3 Exciting Observations from Duke's Dominant Win Over Miami
By Joe Summers
Duke was extremely impressive Wednesday night in an 84-55 throttling of ACC foe Miami, keeping pace with North Carolina atop the ACC standings with a winnable game against Wake Forest coming up on Saturday.
The Blue Devils shot a blistering 44.8% from beyond the arc and owned the glass, nothing 42 rebounds to the Hurricanes' 31. Defensively, Duke held Miami to 31.1% shooting from the field in a game that was never in doubt.
It was the fifth consecutive win and cover for the Blue Devils and they're rounding into form at the perfect time. Here are three exciting observations from last night's excellent performance:
3 Exciting Observations from the Duke Basketball Win over Miami
1. The Duke Defense Is Gelling
Wednesday night marked the fifth consecutive game in which Duke held the opposition to under 70 points. The big question mark for this Blue Devils squad has been the defense, as it ranks 80th nationally in effective field goal percentage, so to see this improvement bodes well for the future.
Kyle Filipowski, in particular, was excellent. He had three blocks and helped smother Hurricanes-leading scorer Norchad Omier to just nine points on 3-14 shooting with three turnovers. Omier averages 17.5 points per game on over 58% shooting, illustrating how effective Filipowski was down low.
KenPom rankings currently have Duke with the 22nd-best defensive efficiency in the country. National Championship contenders typically have a defensive efficiency within the top 20, so the Blue Devils are well on their way.
Having a strong defensive interior is crucial in the NCAA Tournament, and the defensive effort over the last five games should have Blue Devils fans thrilled. Overall, the team had eight combined blocks and steals, with Mark Mitchell showing impressive range defensively as well with a block and steal himself.
We already know Duke has one of the most potent offenses in the country. If this kind of performance on the other end is sustainable, the rest of the nation should be very, very afraid.