What we learned from Duke basketball’s ACC basketball loss at Clemson
By now, criticizing Duke basketball for suffering an inopportune offensive lapse would be ignoring the obvious.
The Blue Devils, as currently constructed, are in danger of such things at any time in any game.
This is a team that has failed to shoot 40% four games in a row. Its season average for shooting, 43.1%, has it at No. 253 nationally.
Duke shot 38.1% while losing, 72-64, at ACC-leading Clemson on Saturday, doomed to defeat by missing its final six shots, hitting just 1 of its final 11 and not hitting a shot over the final five minutes.
That allowed Clemson, which held a 58-56 lead when Duke’s Mark Mitchell rebounded his own miss to score with 5:07 to play, to extend its lead and post an important win.
After Mitchell’s basket, as Duke’s Ryan Young put it, Clemson was better than Duke in every way.
Read that sentence again and let it soak in.
Clemson (15-3, 7-0 ACC) is a veteran, sturdy team that’s full of confidence. Duke led by eight points early in the second half only to see the Tigers score eight points in a row to eliminate that deficit.
Duke (13-5, 4-3) looks its age. The Blue Devils have been timid at times, like in the 84-60 loss at N.C. State on Jan. 4. They play young, which makes sense because their only experienced player, guard Jeremy Roach, is on the sidelines in a walking boot due to a toe injury,
In conference play, Duke has turned it over on one of every five possessions. That rate, according to KenPom, is 10th among ACC teams.
Shooting poorly and not treasuring the ball are a bad combination.
Because of that, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said the Blue Devils need to learn how to “manufacture points for each other.”
“We’re still learning that,” Scheyer said after the loss to Clemson, “For 30 or 35 minutes, we did a really good job. We missed some shots and we have to finish through some contact, but it’s just learning how to score together in those situations against really good defense.”
Sometimes the Blue Devils use their prowess in rebounding and defense to overcome their lapses on the offensive end. Duke is elite at offensive rebounding, snaring 34.4% of their missed shots in ACC play to earn second chances. No team in the ACC has a higher percentage.
Duke’s second half during its 77-69 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night is an example of the Blue Devils at their best. Pitt led by 11 at halftime, and as many as 12 early in the second half, before Duke clamped down defensively and grabbed nearly every rebounding in sight.
Duke had 23 offensive rebounds alone while gaining a 51-28 rebounding edge over Pitt. That’s how the Blue Devils won despite shooting 36.4%.
The grit is admirable. Again, after the no-show against N.C. State, Duke’s brought that edge in three games since then, including Saturday’s loss at Clemson.
After Clemson took a 47-46 lead with 11:43 to play, Duke’s 6-0 run that followed included put-back baskets by Kyle Filipowski and Mitchell.
But, at this point, can Duke improve its offense to build on the solid foundation that defense and rebounding provide?
The Blue Devils have two months until NCAA Selection Sunday to do so but it won’t be easy.
Step one would be getting Roach back and healthy. The guard who scored 22 points in a 74-62 win over Iowa in December could boost this team. But it’s not clear when, or if, that will happen.
Freshman Dariq Whitehead showed signs of being a force, averaging 15 points per game against three ACC teams from Dec. 31 to Jan. 7. But in his last two games, Whitehead produced just eight total points while hitting just 3 of 17 shots.
Whitehead figures to shoot far better, some of the time anyway. But asking him to carry Duke’s flagging offense in every game sounds like too much at this point.
In the meantime, Duke must endure its scoring lapses while hoping against hope they don’t occur at crucial points like the final five minutes of a game.
It’s a different place for Duke to occupy. But it’s where the Blue Devils currently reside.
This story was originally published January 15, 2023 at 2:53 PM.