Quotes & Notes - February 11
vs. Boston College
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
“Thought it was just a really good win for us. I thought our defense was terrific throughout. 19 assists for our team. I thought we really had some great sharing today, where guys are making the right play and it turned into points. We talked about as a team, Boston College has been down double digits in many games. And so, every time we got a lead in the second half, we kept referencing that. Our guys did a great job of just playing every possession. And Mark [Mitchell] came through big-time in the second half. I thought [Kyle Filipowski] had a different bounce to his step today. All the guys that played. I thought Sean Stewart's minutes were key today. He had some key minutes at the end of the first half when we got the lead, coming back in the second half, he's just growing every single game. Great effort, great win. And we have a quick turnaround for Monday now.”
- Coach Scheyer on the Boston College game
“Well, we finished the first half well. And that's different than what we've done recently. And actually, we practiced it yesterday. Typically, this quick of a turnaround, you're not doing as much scrimmaging. And yesterday we put four minutes on the clock, end of the half. And said ‘all right, we have to win.’ And the guys won the segment yesterday. And I thought that they had a great carryover today in that situation. We outscored them by five. You go up, into halftime by four, then you have the ball coming out. I thought that was a big step for us to close the first half that way.”
- Coach Scheyer on the response after BC took the lead
“No question - I think tonight they showed they have a killer instinct. You know, that easily could have been a one-possession game. And, when you have a killer instinct, that doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes or you miss a couple of shots, but the mentality to continue to play. I thought it was close to a 40 minute game….This group has shown, through two years, not only do they have a killer instinct but they just keep coming at you. Anytime they’ve gotten knocked back, they respond. They’ve stuck together, and we just have to keep growing every day, just have to keep growing.”
- Coach Scheyer on if this team has a killer instinct or can develop one
Stats
Trailing 27-28 at the 3:32 media timeout, Duke outscored Boston College 9-4 to finish the first half, and opened with a 7-0 run over the first 2:00 out of halftime. As Coach Scheyer mentioned, that 5:32 was a key stretch of the game; Boston College would not get closer than 8 points for the remainder of the afternoon. In the second half, the Blue Devils earned a 12-4 advantage in points off turnovers and made 6 of 14 three-pointers, while the Eagles were just 2 of 12 from long range. Duke assisted on 19 of 30 made field goals (63.3%), marking their fourth ACC game with an assist percentage over 60%. Kyle Filipowski was on the floor for all of Duke’s 19 assists, and Mark Mitchell scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Jared McCain and Jeremy Roach combined for 27 points, 9 assists, and 1 turnover.
Notes
Duke in the NBA: Teammates Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson are currently averaging similar statlines for the New Orleans Pelicans. Zion has played in 42 games, while posting 22.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. Ingram is putting up 21.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, including a 41 point, 9 assist performance last week against the Toronto Raptors. Speaking of the Raptors, R.J. Barrett was traded to Toronto at the end of December. R.J. averaged 21.0 points and 7.1 rebounds on 55% shooting in January, and is off to a similar start this month.
Next Play: Monday Feb 12 | 7:00 pm ESPN | Duke welcomes Wake Forest to Cameron Indoor Stadium tomorrow night.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources