Duke takes on Georgetown in the 2K Championship.
The Blue Devils face off against a Georgetown team that has shown they are better than advertised. Patrick Ewing has his team sitting at 4 - 1 on the season just having beaten the #22 ranked Texas Longhorns just last night by 16. Guard Matt McClung led the Hoyas in scoring with 19 points, shooting 7-14 and 2-3 from beyond the arc. James Akinjo dished 6 assists in the win that saw the Hoyas outscore the Longhorns 45 to 24 in the secone half with suffocating defense. The Horns were held to under 38% shooting for the game while the Hoyas shot over 50% and 45% from beyond the arc.
The Opponent:
The Hoyas sit at 31st in the country in offensive rebounding, 60th in overall rebounding and are top ten in free throw attempts. Omer Yurtseven, the transfer from NC State, leads the Hoyas in scoring at 15.6 per game. Yurtseven averages a double-double adding 10.8 rebounds per game. Bouncy sophomore guard Matt McClung is another double figure scorer on the year for the Hoyas, averaging 13.6 per game. James Akinjo rounds out the double-figure scorers for the Hoyas, averaging 12.6 per game to go with his 4.8 assists.
Player to Watch:
Matt McClung is a crafty guard with sneaky bounce that has the ability to catch fire for the Hoyas. McClung so far on the year is raising his level of efficiency on the offensive end of the floor, shooting a better overall percentage, shooting it better from 3 point range and from the free throw line.
Duke:
Vernon Carey Jr. leads the Blue Devils in both scoring and rebounding this season, averaging nearly a double-double with 18 points per game and 9 rebounds. Tre Jones is averaging 6 assists per contest for the Blue Devils to under 2 turnovers. Jones also scores at a 15.2 point a game clip for the Devils this season so far. Cassius Stanley and Matthew Hurt round out the double figure scores for the Blue Devils at 12.6 and 10.4 a game respectively.
My Synopsis:
It remains to be seen if Georgetown is as good defensively as they were against Texas last night. The Hoyas, after being down at the half by 5 and giving up 50% shooting from the field in the first half clamped down on the Longhorns in the second - holding them to just 22% from the field and only 24 points. The Hoyas, despite only turning the ball over 1 less time than the Longhorns manage to double them in points off of turners, winning that battle 18 - 9.
This game may come down to which offense is the most efficient and who will be the team that capitalizes off of the others' mistakes. Georgetown shot over 45% from downtown against Texas, a number I'm not certain they can keep up against Duke. Duke will need another scorer to pitch in against the Hoyas, so far they have relied on big games by individual players. If Duke can get Matthew Hurt and or Alex O'Connell going from the field this game becomes a lot easier for the Blue Devils - otherwise the Hoyas will throw doubles at Vernon Carey Jr. and see if Duke can hit open shots.
