Duke Basketball: 5 Things We Learned During Nonconference Play

Duke still has two games remaining before it dives into the rigorous ACC schedule, but for all intents and purposes the nonconference portion of the season is over. Post-Christmas opponents Elon and Long Beach State are a combined 14-10 and could pose some problems for the Blue Devils, though anything that occurs in those games won't be different than what's already transpired.

The Blue Devils are coming off their second loss of the season, a 77-75 setback to Utah on Saturday in New York City. That result provided a very telling look at what Duke has to work with in the wake of senior Amile Jefferson's foot injury.

What else have we learned about the defending national champions to this point? Check out what we've found.

One More Injury Will Mean Disaster

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Even before Amile Jefferson injured his foot, which will keep him out at least a month, Duke was playing with a very thin rotation. Only seven players were averaging double digits in minutes, and only three of those were in the frontcourt.

Now with Jefferson sidelined, the Blue Devils are essentially down to senior Marshall Plumlee—who has started all 10 games—at center and freshman Brandon Ingram at the 4. The 6'9" Ingram has spent most of his time at the 3 but now must deal with opponents who dwarf his 190-pound frame.

Freshman Chase Jeter hasn't been able to earn meaningful minutes so far, and in the two games since Jefferson was hurt he's logged 23 total minutes. He was scoreless in six minutes on Saturday against Utah, averaging 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds.

Duke is rotating four players at the three guard spots, with Luke Kennard moving into the starting lineup. Matt Jones, who is 6'5", is essentially the backup post player.

There's probably not going to be much contact in practice, if any, for risk of another injury.

“There are only so many lifeboats on the ship,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, per Laura Keeley of the News & Observer.

Duke's Shooters Are All Capable of Getting Hot or Going Cold

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Saturday's loss saw freshman Luke Kennard score a career-high 24 points, and most impressive from that effort was that half of his scoring came at the free-throw line. He was 5-of-9 from the field but went 12-of-13 from the stripe after attempting 23 foul shots in his first 10 games.

That was Kennard's second 20-point game in the last five, but in between he scored a combined 25 points on 9-of-30 shooting.

Grayson Allen, Duke's leading scorer at 20.1 points per game, has set his career high four times this year but also has had some duds. A 46.3 percent shooter for the season, Allen was 3-of-18 from the field against Utah and had a 2-for-11 performance in the Blue Devils' other loss, to Kentucky.

Derryck Thornton Still Isn't Trusted

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Though he's fourth on the team in minutes, at 26.6 per game, Derryck Thornton is essentially the last option among the six main players Duke is down to now. The 6'2"guard is the team's only true point guard, yet he's only non-starter at this point because he's yet to show he can handle running the offense.

Thornton played 42 minutes against Utah and made only two of his 13 shots, for eight points. He had a game-high four assists and only one turnover, but Grayson Allen and Matt Jones do the bulk of the ball-handling.

Duke ranks 338^th out of 351 Division I teams in assist percentage, at 42.9 percent. On Saturday only 10 of 23 made baskets came off passes.

Brandon Ingram Is Coming into His Own

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Assuming Duke plays at least one game apiece in the ACC and NCAA tournaments, the 2015-16 season is one-third complete. And in that time we've seen prized recruit Brandon Ingram go from someone who looked anxious to get to where he could declare for the NBA draft to one who's adjusting to the college game.

Ingram has averaged 22 points,8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in his last four games, shooting 47.8 percent from the field overall and 50 percent from three-point range.

He's had to move into the 4 since Amile Jefferson was hurt, and after looking completely disinterested in defense during the first month of the season his defensive rating of 97.4 is better than every rotation player other than Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee.

"Brandon Ingram is starting to figure out the floor,” ESPN's Paul Biancardi tweeted.

The Defense Is Getting Better

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Duke rarely gets mentioned among the best defensive teams in the country, but because of its bevy of offensive weapons that's usually not an issue. This season, however, the Blue Devils have struggled so much with their traditional man-to-man approach on defense that Mike Krzyzewski has used more zone than ever before.

And with only six guys left, zone is probably the answer for the time being. It will minimize the energy expended on defense and save it for the offensive end, where Duke remains able to hang with anyone despite its lack of depth.

Utah shot 45.2 percent on Saturday, just the second opponent in the last six to top 40 percent from the field. For the year the Blue Devils have allowed 43 percent shooting, which ranks 200^th in Division I.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.