No. 2 Duke men’s basketball is back on the road to take on Syracuse. After 20 minutes of play, the Blue Devils are out to a 37-23 lead:
Dome Sweet Dome
On Wednesday night, the Blue Devils ran into the hostile crowd of Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome — college basketball’s largest arena. For junior transfer Maliq Brown, however, it was a homecoming.
Brown, who transferred from Syracuse, has been an elite defensive presence for Duke, posting 5.9 deflections and 1.5 steals per game. The former Orange standout was an especially key piece in the Blue Devils’ lockdown effort against North Carolina Saturday after returning from injury.
Back on the court he once called home, Brown’s presence was immediate. The forward checked in four minutes into the contest and heard a crowd that did not seem to forget his April 1 decision to enter the transfer portal. The boos, however, did not stop him from recording another deflection within seconds of checking in along with two early steals.
Flagg cooled down
Duke’s projected No. 1 overall NBA draft prospect has been on a heater lately in ACC play; Cooper Flagg has scored over 20 points in each of his last four outings. In the Dome, however, that scoring touch seems to have wavered.
The freshman’s scoring contribution initially in the first half was a lone made three from the wing about seven minutes into the contest, followed by a pullup midrange in the last three minutes. Flagg failed early to find his usual openings driving to the rim, leading to a largely stagnant overall offensive effort. The forward’s lack of ability to penetrate drove a shift in Duke’s shot selection further out toward the perimeter, where it shot a respectable 6-of-15.
Head coach Jon Scheyer’s offense could use a more aggressive version of the National Player of the Year candidate that is able to pick up contact and chances at the charity stripe — Flagg took just two free throws during the half.
Crashing the glass
Although the Orange struggled to convert, a strong effort on the glass yielded a 6-3 margin on the offensive glass in favor of the home team. In such a low-tempo contest, these extra looks proved crucial for a Syracuse team that managed to hang around for the first 20 minutes.
On Duke’s end, Khaman Maluach and Brown combined for just four rebounds in their 23 minutes on the floor. The duo will look to step up down low and more consistently get the ball back in the Blue Devils’ hands.
No easy looks
While the Orange did a good job handling an elite defensive effort from the Blue Devils, the production it did find was hard fought. The big-man duo of Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II largely forced a poor shooting Syracuse squad away from the rim. The team — which shoots 31.9% from deep on the season, instead settled for a slew of low-percentage opportunities. Consistent shot contests and blocked up passing lanes helped Duke keep the Orange from capitalizing on its own missteps.
Player of the half: JJ Starling
The Syracuse offense seemed to be a one-man show early on. Starling had already netted seven shot attempts by the second media timeout for an early seven points. The junior is no stranger to this level of volume, currently sitting as a 17.9 points-per-game scorer on the season.
Scheyer elected to move Flagg onto Starling, leveraging his length to limit the slasher’s ability to get to the rim. Starling’s gravity prompted a switch in the Syracuse offense to flow primarily through the big men; 7-foot-4 Naheem McLeod in particular was able to grab a few easy ones in response.
The Notre Dame transfer, while leading the scoring effort, did so rather inefficiently. A combination of tough midrange shots and unbalanced looks at the rim thanks to Duke’s length resulted in a weak 3-for-9 performance from the field. The Blue Devils’ defense should look to exploit Starling’s shot selection to take pressure back away from the rim where McLeod can find higher percentage opportunities.
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