DURHAM -- During team meetings and off-the-court conversations, Duke basketball players have stressed improving defensively.
After watching a few opponents blow by them off the dribble or lose them on screens, the No. 8 Blue Devils (13-2, 1-0) say they've had enough. A solid defensive performance in their 81-74 conference opener against Georgia Tech has bolstered their confidence as they welcome No. 16 Virginia (14-1, 1-0) to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
The Blue Devils own the ACC's worst scoring defense - allowing 69.4 points per game. Their opponents are allowing 50.5 points per game and sit atop the conference in that statistical category, a place where past Duke teams dwelled.
Only a few percentage points separate this young Duke team from others in scoring defense - 11th-rated N.C. State (69.3), eighth-rated Wake Forest (68.8) and sixth-rated North Carolina (66.4) - yet it stings for a team that prides itself on gritty, game-altering defense.
"We're definitely aware of it and it definitely bothers us," senior forward Miles Plumlee said Tuesday. "It's just not what Duke teams do. We're trying to fix that and adjust how we play defense."
What's been the problem?
"We didn't really trust each other," junior forward Ryan Kelly said. "To have a good defense, you have to be able to trust each other, know each other, have each other's back."
Without trust, players said, mistakes happen.
"Sometimes you don't trust guys behind you, so you don't pressure the ball as much and you get beat," junior guard Seth Curry said. "Guys don't take charges or you're just not guarding your man."
Kelly said coach Mike Krzyzewski has focused on ball pressure as a specific area of improvement.
Virginia, which likes to slow down and control the pace of a game, is averaging 65.7 points per game and features talented senior forward Mike Scott.
"We just want to pressure the ball more," Duke freshman guard Quinn Cook said. "Just kind of get them out of rhythm with pressure on the ball."
With intense perimeter defense on Virginia's guards, the Blue Devils can help post players such as Kelly limit the touches of the 6-foot-8 Scott, who is averaging 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds.
"He's a tremendous player," Kelly said of Scott. "He's a player that can't be guarded by one person. He needs the whole team around him, guys helping."
