DBR Newsletter #89
vs. SMU
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Key Stats
Duke 82 SMU 75
Total Possessions: 70
Duke Pts/Possession: 1.18 ppp
SMU Pts/Possession: 1.08 ppp
Duke Turnover Rate: 18.6%
SMU Turnover Rate: 30.0%
Duke Free Throw Rate: 52.9%
SMU Free Throw Rate: 17.0%
Full Game Stats: Duke Basketball Reference Season Stats
Notes
SMU committed 21 turnovers (14 in the first half) for a 30% turnover rate, the highest for a Duke opponent so far this season. The Blue Devils outscored SMU 21-14 in points off turnovers (16-7 in the first half).
Duke was +13 (21-8) at the free throw line, with SMU only shooting 9 free throws for the game. So far in ACC play, the Blue Devils have done a nice job in free throw rate both offensively and defensively. Duke ranks second in the conference in both categories through four ACC games.1
Off the bench, Cayden Boozer was +14 in 34:03 and Pat Ngongba was +11 in 27:29. Coach Scheyer remarked after the game “I thought they had a great response. You know, you can get into [who is] starting, you get into all this other stuff, all this superficial stuff - and man, those guys are pros. They had a great attitude.” Cayden had 12 points and 4 assists, and Pat matched his career-high with 17 points.
Isaiah Evans scored 20+ points for the third consecutive game, including 3 three-pointers in the second half. Cameron Boozer posted 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Duke’s most used lineup against SMU was 2-Boozer / 3-Evans / 12-Boozer / 14-Khamenia / 21-Ngongba. The five-man combo was +6 in 7:31 and generated 1.48 points-per-possession - this group had only logged approximately seven minutes together all season prior to yesterday.
I haven’t done many game clips so far this year, so I wanted to highlight this staggered ball screen with Pat, Cam, and Cayden. While it’s not a transition bucket, it is an effective action to generate a good look early in the shot clock. Pat and Cam set a staggered ball screen as Cayden crosses half court. The SMU defenders are both in drop coverage with Duke’s bigs setting the screens. Pat rolls to the paint which occupies Yigitoglu (#24). On the ball, Davis-Ray (#9) is able to get over the top of Ngongba’s screen, but is forced to go under Cam, so Toombs (#10) steps out to prevent the drive. Cam pops into space and buries the triple with 20 seconds still left on the shot clock. If Yigitoglu were to closeout on Boozer’s three, Pat would be open on the roll - or if Edwards (#0) were to help in the lane on Yigitoglu’s closeout, Caleb Foster would be open in the left corner.
The 2001 Duke team was honored at halftime yesterday for the 25th anniversary of their National Championship season. It was awesome to see those guys back together, and to have Shane Battier join Jay Williams in the broadcast booth early in the second half. I’ve been working on a 25th anniversary article for a while, and it should be out tomorrow - it was so fun to look back on that historic Duke Basketball season.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Of course, four games is a small sample size, but here are the top five teams in FT rate in conference games so far.
Free throw rate in ACC games:
Offense - Miami (51.8%); Duke (51.1%); Virginia Tech (50.6%); Syracuse (46.2%); Georgia Tech (41.7%)
Defense - UNC (21.6%); Duke (21.7%); Virginia Tech (22.6%); Notre Dame (23.6%); Syracuse (26.6%)
Sources