawled out on the floor to retrieve it, pushing the ball ahead to Allen, who hammered a dunk home and gave Duke a 37-24 lead at the break.
• 4:22 remaining, second half: With the Eagles hanging around for much of the second half, the Blue Devils never seemed poised to really put the game away. But matched up one-on-one with a defender just beyond the arc, Ingram nailed a clutch three as the shot clock expired, putting Duke up by 16 and ensuring that the hosts would not sniff victory in the game's final minutes.

And the Duke game ball goes to....Brandon Ingram