Buzzketball Central: #3 Duke Blue Devils (24-3, 12-2) at Virginia Tech Hokies (21-6, 10-5) 7PM 26 FEB ESPN

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 26, 20189/ 7 p.m.
Opponent: Duke University
Site: Blacksburg, Virginia (Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
Television: ESPN
Talent: Rece Davis, LaPhonso Ellis & Brooke Weisbrod
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Sirius: 134 XM: 193 Internet: 954

JROB out, no problem, Delaney in the house, get him suited up....

Nitty Gritty Double Bye

Buzzketball gets a chance at Duke, one with improved odds now that Zion has to sit out. The Hokies face a monumental task with how well put together this Duke roster is this season. In addition to that, the Hokies find themselves locked up the standings with Florida State, whom the Hokies face next after the Duke contest. They have a game or more advantage on everyone else for the double bye. Every game left takes on that much more significance in terms of where the Hokies stand.

This game is a sellout at Cassell and a Whiteout effect game. No doubt there will be a rowdy crowd especially with Bacon being back for the second half. Duke so far this season has lost to #1 Gonzaga, Syracuse, and #5 UNC when Zion first got hurt. The UNC loss was easy to see coming after the Zion exit. The other two losses took a missed shot at the buzzer against the top team in the country after mounting a 16 point comeback and overtime against Syracuse where neither team decided to play defense with a 95-91 final.

This will be the fifty sixth meeting between the Hokies and Blue Devils. Duke leads the all-time series 46-10, starting all the way back in 1912. The Hokies last victory against the Blue Devils came last season as the Hokies made an exciting comeback in the final minutes to upset #5 Duke 64-63 in Blacksburg. Tech could really use some of that magic to reappear in the form of someone leading a barrage from all corners.


The Blue Devils are coached by Mike Krzyzewski, who has coached Duke to a 1051-282 record, an almost 79% winning percentage. Prior to Duke, Kryzewski coached Army to a 73-59 record, giving him an overall record of 1124-341. In the 38 years that Coach K has been at the helm, Duke has only managed to not make the NCAA tournament four times, and barring the year he had surgery, and relinquished the helm in 1995, it was only his first three years as head coach that they didn't make it.

One thing to keep in mind when facing Duke is a Coach K mantra, "A winning basketball team makes the opponent react to them, whether they are on offense or defense"

This team is full of stars, with the potential to have the first three players taken in the draft, which would be the first time that has ever happened in the NBA. At first glance, even though Zion is thought to be the top player in the country, you wouldn't think this roster would suffer much based on how many four and five star players are on this roster. That said, as Alum07 pointed out earlier this week, Duke allowed UNC to score 62 points in the paint. The Blue Devils did better against Syracuse with some preparation, allowing only 30 but even that is 7 points more than they were allowing on average this season.

Defensively, the Blue Devils employ a high pressure attacking defense that varies its form and style based on opponents. This season had been almost exclusively 3-2 zone with Williamson and Barrett responsible for the paint and the other three "guards" locking down perimeter shooters. Its hard to refer to players like Reddish or White as guards with their overall size. Duke will also rotate into a 1-3-1 formation depending on the opponent. Zion being out likely shifts Duke to a two three zone with normal stretch assignments to guard the perimeter ball handler by shifting into passing lanes and making it difficult to get a clean shot or pass the ball. A couple other tenets of a Coach K defense are that his defenses involve getting all five players to play together: talking on defense, seeing the ball, and moving as the ball moves. He expects all five guys to play for the charge as a standard. He also coaches his team that defense continues until the ball is in Duke hands.

Offensively, Duke usually runs a three out, two in Motion offense, which involves the perimeter players looking for bigs at the free throw line to create space, open up driving lanes, or allowing for kickout shots from the corner and did involve a ton of lob it up and let Zion fly. This game with Zion out, we may see more 4 out, one in Motion. The Blue Devils excel at moving without the ball so they are in the right spot to take advantage of a defensive miscue.

Duke isn't exactly the fastest paced offense so the Hokies should look to speed them up if they can. The minor bit of bad news that the Zion absence creates for the Hokies is that Duke has been forced to rely on one of their only consistent three point shooters to play significantly more, which has led to a sharp increase in made shots from outside. Duke comes in averaging only 7.5 three pointers per contest made. Most ACC teams are in or close to double digits.

Blue Devils Backcourt


Tre Jones, (#3) 6'2, 183 Lbs, Freshman Guard makes things go for the Blue Devils on offense. He is averaging 8.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and an incredible 5.3 APG. He is shooting 25% from outside and 41% from inside this season while shooting 71% so far from the line. Jones will look to dribble penetrate to facilitate Reddish and Barrett scoring down low.

and as if dealing with Kyle Guy, the man-bun bankshot wasn't bad enough, enter....



Sophomore Alex O'Connell, (#15) 6'6, 183 Lbs, Guard, comes in having been kind of an afterthought most of the season for the Blue Devils, but with Zion out he put up 20 in their win over Syracuse, going 5-8 from outside. He is putting up 4.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, .6 APG and 1 SPG. He is averaging over 38% from outside, shooting 60% inside and is shooting 75% from the line. This is the shooter that could turn the game inside out for the Blue Devils. The Hokies need to be ever aware of his location on the outside.

Blue Devils Frontcourt


Freshman Forward R.J. Barrett, #5, 6'7, 202 lbs is the leading scorer for Duke. Barrett is putting up 23.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 1 SPG. He is shooting 53% inside, 33% outside and 69% from the free throw line. The Hokies will have to be aware of Barrett's ability to find the open shooter, especially if its O'Connell.


Freshman Cam Reddish, #2, 6'8, 218 lbs this season is averaging 14 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.9 SPG. He is shooting 40% from the inside and 33% from outside while also hitting 78% of his free throws.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo....

Junior Marques Bolden (#20) 6'11, 250 Lbs is averaging 5.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.9 BPG and will be counted on inside to cover most of what Zion's role was. Bolden is shooting 62% inside and 68% from the line.


Junior Jack White (#41) 6'7, 222 Lbs, is averaging 4.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1 APG, and 1.2 BPG. He is shooting 74% inside and 28% outside. He shoots 83% from the free throw line. White is one of those sleepers that if given more time with the Zion injury, could really begin to deliver for Duke considering his shooting percentages and overall impact on both ends of the floor.


Javin Delaurier (#12). 6'10, 234 Lbs. is averaging 3.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1 SPG, and 1 BPG over about 14 mpg. He shoots 78% inside and 58% from the free throw line.

What to expect from Duke?

The Blue Devils play predominantly a half court high pressure defense in either man to man or zone geared towards making opponents make mistakes. Their goal is to take the ball away any way possible, limiting the number of shots that an opponent takes to instantly give them an advantage on the other end. Relentless attack on the ballhandlers so that they move from defense to offense. Size and long arms in passing lanes help Duke average the 4th most steals in the country at over 10 per game. Yes, Double Digit steals and opponents average almost 16 turnovers per contest.

The Blue Devils are the number five scoring offense in the country, averaging 85.5 PPG and only allowing opponents 66.9 PPG. That's just short of a 20 point average margin of victory so far this season. The ACC schedule has been closer but its still almost a 10 point average margin of victory. The only area in conference that Duke has really dominated opponents is interior scoring but that is mostly with Zion in the paint. Expect Duke to use their size to get in the lane and try to overwhelm the Hokies in the paint.

Rebounding wise, the Blue Devils you would expect to be a dominating team on the glass but that really isn't the case. They are fourth in conference in rebounding but allow the 6th most in conference rebounds to opponents, with essentially a three rebound average margin over ACC foes.

Duke has four players that average over two per contest and in the two games that Zion has sat out, the fill in time adds two other players that struggle with fouls getting more minutes. Hopefully the Hokies ability to speed up the game and stretch the opponent will lead to a few more opportunities as they force defenders to reach. This could dramatically alter the course of this contest.

The Hokies

Tech needs a high paced tempo the entire game without letting up if they want to win this matchup. They have to be able to get a high number of transition baskets while forcing Duke out of its comfort zone in methodically attacking the ball. Essentially force Duke to deal with their own medicine when they are on offense. They were able to do exactly this last year and it proved invaluable in that victory.

Since Justin Robinson was injured, the Hokies unfortunately have averaged just one possession on average more than UVA during the same time. Average scoring per contest is also down by almost 10 points per contest. Its been sluggish at best but they have to be able to overcome this to have any advantage with their speed.

Tech will have a tough time winning the lane on offense so it has to be able to hit its jumpers, especially critical is hitting its perimeter shots. Tech likely needs to shoot better than 40% from outside to be a factor in this game. Duke has held opponents to 30% shooting from outside in conference play.

This may seem counterintuitive but they still need to Pound the Paint, as both NAW and Blackshear need to play a major role in this game. Getting the ball inside and forcing Duke's bigs to adjust to the Hokies challenging them inside. Hill should also play a major factor in possibly getting the Blue Devils in some foul trouble. Bede has to stop hesitating. If he is going to drive, it needs to be fluid and use his speed to get past a defender rather than just backing out from the top of the key.

One thing to remember though is that Duke is averaging and unbelievable 7.5 blocks per game as a team so the Hokies need to make sure that they get quality looks at the basket or force the defender into contact or driving into the lane will just lead to a ton of turnovers.

The Hokies advantage of playing team basketball seems to have taken on a new unfortunately less organized look on offense over the last few games with Robinson out with injury. That said the Blue Devils have struggled against faster pace teams this season so the Hokies need to continue pushing the pace to keep Duke off balance. The Hokies have to find a balance in protecting the paint but preventing O'Connell from torching them from the perimeter.

In Closing

We need to see a game much like last season, where Duke didn't have a chance to catch their breath. This led to fatigue in the waning moments which the Hokies were able to take full advantage of. All the arguments of talent and size go out the window when you are a step behind your opponent all night. The Hokies have speed and athleticism that Duke cannot match.

Duke on the other hand has a size advantage at most positions on the floor so expect Duke to back down defenders in the lane to get easy lay-ups or hook shots.

Buzz should look to stretch the floor, especially on defense with Zion out. They will try to attack Duke before they even manage to get across half court so they are able to limit Duke's time to set up offensive plays but also hope to create transition baskets or foul line opportunities.

Justin Robinson. Justin Robinson. Justin Robinson. While I don't expect him back, I am hearing rumblings he is closer than ever to returning so a small appearance might not be out of the question, similar to PJ Horne his first game back. That said, its still less likely to happen so don't count on it until #5 is at the check in desk. Either way, hopefully soon, we get to see one of the four greatest Hokies to ever play back on the court.

Hokies continue their domination of Duke on Feb 26th, since they are 2-1 against Duke on this date over history and 2-0 in this century. The Hokies are actually an amazing 8-11 against Duke at Cassell. I was unable to confirm but it has to be one of the best home records of any team against Duke. Hokies win 72-69.

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