The Blue Devils have relied on their lengthy matchup zone to fuel a nine-game winning streak, but to earn their first ACC road win they will have to knock off another team that also has not allowed 70 points in more than a month.
Coming off a 58-55 win against No. 8 Louisville—its third top-20 win this season—No. 13 Duke will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion Thursday at 7 p.m. Although the Yellow Jackets have won their last two games against the Blue Devils sparked by their defense, Duke is in the top 10 nationally in both field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense led by star guards Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown.
But after faltering in a hostile road environment Nov. 20 at Vanderbilt, the Blue Devils still have something to prove in their first road test since early December.
“What’s really important for a great team is to remember that momentum is something created daily,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “[It’s created by] making the things that they like to do difficult, exploiting any weaknesses we can find, rebounding the ball, defending and playing good offense off each other.”
The Yellow Jackets (11-3, 0-1 in the ACC) did not face any ranked teams in nonconference play before hosting No. 7 Notre Dame Monday. Georgia Tech fell 55-38, but its ability to slow down the Fighting Irish offense has caught the Blue Devils' attention on film.
If the Yellow Jackets can contain Greenwell and Brown, who average 36.6 points per contest together and are by far Duke's most efficient long-range shooters, Georgia Tech could easily stay close and pull the upset.
“They force you into quick shots and some bad shots,” McCallie said. “They’re very physical so they contest in the paint. The key is to move the basketball and make them defend…. They are good disruptors. They change their defense a lot so having a strong IQ and paying attention on the floor are things that we want to do.”
The Blue Devils have avoided the debilitating turnovers that plagued them the last few years so far this year, and will look for another steady performance to notch the road win. When Duke (13-1, 1-0) gets shots on most of its possessions, the Blue Devils are lethal, shooting better than 50 percent during their nine-game winning streak to lead the ACC in shooting from the field and 3-point range.
With Brown and Greenwell stars capable of erupting in any contest and sophomore Kyra Lambert providing consistent point guard play, Duke's main question mark seems to be interior scoring. Although the senior tandem of Oderah Chidom and Kendall Cooper does not do a lot of scoring, both have shown an aptitude for finishing plays inside to keep defenses honest.
Versatile forward Leaonna Odom has started in place of Cooper during the past three games, averaging 4.3 points per contest in that stretch, and Cooper and junior Erin Mathias have also played consistently inside.
“I don’t worry about [Odom's scoring] too much,” McCallie said. “[Odom] has been in great condition and she’s a really quick, fast, athletic player, but I feel really confident about all of our folks. Stepping up and rebounding—that’ll be the most important thing for our post players, but I feel like we have great depth down there.”
For now, it seems that Odom will likely remain with the starters and McCallie will ride the hot hand, as she did Monday when Cooper added toughness against Louisville.
“I probably will go with the same group,” McCallie said.
Led by junior forward Zaire O’Neil, who averages 11.0 points to go along with 4.2 rebounds per contest, and the 10.5 points and 2.8 assists per game of junior point guard Imani Tilford, the Yellow Jackets hope to muster enough offense to complement their effective defense.
But the Blue Devils have keyed into an effective defensive system of their own as of late, utilizing their suffocating matchup zone defense against Louisville to hold the high-scoring Cardinals to 39.7 percent shooting from the field and 19 turnovers.
Duke now leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense and blocked shots.
“We play a lot of man, a lot of matchup…we try to tap into all of our strengths and I love that we’re developing a defensive identity,” McCallie said.
The Blue Devils will look to keep rolling Thursday before a Sunday showdown at No. 6 Florida State. After missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994 last year, Duke has built an excellent body of work so far this season, and now has the chance to add quality road victories.
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