DBR Newsletter #93
at Virginia Tech
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Key Stats1
Total Possessions: 58
Duke Pts/Possession: 1.25 ppp
Va Tech Pts/Possession: 1.01 ppp
Duke FT Rate: 11.9%
Va Tech FT Rate: 10.9%
Duke 2P Pts/Shot: 1.37 pps
Va Tech 2P Pts/Shot: 1.10 pps
Full Game Stats: Duke Basketball Reference Season Stats
Notes
Duke (5 for 7) and Virginia Tech (5 for 6) combined to shoot just 13 free throws. Including yesterday’s game, the two teams are at the top of the ACC in free throw rate both offensively and defensively - with each team getting to the line at a +40% rate while keeping their opponents under 25% in conference play.2
With neither team getting to the free throw line, and both hovering around 25% shooting from three (Duke 23.8% Va Tech 26.9%), Duke’s two-point efficiency was a key difference in the game. Duke outscored the Hokies 52-32 inside the arc at 1.37 points-per-shot. The Blue Devils were +22 in paint points and +10 in second chance points.3
Duke led 62-56 at the 5:34 media timeout of the second half - Virginia Tech would go scoreless over the next 5:05 as Duke closed the game 10-2.
After being questionable due to illness, Caleb Foster logged 7 points, a career-high 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 25:46 off the bench. With Dame Sarr also sick, Nik Khamenia started and led the Blue Devils in plus/minus at +19 in 30:16. Maliq Brown was +15 in 19:07.
Since we are at the halfway point of the conference schedule, I took a look at the ACC analytics via KenPom. Of course, schedules are unbalanced and nine games isn’t a huge sample size, but here are the offensive and defensive metrics as we enter February.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Correction: DBR Newsletter #92 mistakenly listed Wake Pts/Possession when the opponent was Louisville (Wake was from newsletter #91). The actual ppp number was correct, just the incorrect school. This is corrected in the newsletter archives, and should have read:
Total Possessions: 65
Duke Pts/Possession: 1.28 ppp
Louisville Pts/Possession: 0.80 ppp
Free Throw Rate in ACC games:
Offense - Miami (43.3%); Va Tech (42.2%); Duke (40.3%)
Defense - Duke (21.8%); Va Tech (24.6%); UNC (25.8%)
Two-Point shooting: Duke 26 of 38; Va Tech 16 of 29
Three-Point shooting: Duke 5 of 21 (0.71 pps); Va Tech 7 of 26 (0.81 pps)
Points in the paint: Duke 46 pts; Va Tech 24 pts
Second chance points: Duke 16 pts; Va Tech 6 pts