Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

No. 3 Duke is intent on keeping its aggression and focus even as some lopsided results have piled up during Atlantic Coast Conference play.

The Blue Devils meet another struggling conference opponent when it visits Boston College on Saturday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

“We want to play a whole 40 minutes, so keeping the same intensity,” Duke freshman Kon Knueppel said. “It’s tough to do, but we talk about not playing the score.”

Duke was feeling good for most of its three-game homestand, which wrapped up with Tuesday night’s 89-54 demolition of Miami.

The Blue Devils (15-2, 7-0 ACC) hold an 11-game winning streak for its longest string of success in seven years. Boston College (9-8, 1-5) has a three-game losing skid after Monday night’s 78-60 loss at Notre Dame.

“Something we’ve talked about is that it doesn’t matter if you have won your first six games or lost your first six games,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “It doesn’t entitle you to anything in this game. You have to earn a big lead, first of all. You have to earn separation. And then once you do, for us, we talk about having a killer instinct, having our foot on the gas.”

Duke has found a variety of sources for production, led by freshman Cooper Flagg (18.7 points per game).

But others have been more than capable of providing in several areas. Knueppel posted season highs of 25 points and six 3-pointers (in eight attempts) on Tuesday.

Knueppel, who’s second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game, has sunk multiple 3-point shots in six consecutive games.

Duke had 17 assists on 19 field goals in the first half of the Miami game. The Blue Devils finished with a season-high 25 assists.

“It’s not just the assists,” Scheyer said. “It’s making the right basketball play. … I think we have found out how good we can be when we share it. I think our guys have fallen in love with that, and we continue to do it.”

Flagg has averaged 4.3 assists in conference games.

Boston College might try to match Duke’s perimeter scoring. Donald Hand Jr. made a career-best five 3s in the Notre Dame game. But Hand’s 17 total points made him the only Eagle in double figures.

The Eagles’ goal is sure to be getting more production. Grant would like to see them getting into the lane to create scoring chances and potentially draw fouls.

“We needed to get closer to the basket and be real physical,” Grant said after the loss at Notre Dame.

Rebounding is going to be crucial for Boston College in order to pull off an upset this weekend. They were hammered by Notre Dame’s work on the offensive boards.

“That was very uncharacteristic for us,” Grant said. “Our defensive rebound numbers are really high. We usually rebound the first miss.”

Duke is adjusting after its first full game without injured post player Maliq Brown, who could miss several weeks with a knee ailment. Scheyer said it’s an opportunity for freshman Patrick Ngongba II, who was limited by a foot injury early in the season and has only played in eight games.

–Field Level Media