Since their disappointing loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils have strung together back-to-back victories over quality opponents, the VCU Rams and the Georgetown Hoyas. More impressive than their victories over these two teams, however, has been the play of Grayson Allen, who scored 30 and 32 points in each of these games, respectively. Duke looks to have shaken off their early-season defeat and come out stronger than ever.
Next up for the Blue Devils is sneaky difficult matchup with the Yale Bulldogs at home. Sure, Yale does not seem like the kind of team Duke should worry about, but the Bulldogs were picked to win the Ivy League in the preseason media poll. In the past, we have all seen what Ivy League winners can do to top teams in the NCAA tournament, so it will be extremely important for Duke to come out strong and avoid overlooking this talented team.
After shooting 40.7 percent in last Tuesday’s 74-63 loss to current No. 1 Kentucky in Chicago, the Blue Devils (4-1) shot 48.6 percent against VCU and the Hoyas to win the event. Despite Georgetown shooting 54.9 percent and owning a 34-24 advantage in the paint and forwards Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee fouling out, Duke went 28 of 36 from the free-throw line and received another stellar effort from Grayson Allen.
After going 2 of 11 for six points against Kentucky, the sophomore guard earned tournament MVP honors by scoring 30 on VCU and 32 against the Hoyas. Averaging 24.4 points after playing 9.2 minutes per game last season, Allen went 18 of 27 from the field and hit 9 of 14 3-point attempts in those two games.
With Allen and Plumlee beginning their first seasons as full-time starters and prized freshmen Brandon Ingram and Derryck Thornton also expected to provide major contributions, the Blue Devils have plenty to learn.
At least in the eyes of their coach. “All these guys have to be given an opportunity to grow,” Krzyzewski said. “They’re all adjusting … We’re a good team. We hope to be a really good team, but we’re not this juggernaut.” [Editorial Comment (My Opinion Only)]: I find it curious that Krzyzewski mentions “all” when Sean Obi has only averaged 3.0 MPG through five games. Many have questioned his talent. This is a fair observation. One might ask, given the other recruits in the bag for 2016 & 2017, just why did Krzyzewski offer him a scholarship. Krzyzewski does not offer scholarships to untalented players, with Justin Robinson being a possible exception. During Obi’s year at Rice, he averaged 26.4 MPG, 11.4 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1 APG, 1 BPG, & had a 60% FG%. So are these stats indicative of a player who has talent? I would argue in the positive. No one ever knows, except the coaching staff, as to why a player does not get PT. Like several players in the past, why should he stay at Duke? With the class of 2016 coming in and those forecasted to join the team in 2017, his chances of playing meaningful minutes dwindles day by day. One might ask why I did not address Vrankovic here. It was well known before he arrived at Duke that he would be a “work in progress”, whatever that means. There will always be speculation surrounding this young man, much of it coming from those who have little knowledge of the game. Oh well, we just keep moving forward regardless…].
Duke should be in control of this game. Allen is playing lights out, and lost in all of the Allen hype, Derryck Thornton is having quite the season. After struggling initially, Thornton has moved into the starting lineup and scored 23 points in his last two games. If Thornton continues to get better as the season progresses, which I think he will, then the Blue Devils should be able to shake off their early-season loss and compete with the first tier of the ACC. I think we get off to a slow start but dig down deep to come away with a 82-70 victory.
