The Duke Blue Devils were the second team in March Madness to secure a spot in the Sweet 16, however it was not an easy feat. The tournament’s top seed struggled against No. 16 Siena in the Round of 64 and occasionally against No. 9 TCU in the Round of 32. Nevertheless, Jon Scheyer’s team managed to resolve several issues ahead of schedule, defeating Siena 71-65 and TCU 81-58.
While Duke awaits the outcome of the Sweet 16 matchup between No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 St. John’s, the Blue Devils must acknowledge that either the Jayhawks or the Red Storm will represent a significant increase in overall competition. In this Sweet 16 game, Scheyer will have to show off his coaching prowess against an all-timer. It’s unclear if it will be Bill Self or Rick Pitino. Is Scheyer capable of winning?
With the Sweet 16 approaching, we will examine Duke’s performance thus far in the NCAA Tournament and identify three crucial areas in which the Blue Devils must improve. Throughout their distinguished coaching careers, Pitino and Self have each won numerous national championships. Leading his alma mater, Scheyer is attempting to win his first in year four. It will not be simple, but it is feasible.
In an attempt to discover a solution, let’s start with the elephant in the room regarding Duke.
3. Duke needs to get some productivity from the bench, even amid injury
Duke’s rotation has been severely constrained by two untimely injuries to Patrick Ngonba II and Caleb Foster. Foster’s absence has forced Cayden Boozer into the starting lineup. Let’s not assume that Foster will return this season, despite Scheyer’s optimism. Ngongba was able to have some influence against TCU despite being on a minutes restriction.
To be completely honest, though, Scheyer has only received 13 points from his bench in two games. In the match against Siena, only Nikolas Khamenia and Darren Harris came off the bench. Although Ngongba did contribute positively to Saturday’s victory over TCU, Jack Scott and Cameron Sheffield have only played four minutes for Duke off the bench thus far in the tournament.
Duke’s poor bench will be exposed more and more as this tournament progresses.
2. Duke has to find ways to get off to a hot start vs. better competition
It is something, but it is not everything. Duke may not be able to afford to slip into a significant behind against whoever they play the remainder of the game, even though they have been able to win in the end against weaker opponents. Someone will take advantage of Duke’s poor start, even if neither Kansas nor St. John’s can. In their opening halves, Siena and TCU offered Duke their best opportunities.
In their first-round match against Siena, Duke fell behind 43–32 at the half. After the first frame of their Round of 32 matchup with Duke, TCU was only behind 38–34. Granted, under Scheyer, Duke might be one of those teams that performs at its peak when it counts most. As a team, it is one of their best qualities. But how well-equipped is this club to win big from behind?
Once more, it might not catch up to them in the Sweet 16, but it might be a factor in their failure to win the championship.
1. Duke will need to take much better care of the basketball to advance
Taking better care of the basketball is something Scheyer can teach his players this week. Even though they only had eight turnovers against Siena, the turnover differential was still negative-two. Siena nearly pulled off the historic upset thanks in large part to their dedication to ball security. Indeed, things became far worse when we faced TCU.
A startling 17 times, Duke returned the ball to the Horned Frogs. Yes, TCU did cough it up twelve times, but the Blue Devils are currently at minus-five in terms of turnover. During their two games over the weekend, Duke was at a turnover deficit of seven. If you wish to continue dancing, you won’t be able to compete in anything like that in the future.
Despite being the team’s greatest player, Cameron Boozer had 10 turnovers in the tournament.
