DBP Newsletter #5

Feast Week & Season Stats

Dec 03, 2024

With the calendar turning to December, here are some noteworthy figures from the final week of November, as well as the full statistics I’ve been tracking throughout the season. Side Note: Feast Week was awesome - I watched a ton of fun games over Thanksgiving, and I still love college basketball.

Feast Week Numbers

Duke is currently allowing 87.4 points per 100 possessions, the #1 defensive rating in the country.

The rebounding numbers were the biggest difference between the Arizona and Kansas games. The Blue Devils outrebounded Arizona 43-30 (13-6 in offensive rebounds), while Kansas earned a 31-25 advantage (10-5 offensive) on the glass.

Duke logged 15 back-to-back defensive stops at Arizona, including 8 consecutive stops in a row in the first half.

After Kansas jumped out to a 16-3 lead in the first four minutes, Duke’s defense responded with a four minute scoreless stretch (12:01 to 8:04) in the first half. The Jayhawks also scored just three points over a five minute stretch (14:44 to 9:53) in the second half.

Duke committed 30 combined turnovers in their two games out west, with a 20.6% turnover rate against Arizona and a 23.5% turnover rate against Kansas (compare that with a 9.3% turnover rate against Kentucky).

Although Kansas led for a total of 35:47, Duke took a 42-41 lead over Kansas early in the second half at the 19:03 mark, before the Jayhawks responded with an 8-0 run. Duke also led 67-65 with 5:53 remaining, and again Kansas countered with a 6-0 stretch.

Seattle posted a +10 scoring margin at the free throw line, Duke’s largest deficit of the season from the line. The Blue Devils are averaging 16.6 free throw attempts per game, and currently rank 306 (out of 364) in free throw rate at 26.7%.1

Against Seattle, Cooper Flagg nearly posted a triple-double, with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists - Sion James added 8 rebounds. Against Kansas, Kon Knueppel tallied 8 assists and Maliq Brown notched 5 steals.

Duke’s backcourt on the glass: 21 rebounds at Arizona; 13 rebounds vs. Kansas; 17 rebounds vs. Seattle.2

Sion James (+25) trails only Cooper Flagg (+35) in cumulative plus/minus over the last three games.3

Duke has eight players averaging over 15 minutes per game, and only two players averaging more that 30 minutes (Flagg and Knueppel).

Kansas is one of two teams to rank inside the top ten in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Jayhawks are 9th in offense rating (120.1) and 10th in defensive rating (93.3). The other team with a top ten offense and defense to start the season? Duke’s next opponent, the Auburn Tigers. Fresh off winning the Maui Invitational, the undefeated Tigers rank 1st in offensive rating (125.2) and 7th in defensive rating (93.1).

Season Stats