Quotes & Notes - December 31
vs. Queens
After every game I always watch the press conference, read the quotes, and study the box score. Quotes & Notes is my wrap-up of Duke’s most recent game(s).
Quotes
“I thought it was a good game for us, coming back from Christmas break. We wanted to really carry the momentum that we had before the break. Obviously, there's always a lot of things you want to work on, but for us today I thought we came out with a strong start. I thought the starting group was aggressive and did a good job, and then throughout the half we were working through some rust, a little bit and some shape up, but give them credit. We knew coming in with Queens, they're not afraid. They can shoot and make a lot of threes. They're going to continue to play hard no matter what the score was. I love the way we shared the ball. We only had seven assists in the first half, 17 in the second half. I thought our activity on defense picked up as the game went along. I think that the steals reflect that, some of the blocked shots. For us we have a lot to clean up. Getting Tyrese [Proctor] back out there is a great thing. We were hoping to play him about 15 minutes in this game and he played a couple more. I thought he played really efficiently, played under control and gave us just Tyrese. Obviously, starting ACC play back up again. We're excited for Tuesday, but this game was important for us to take the next step together.”
- Coach Scheyer’s opening statement after the win versus Queens
“I think even before Baylor, the games against Charlotte and Hofstra, we talked about the blueprint being set, and the blueprint for us is coming out with an edge, coming out really aggressive on defense, and then playing together on offense. I thought we did that again and, regardless of making or missing shots or who the opponent is, that's who we want to be every single day….”
- Coach Scheyer on the team’s confidence following the Baylor game
“Just staying with our habits and just keep building day-by-day. Obviously, in ACC play, we’re 0-1 right now and I think the guys realize that every game’s going to be a big challenge. It’s not non-conference anymore and we just have to work day-by-day.”
- Tyrese Proctor on the team’s focus heading into ACC play
Stats
Duke forced 19 turnovers for 33 points, both season highs to this point, and the 64.5% effective field goal percentage was their best mark since the season opener against Dartmouth (70.3% eFG). After just 7 assists to 5 turnovers in the first half, Duke had 17 assists to 4 turnovers after halftime, leading to a 60% assist-to-made field goal percentage for the game (24 assists on 40 field goals).
With Duke’s non-conference slate complete for the regular season, above are the statistical averages for the Blue Devils heading into ACC play (stats from Georgia Tech have been removed). Duke’s biggest advantage has come from two-point range, outscoring their opponents by 10.2 points-per-game, with a +0.18 margin in points-per-shot. The Blue Devils have earned a +4.9 rebounding margin and have been positive in that category for every non-conference game except three: Arizona (-12), Arkansas (-5), and Baylor (-1). I’ll continue to track these numbers throughout the ACC schedule, and we’ll see how the conference stats compare.
Notes
In Case You Missed It: Duke Football closed its season with a 17-10 win over Troy in the Birmingham Bowl on December 23rd. The Blue Devils finished 8-5 on the season, and I was especially proud of the way the team stuck together through injuries and a coaching change, to finish the year with a W. Best wishes to the players and staff throughout the spring, only ~245 days until next season!
Next Play: Tuesday Jan 2 | 9:00 pm ESPN | Syracuse visits Duke for the ACC opener in Cameron.
Happy New Year, Go Duke!
Sources