Duke hadn’t gone an entire game without making at least one 3-pointer since Dec. 30, 1989.
It looked like the Blue Devils were about to break that streak, until an unsurprising hero saved it.
With less than seven minutes remaining against Brown, Alex O’Connell sank a three, leading to roaring applause from the Cameron Crazies. He admitted after the game that he didn’t feel any pressure to make a three, because he wasn’t aware Duke was about to break a 1,070-game streak, which trails only UNLV and Vanderbilt.
But the shot did give O’Connell more confidence as Duke was finishing off the Bears, part of his season-high 14-point, four-rebound effort against Brown Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a relief seeing one go in and then you feel yourself kind of calm down and get loose,” O'Connell said. “Honestly, I feel like once I see the first one go in, I feel like the rest are going in after that.”
The three wasn’t O’Connell’s sole contribution to the game, yet he was the sole Duke player to hit a three (in fact, he hit two). He had an electric second half, leading the Blue Devils with 12 points and helping the team pull away from the scrappy Bears. This came after a tough first half, when O’Connell struggled to convert from deep and inside to go 0-for-5 from the field.
His game performance mirrored Duke’s as a team: the Blue Devils struggled to score in a closer-than-expected first half, but they found their groove after halftime.
Throughout the game, O’Connell looked more comfortable trying to create his own shot, whether it was taking a pull-up off the dribble or driving to the basket—despite going 0-for-3 at the rim.
The junior guard attributes his confidence with the ball to his work in practice.
“We compete a lot in practice against each other—we all go against each other in practice—so we’ve been making each other better since the season started and trying to translate it to the game,” O'Connell said.
The Roswell, Ga., native added more than just his shooting. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski said that two of the best passes of the game were when he drove down the baseline and delivered “bullet passes.” He also praised O’Connell for his rebounding with a unique metaphor.
“He was a key guy for us today, no doubt about it,” Krzyzewski said. “He had two huge defensive rebounds, and I thought that got him tougher. He was stronger with the ball because it wasn’t just ordering room service, he had to go buy his own food and have it served at the other end. That’s a hell of a thing.”
The veteran head coach did mention his scoring, though.
“Finding his shot and hitting his shot are two different things,” Krzyzewski noted. “The finding of his shot is not a problem. Alex is a good basketball player, and he came through this afternoon. With all these kids, it’s consistency.”
O’Connell has always been a shooting spark plug for Duke, though consistency has plagued him throughout his Duke career. After a hot start to the season, he suddenly cooled off, failing to score more than two points in six straight games. He’s recently bounced back though, scoring seven, nine and 14 points in his last three games.
“He’s always been capable of getting hot in a hurry,” senior captain Javin DeLaurier said. “He’s been doing a great job of trying to be consistent and coming into every game and giving us the best he’s got, which is all you can ask.”
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Jake Satisky was the Editor-in-Chief for Volume 115 of The Chronicle.