Cooper Flagg has a slight scoring and facilitating edge, while Johni Broome is typically stronger on the boards. Diving further into the advanced analytics, is there a decided argument for one over the other?
The second half of Richardson’s senior season has disappointed relative to her expectations, but it is important to note that said expectations aren’t coming out of thin air. Earlier this season, she scored a career-high 35 points in an overtime victory over Oklahoma. In the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament last season, Richardson averaged 26.5 points and seven rebounds a game while shooting 58.3% from the floor. She has shown an ability to completely take over games with her midrange jumper, but it hasn’t been actualized over the back half of the 2024-25 season.
That positioning is apt, but I think it’s time to admit their “rivalry” is not equally yoked, even if the circumstances of their hiring and the programs they inherited are similar. This season is the most separated Duke and North Carolina have been in years: As Scheyer propels his Blue Devils toward their best shot at a national title since 2015, Davis’ Tar Heels are in danger of a second tournament snub in three years.
How has Flagg’s impact translated into advanced statistics? Specifically, how has he performed as a shooter, and which lineups have been the best for Duke’s young star?
The answer does not need to be a complete turn from the shot, but the Blue Devils have to start taking advantage of their top-tier defense and get inside on offense, rather than settle for 3-pointers.
I want to address wary fans with some good news. Amidst some sameness, there’s a change in this year’s Groundhog Day programming. To complement yet another top-ranked recruiting class, Duke added valuable pieces in the portal — Mason Gillis from Purdue, Sion James from Tulane, Maliq Brown from Syracuse — who will all likely see substantial minutes.
Flagg is widely projected to follow in Williamson’s footsteps by being selected first overall in next year’s NBA Draft, even before he’s played a single official minute of college basketball. Yet, the comparisons between Flagg and Williamson should end there. Not only are they two completely distinct players, but each arrived in Durham under wildly different circumstances.
I will accept a moral victory as good — great, even — for this version of Duke football. SMU came into Saturday’s contest as an 11.5-point favorite, and a win is a win, but it leaves Durham with significant questions. Meanwhile for the Blue Devils, there are wins to be salvaged in an otherwise heartbreaking loss.
Factoring in the general lack of high-end competition Duke has faced, things could go downhill fast when the Blue Devils play against more talented ACC opponents.
Analytics tell a largely positive story about Murphy through three games. However, in such a statistics-heavy sport like football, it’s never that simple. What is Murphy’s true impact on the Duke offense, and what is his ceiling at quarterback according to advanced statistics?
Despite the drastic changes in roster composition, Duke is positioned to go far — even more so than last year.
We throw around the term “players’ coach” a lot, but it's clear that Scheyer’s presence makes a difference and he clearly has his team’s respect.
The Blue Devils’ two-game skid is concerning. Nobody wants to enter March looking to rebound. But it’s important to consider the bigger picture: The actual crop of teams playing A-1 basketball right now is thin.
Their intensity has kept them competitive with highly ranked teams, stifling even some of the country’s strongest offensive efforts. From the beginning of the season, both fans and opponents of the Blue Devils recognized, and admired, this defensive prowess.
Fifteen-point deficits after eight minutes of play are not individual, and they are incredibly difficult to come back from. Scheyer’s squad was so close it could taste it — but it couldn’t quite cross that bridge. This was a whole-team loss, and you could feel it as you walked into the locker room.
If, for the sake of argument, you put aside the Final Four classic in April 2022, when was the last time that these two teams met in the regular season with the stakes as high as they will be Saturday night? The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are playing for more than bragging rights this time around.
From his hiring, when he said that “now is the time for Duke football,” Elko was supposed to be the guy to bring the Blue Devils into national prominence. But he nonetheless decided to leave, and leaves a complicated question behind him. What now?
Duke optimists might purport this road loss as a hiccup in the early part of a season that has plenty of time to turn itself around and become a successful one. Or maybe, Duke is, in its current form, far from contending with the wide world of college basketball that exists away from the Atlantic coast.
On Nov. 20, Elko said “We’re probably about 13 days away from complete anarchy and the Wild West. It’s literally open free agency for all of college football.” With his departure, that statement could not be any more true than right now in Durham.
The Blue Devils currently sit having regressed to their historic mean. Duke went from a potential marquee postseason matchup to a middling one. The season, for all intents and purposes, is over.
