Duke Turns Up The Defense In Rout Of Boston College

It was a tale of two halves at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Dukes 79-59 thrashing of Boston College.  The first half Boston College did anything they wanted on offense.  They attacked the paint and Duke presented little resistance.  However, as bad as Duke’s defense was in the first half, Boston college was probably as bad or worse.  Duke took a 3 point advantage into halftime.

Duke exploded on a 22-6 run to start the second half which all started on the defensive end.  Whatever Coach K said at halftime definitely worked.  Duke is led by their backcourt of Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer who had 24 points and 12 points respectively.    Kyle Singler looked like he still lacked confidence in the first half but he came around as the game went on.  Singler finished with 15 points and 10 boards.  It would be huge for Duke if he can continue to produce as they play their way through the tough ACC.  Despite the early conference loss at Georgia Tech, I still see Duke as the front runner (along with North Carolina) to win the ACC.  It looks to be another opportunity for Coach K and Duke to grab a number one seed come March.  Long way to go, but they opportunity is there.

Boston College is a team that is probably better than their 10-7 record.  Injuries have cost them some losses this season and they haven’t really meshed yet.  Sophomore guard Reggie Jackson was the only Eagle in double figures scoring 20 points.  Much of that should be credited to the Blue Devils defense in the second half, but Boston College needs someone to step up.  You can score 59 points per game in the ACC and expect to win many games.  They are well coached and have the ability to surprise some teams in the ACC but with 7 losses already, they have their work cut out for them. Looks like a NIT type season at best for Boston College.

54 teams to go….62 days until Selection Sunday!