Riding a nine-game win streak, the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils will aim to add to their pile of victories on Tuesday night when they host Boston College in Durham, N.C.
Powered by freshman phenom Cameron Boozer, Duke (20-1, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) looks like one of the top teams in college basketball, capable of grabbing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps reaching a second consecutive Final Four. In ESPN’s latest bracketology, Duke is projected to be the No. 1 seed in the East Region, which will play its Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds in Washington, D.C.
Jon Scheyer’s team is coming off a 72-58 win on Saturday at Virginia Tech, where Boozer led the way with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists. It was the fifth straight game Duke won by double figures.
Scheyer was impressed by the performances of Maliq Brown and Patrick Ngongba II. Brown had 11 points, while Ngongba piled up nine points, five boards, two assists and two blocks in 24 minutes.
“We have a three-headed monster in Cam Boozer, Maliq Brown and Pat. Those guys are big-time competitors and they’re really smart. They’re tough. And they establish a competitiveness for our team. And they do it on both ends of the floor,” Scheyer said.
“Our other guys have done a really good job playing off that. Not to mention their assists and playmaking and passing. It’s what we wanted — as a coaching staff, we wanted Pat and Maliq back. Didn’t feel like there’s anybody better. And then obviously, Cam coming in, it’s come to fruition with us feeling that’s an advantage for our team.”
Boozer continues to lead the Blue Devils and ACC in scoring with 23.5 points per game. He leads all of Division I men’s basketball in offensive box plus-minus with a mark of 13.8. Boozer also averages 9.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists, both of which are team highs for Duke.
Duke has played a disciplined brand of defense, ranking 11th nationally in points allowed per game (64.3) and coming in third nationally in free-throw attempts allowed (13.8).
A team fans won’t see in bracketology projections is Boston College (9-12, 2-6). The Eagles have lost back-to-back games and six of their last eight and are on pace to miss the NCAA Tournament for the 17th consecutive season. They haven’t gone dancing since an Al Skinner-coached team got into the field as a No. 7 seed in 2009.
Under fifth-year coach Earl Grant, Boston College ranks 333rd out of 365 Division I teams in scoring, putting up just 68.1 points per game. The Eagles have scored more than 80 points just twice this season.
Most recently, Boston College fell 73-66 at home to then-No. 17 Virginia on Saturday in a game where the team missed 11 free throws and shot 3-of-13 from behind the arc.
“In the second half, we had the opportunity — two or three times — to turn down a good (shot) for a better (one) or search for the best shot we could find. And that takes great maturity. Takes an elite team to do it,” Grant said. “That’s what we’re pursuing, we’re trying to become an elite team and we still got some work to do.”
–Field Level Media
