Basketball is a fast-paced sport. Possession changes hands in an instant. Momentum snowballs. The winner is the team that controls this chaos.
No. 7 Duke wields pace as a weapon — able to speed up or slow down play at will. In order to control a game’s tempo, though, you need to possess the ball. As such, a victory on the glass often means a victory on the scoresheet.
The Blue Devils embodied this philosophy against Army Friday, making full use of an overwhelming size advantage to dictate the pace of play. By game’s end, the Blue Devils had amassed 18 more rebounds than their opponents with 50 total, 17 of which were on the offensive end.
“We rebounded the ball really well in the first half and that sort of set our tempo,” junior Tyrese Proctor said.
All five guys on the court made a point of boxing out, jockeying for position and coming down with the loose ball. From the tip, Duke was able to convert this rebounding edge into production on the offensive end.
Although it was a team effort, the Blue Devils’ rebounding performance was undoubtedly spearheaded by the freshman duo of Khaman Maluach and Cooper Flagg. Each posted a double-double on the night, controlling the game on both ends.
“I just went and did my job,” Maluach said. “It's a different game, but I feel like I'm catching up.”
And his job he did. Maluach went on to grab 14 boards on the night, six of which came on the offensive end. His ability to rise up for a putback or restart the possession with a kick up top proved to be a difference maker for Duke, affording it a lion’s share of the ball. Flagg would add 11 rebounds to this tally, meaning that the two freshmen accounted for half of the Blue Devils’ total in that category.
As important as rebounding is, though, it doesn’t tell the full story of Duke’s dominance. Such an overwhelming height advantage permeates all aspects of the game, even those not represented in a box score. For the shorter team, an air of discomfort settles in — offensively and defensively. Passing windows shrink down, the paint becomes nigh inaccessible and high-percentage looks become low-percentage looks. A closeout comes quicker, help arrives faster and all else held equal, height is an infallible advantage in the game of basketball.
“That will be one of our strengths throughout the year, so we're really trying to learn how to use it to our advantage,” Sion James said about his team’s height advantage. “So today, we did a better job being in the gaps with our arms out, just making their life hard.”
This length on defense, coupled with an insurmountable advantage on the boards, allowed the Blue Devils to hold the Black Knights to a mere 20 points in the first half.
“I was happy with what we did overall … particularly the first-half defense. To hold them to 20 points is great,” head coach Jon Scheyer said.
Offensively, the rebounding edge was critical, especially in the first 10 minutes of the game. Duke used its size effectively on the offensive glass, able to mask an abysmal showing from deep by resetting the possession and converting on second chances. The team made just 18% of its 3-point attempts through that period, a stat usually indicative of a losing effort. However, the Blue Devils’ persistence on the glass allowed them to weather this dry spell while maintaining a lead, and run away with the game when the shots began to fall.
In essence, the height difference between the two sides plays no small part in explaining Duke’s dominant victory against Army. Length from one-to-five afforded the Blue Devils some leeway on both ends of the floor, with the team’s rebounding effort preventing the Black Knights from ever establishing a real foothold in this blowout win.
It was a confident showing befitting the taller side, with potential implications for the rest of the season. With every player in the rotation at or above 6-foot-5, this Duke roster is among the tallest in the nation. The Blue Devils have an exceedingly deep roster for this campaign, and they don’t lose much in the height department when they decide to go to the bench. One would be hard-pressed to find a matchup in which Duke was not the bigger side throughout, able to impose its will in a similar fashion.
Scheyer’s squad will hope to control the glass in its first real test against No. 23 Kentucky on Tuesday, aiming to leave Atlanta with a ranked win.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.