The No. 2 Blue Devils shot out of the gate early and used one of their best shooting nights of the year to rout Notre Dame 83-61 Monday. The Blue Zone gives you three takeaways, three stats, and breaks down what lies ahead on the schedule:
Three key takeaways:
1. Duke sprints out of the gate
The start of last week’s game against Georgia Tech was anything but pretty on the offensive end, but Mike Krzyzewski made sure his team was ready at the start of a short week, and the Blue Devils tore through the Fighting Irish’s defense to build a 26-7 lead halfway through the first half. Duke made sure to quiet the crowd early, and Notre Dame never led.
2. Marques Bolden shines again
Bolden has taken on a major role as conference play has heated up, and Monday night in South Bend, Ind., was no different. The DeSoto, Texas native pitched in eight points and seven rebounds, but it was his effort on the defensive end was what impressed. Bolden helped hold All-ACC candidate John Mooney to just 4-15 from the field and never let the big man get into a rhythm.
3. Blue Devils struggle to box out
Duke struggled to keep the Fighting Irish off the offensive glass, giving up 18 offensive rebounds on the night. Luckily, Notre Dame was only able to translate that to 15 second chance points, but the Blue Devils should look to tighten up their rebounding moving forward.
Three key stats:
1. 10-of-19 from 3-point range for Duke
After lousy shooting performances against Syracuse and Georgia Tech, most people thought the blueprint on how to beat Duke had been leaked. The Blue Devils proved that they can be effective from outside though as R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Alex O’Connell led the team to 52.6 percent from beyond the arc on the evening. It marked the first time all year that Duke had eclipsed 50 percent shooting from deep.
2. One field goal attempt for Jack White
Heavily criticized after an 0-of-10 outing against Syracuse, White continues to fade out of the offensive picture, as he took just one shot Monday. The junior’s offensive usage has rapidly fallen since that loss to the Orange, and the Blue Devils will need White to be effective and willing to shoot if they want to reach their goals this year.
3. Zion knocks down 10 of his 12 attempts
Zion Williamson once again put on a dazzling display, shooting an effective 83.3 percent from the floor. The outing against the Irish was the fourth time in eight ACC games that the freshman shot above 80 percent from the floor.
Looking Forward:
The Blue Devils will take the floor at Cameron Indoor for a Saturday noon tip off once again as they host St. John’s. Duke will look to avoid another slow start like last week against Georgia Tech and win their 147th consecutive home non-conference game. The last time the Blue Devil’s lost against a non-ACC foe in Cameron? When an unranked Red Storm team beat the No. 2 Blue Devils in February of 2000.
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