Duke Basketball: Highs and Lows of the Regular Season

Duke finished its regular season with a resounding 84-77 win against Carolina on March 7. The win moved Duke to 28-3 overall and 15-3 in the ACC.

The Blue Devils finished in second place in the conference behind Virginia and are ranked second nationally—ahead of Virginia, whom they beat in their one matchup—in the latest AP poll.

While they failed to win the regular-season conference title, the Devils improved their ACC record by two games over last season and appear to be in much better shape heading into the postseason than they were last year.

Duke’s stellar regular season was reflected in the individual awards announced on Sunday. Jahlil Okafor won ACC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year and was named first-team All-Conference. Quinn Cook made second-team All-ACC, Tyus Jones was third-team and Justise Winslow got an honorable mention. Okafor, Jones and Winslow all were named to the All-Freshmen team as well.

Despite finishing with a gaudy record, Duke had somewhat of an up-and-down year. The team struggled to put a few lesser opponents away and at one point was just 4-3 in the conference and in the middle of its toughest stretch of the schedule.

In the next few weeks, college teams will build their legacies through conference tournaments and the Big Dance. Fans always tend to remember their team’s season through the thick lens of the NCAA tournament, forgetting the 35 or so games the team played in the regular season (I was shocked to see Duke finished with a solid 13-5 ACC record last year).

That makes the next week or so the only time to take a good look at the entire body of work this team put together throughout the winter.

High: Big Wins

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With road wins over Wisconsin, Louisville, Virginia and UNC and home victories against Notre Dame and UNC, Duke has by far the best set of tough wins in the country.

Duke finished the regular season 6-1 against the top 25 in the RPI and 10-2 against the top 50.

The most pleasing part of all the big wins was that Duke was able to win in almost every way possible.

Duke was unbelievably hot offensively in wins against Wisconsin and Notre Dame while at the same time holding two of the country’s best offensive teams in check by switching every screen regardless of matchups.

Duke utilized a zone to defeat cold-shooting Louisville, a move the team has rarely made during Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure.

Duke won with spectacular comebacks against Virginia on the road and at home against Carolina.

Winning over some of the top teams in the country in a variety of ways should give fans a lot of confidence heading into the Big Dance. Duke players know that they can beat any team in the country (maybe not Kentucky) regardless of playing style, and the team has grown extremely comfortable playing from behind late in games.

Matchups are important to a team’s success in the tournament, and there does not appear to be any particular type of team that Duke is unable to beat.

Low: Two-Game Losing Streak

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Duke was riding high at 14-0 and heading to Raleigh to play NC State on January 11, but the sky fell, then fell again a few days later. Duke lost by 12 to a hot-shooting Wolfpack, then got blitzed at home by a mediocre Miami team in a 16-point loss two days later.

The defense was atrocious in both games, as the Blue Devils gave up 87 and 90 points, respectively.

The loss to NC State was bad because Duke was bad but was ultimately understandable. State is an up-and-down team that will most likely make the Big Dance and has shown it is capable of beating good teams when hot. The crowd in Raleigh always brings it when a local rival comes to town, and Duke was undone by hot nights from Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner, who have both roasted their fair share of teams throughout the year.

The Miami game was a downright embarrassment.

Duke has built a reputation for coming out strong after losses and had not lost a home game in two-and-a-half seasons before the Miami game. Duke allowed an endless stream of open threes and layups by a team that averages under 69 points per game for the season and lost by 28 to Eastern Kentucky at home.

Miami guard Angel Rodriguez, who is shooting 30 percent from deep and 33 percent overall this season, went 8-15 from the field and 4-6 from three.

While the big wins are a great reason for fans to have confidence going into the postseason, these two games should cause fans to worry that Duke will once again bow out of the Big Dance early.

High: Best Backcourt

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One of the biggest storylines in the preseason was the potential rift between Tyus Jones and Cook. Cook had been the starting point guard but was benched toward the end of last season after some poor play, and many thought the highly recruited Jones would come in and force him to the bench.

Some thought that Cook would have a Greg Paulus-like senior season (barely playing after starting early in his career), but Cook took Jones under his wing, and the two both learned from each other.

By the time of Duke's comeback win against UNC in Cameron, fans around the country started to take notice of the tandem. Many members of the media are now convinced this really is the best backcourt in the country.

Cook’s stellar season has been great to watch after his inconsistent junior year. He has gone through possibly the best attitude adjustment of any Duke player ever and has transformed himself into one of the best shooters in the conference.

Jones has complemented him perfectly on the court, setting Cook up plenty of times while showing an unbelievable ability to step up his scoring when the team needs it.

Guard play is one of the strongest factors in tournament success, and these two are capable of leading the charge all the way into early April.

Low: Rasheed Sulaimon

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From potential one-and-done player early in his freshman year to frustrated third wheel to somewhat useful backup to getting kicked off the team and being accused of sexual assault by two students, it was one of the worst career arcs of any college basketball player.

While Sulaimon’s presence itself turned out to be an unexpected low point for Duke, kicking him off the team worked out well beyond expectations.

Duke is undefeated since Sulaimon was dismissed, and the fans have been freed from watching him stall the offense by dribbling for 10 seconds, driving into traffic, and throwing up a shot that ricochets off the backboard and leads to a fast break for the opposition.

Sulaimon’s dismissal resulted from alleged acts off the court but ended up helping Duke on the hardwood.