Beyond the arc: Duke basketball vs. Notre Dame

Fifth-seeded Duke suffered an overtime loss to fourth-seeded Notre Dame 84-79 Thursday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. The Blue Devils allowed a 16-point comeback in the second half and endured a long scoring drought from the field that let an unrelenting Fighting Irish offense push ahead and keep the lead.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

• Find the right defensive scheme: The Blue Devils packed in a 2-3 zone to keep Notre Dame out of the paint, but the setup proved fatal in the end of the second half and overtime, when the Fighting Irish hit five of its seven 3-pointers on the day. During the Notre Dame comeback, Duke lacked the defensive intensity it needed to lock down on defense and keep the Fighting Irish off the boards. Earlier in the game, the Blue Devils did a good job forcing turnovers, as Notre Dame coughed the ball up a season-high 18 times.
• Keep the ball out of the paint: Duke failed to execute in this area, allowing 38 of Notre Dame’s 79 points from inside the paint. The Blue Devils would have been fine had they matched the Fighting Irish's inside effort in their own front court, but foul trouble sent center Marshall Plumlee to the bench and brought Sean Obi into his first game since Jan. 23, leaving the chances of scoring bleak. Freshman Chase Jeter managed to contribute six of Duke's 24 points in the paint, but the failure to defend the Fighting Irish inside proved fatal for the Blue Devils late in the game. The low post duo of Zach Auguste and Bonzie Colson combined for 31 points and 34 rebounds against the wounded Duke frontcourt.
• Be patient offensively: The Blue Devil offense steadily built a 16-point lead, but finished regulation with just two field goals in 18 attempts, handing Notre Dame the opportunity to fight its way back into the game. Duke went scoreless for 7:29 in the second half, settling for several perimeter jump shots instead of pounding the ball inside as freshman Brandon Ingram and Plumlee had to play cautiously with four fouls.

Three key stats

• Zach Auguste dominates with 22 boards: Auguste was one of two Fighting Irish starters to notch 19 points on the game, but the senior forward also snatched a game-high 22 rebounds—half of the total for his team. The forward played a key role in his Notre Dame's comeback, finishing 8-of-14 from the field and staying on the floor despite four personal fouls for most of the second half.
• Blue Devils shoot 34.2 percent: Duke followed up a 52 percent shooting performance Wednesday against N.C. State with the team’s worst field goal percentage since a 30 percent outing Dec. 19 against Utah. Grayson Allen—the Blue Devils’ leading scorer with 27 points—went 7-of-21 from the floor despite starting the game 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Luke Kennard and Brandon Ingram went a combined 7-of-30 from the floor as Duke’s offensive effort crumbled in the final minutes of regulation.
• Eight players see floor for Duke: Although high numbers might seem like a good thing, the fact that head coach Mike Krzyzewski had to put in Obi with 8:30 left in the first half signaled a struggling Blue Devil squad. On the previous play, Plumlee attempted to draw a charge that was instead called a block, giving the graduate student his third personal foul. In the second half, Plumlee was forced to play despite his foul trouble, and he was not alone. Ingram and Jeter both had four fouls as well, effectively removing any ability for Duke’s biggest players to block shots on the defensive end for fear of fouling out. Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey’s squad took advantage, doubling its efforts to get the ball inside and eventually sending Plumlee and Ingram to the bench with their fifth fouls. 

Three key plays

• 1:05 remaining, first half: Chase Jeter extends a Duke lead to 10 points when he reaches up to grab an offensive rebound, then completes the put-back and the and-one opportunity. The freshman entered the huddle before the free throw, receiving a chest bump from Kennard and showing a surge of momentum in the Blue Devils' favor.
• 6:25 remaining, second half: Luke Kennard turns the ball over to forward Bonzie Colson, who takes it to the other end for a layup, prompting Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski to call a timeout with Duke ahead 64-58. The layup capped a 10-0 run for Notre Dame—part of its 14-0 surge to get back in the game.
• 1:07 remaining, second half: Notre Dame guard V.J. Beachem caps his team’s possession with a clean 3-pointer that ties the score at 70, sealing the Fighting Irish comeback and tying the game at 70. The triple was Beachem’s second straight after he had drained another with just less than to give his team a 67-66 advantage.

And the Duke game ball goes to.... Grayson Allen