ACC Tournament Preview: Duke vs Notre Dame - SCACCHoops.com

ACC Tournament Preview: Duke vs Notre Dame

by DukeBlogger.com

Posted: 3/10/2016 6:30:43 AM


The Blue Devils are coming off a 92-89 win over NC State on March 9 in the second round of the ACC tournament. The Wolfpack had defeated Wake Forest the day before, and were noticeably gassed for a large portion of the second half against Duke, but Mike Krzyzewski’s squad could not put their foot down to pull away by a large margin.

ACC Tournament: Duke vs Notre DameThey are not playing as balanced on both ends of the floor as they were the first time they faced the Irish. Entering the January 16 matchup, the Blue Devils ranked fourth nationally in offensive efficiency and 60th in the country in defensive efficiency, according to Kenpom.com.

That potent offense is still there, but the defense has tumbled to just 112th nationally. You did not need stats or efficiency rankings to see evidence of that in the three-point win over the Wolfpack, really, neither side played much defense.

Offensively they excel at not turning the ball over, ranking 5th nationally in turnover rate. They also shoot the ball well, checking in at 28th in the country with a 54.1 effective field goal percentage.

Sophomore guard Grayson Allen ranks No. 9 nationally in kenpom.com’s MVP category, averaging 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. They are also led by freshman forward Brandon Ingram (16.7 points per contest), who some experts think could potentially overtake LSU freshman Ben Simmons as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Defensively the Blue Devils are most vulnerable on the glass, ranking 321st nationally in defensive rebounding rate. Zach Auguste, Bonzie Colson and crew pounding the boards could be a key.

Game Notables

  • Duke is one of three programs nationally with more than 200 wins and a winning percentage of better than .820 this decade (also Kansas and Kentucky).
  • Mike Krzyzewski has guided Duke to 20 or more wins in 20 consecutive seasons, becoming the third Division I men’s coach to do so. Duke won 10+ ACC games for the 19th in the last 20 seasons.
  • Grayson Allen figured prominently in today’s game against State when he was assessed an F1 foul for a very obvious, & foolish in my opinion, when trying to stop Cat Barber on a fast break. It came at a pivotal point in the game where Duke had finally built a comfortable lead in closing minutes of the game. Fouls like this can easily hurt your team.

 

Prediction

Duke could not put NC State away on Wednesday, while the Irish just got done blowing them out on March 5, but that game for Notre Dame was at home, and the Wolfpack were playing for their postseason lives against Duke.

The Blue Devils looked visibly frustrated at times in Wednesday’s three-point win. They had to play a full 40 minutes and now face a quick 24-hour turnaround to take on the Irish.

However, Duke is still, well, Duke. In addition, they have to be tired of losing to Notre Dame.

Given that this seems like it could be little more than a coin flip either way, why not? I will roll with the Devils, 82-80.

 

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