Duke MBB: Takeaways from the PK80 Invitational

Duke just played in one of the most highly anticipated tournaments of the year, the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Oregon. The tournament was celebrating the 80th birthday of Nike founder, Phil Knight. To celebrate 16 Nike/Jordan teams played in two brackets, the Motion, and the Victory Brackets. So what can we take away from the tournament?

Yesterday Duke played the number seven team in the country, the Florida Gators, in the PK80 Motion Bracket championship. After trailing for almost the entire game, Duke took the lead late in the second half and did not lose the lead. The Blue Devils finished on a 15-2 run to win the game 87-84 over the Gators. But what can we take away from this game, and the other two Duke played in the PK80?

Takeaway #1:

The first and biggest takeaway is that Duke needs to play better in the first half, and early in the second half. In each of the three games Duke played in this tournament, they were trailing at halftime. Two of these three teams were unranked and yet they were still down to start the second half.

While Duke managed to win each of these three games, it will not always work out for them if they are trailing late in the second half. With 4:38 left in the second half of the Florida game Duke was down 82-72 and it did not look good for the top ranked Blue Devils. It was not until then where Duke kicked it into overdrive and managed to finish on a 15-2 run ultimately winning 87-84.

There is no one way to fix this problem of being down at half time and for a majority of the game. There are many solutions for this problem, one of which is free throws. In the win against Texas which Duke was trailing by 16 points at one point, the Blue Devils were 22-36 at the free throw line. In order to win basketball games you cannot be 61.1% on free throws.

Luckily Duke managed to go 19-20 against Florida which ultimately won them the game, but if Duke wants to continue to win basketball games they have to be better from the free throw line.

Takeaway #2:

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Foul trouble was the name of the game against Texas. In the first half Grayson Allen had three fouls and no points and he finished with 12 points before fouling out in the second half. The Blue Devils nearly cost themselves the game because they put Texas in the bonus in the second half. Luckily enough for Duke they were in the bonus as well and the Longhorns top player, Mo Bamba fouled out allowing the Blue Devils to get the win in overtime.

If Duke wants to continue winning they will need to stop fouling because it nearly gave them their first loss against an unranked Texas team. If it were not for Marvin Bagley and his 34 points and 15 rebounds Duke would not have beaten Texas propelling them into the Motion Bracket Championship.

Takeaway #3:

The Blue Devils are too reliant on their stars. While you have stars for a reason and they are supposed to carry your team, you cannot ride or die by them. In three games Grayson Allen played 34 minutes in the first against Portland State, 25 in the second against Texas (because of foul trouble which he then fouled out), and 40 in the third against Florida. Marvin Bagley played 34, 38, and 39.

While it is nice to have a couple of stars who can carry your team and propel you to wins, you cannot be so reliant to the point where these guys get tired and you are not using your bench really at all, which is exactly what Duke is doing. Against Florida Duke used only three bench players for a total of 33 minutes…

As much as I’d like to see Marvin Bagley get 30+ points and 15+ rebounds per game, it will hurt as at one point or another. Relying on one or two players like Duke is doing is not good because as soon as these guys have an off game they lose because they are playing just about the entire game, if not all of it.

Takeaway #4:

To end these takeaways on a positive note I will talk about what Duke did right. This tournament taught us what this team is truly capable. Down 16 against Texas with about 10 minutes to go everyone counted Duke out, Grayson Allen fouled out and they were playing five freshman for the remainder of the game and no one gave this team a shot. That was exactly when the Baby Blue Devils kicked it into overdrive and fought back.

The fight in this team is incredible and because of it you can never count them out. It was not until the final few minutes of the second half against Texas where Duke got their first lead since they were up 2-0. It was the same for the most part against Florida. Down 82-72 with 4:38 left in the game against Florida no one was sure what would happen or who would step up. Well sure enough just like they had done two nights earlier, Duke fought back and won the game behind a 15-2 run.

Next: Duke Wins Motion Bracket of Nike Invitational Tournament

No matter how much this team is down with however much time is left in the game, the Blue Devils are never out of it. Duke had their 6th largest comeback in school history against Texas and if that doesn’t show you that you can’t count them out, I don’t know what will.