Duke basketball put the pieces together in its victory over Georgia Tech.
It’s been rather the same issues hurting the Duke basketball team in its three-game losing streak, but the Blue Devils seemed to make the necessary corrections against Georgia Tech.
In losses to Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Louisville, it’s been some formula of digging a big first-half hole, having Matthew Hurt or Jalen Johnson erase the deficit, one of the players getting into foul trouble, Duke not getting them the ball in crunch time, and then Hurt or Johnson fouling out in the final two minutes.
That pretty much sums it up, right?
Well, Duke did none of that against the Yellow Jackets, and it resulted in a victory. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
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The Blue Devils also saw their senior point guard, Jordan Goldwire, come up with the big defensive stop of Georgia Tech star Jose Alvarado in the closing seconds, another issue that has plagued Duke this season.
By no means did Mike Krzyzewski’s team play a perfect game, but there were several areas of improvement, most notably at the free throw line and on the backboards.
Duke was 18-of-22 from the charity stripe compared to Georgia Tech’s 4-of-5 clip, and the Blue Devils out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets, 43-28.
Duke basketball still with work to do ahead of stretch run
Despite the victory, there are still several aspects of the game where Duke must improve, most notably in its help defense.
The Blue Devils nearly switched every ball-screen until the final minutes, when Goldwire was attached to the hip of Alvarado after he had posted 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
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A combination of zone defense and undersized forwards did not help the Duke cause in the paint as Moses Wright went for 12 points and 14 rebounds, although the Blue Devils dominated the glass in the overall totals.
No other Yellow Jacket grabbed more than four rebounds.
Duke might be turning a corner in this strange season, so we have another edition of ‘Stock Up, Stock Down’…
Duke basketball players who improved their stock against Georgia Tech
Jalen Johnson
A bad first half turned into a spectacular second half for Jalen Johnson as he capped off the win with multiple ‘and-ones’ and clutch free throws in the final minutes.
Johnson showed his ability to take over a game, as he did against Pittsburgh, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line.
The five-star freshman only had two points at halftime after he was limited to eight minutes because of picking up two early fouls.
Foul trouble has been the biggest issue with Johnson’s game in his return from injury, but Tuesday night should show that he is the best player on this Duke team and needs to have the ball in his hands on offense.
Jordan Goldwire
We’ve been critical of Jordan Goldwire this season because at times it seems like he’s trying to do too much as the senior leader of this team.
However, Duke doesn’t come close to a victory without its point guard against Georgia Tech for both his efforts on offense or defense.
His aforementioned steal was arguably the biggest play of the game, but on the ensuing offensive possession, he forced a foul which resulted in two made free throws, pushing the Duke lead to three points.
Goldwire played 35 minutes coming off the bench, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals on 4-of-7 shooting and making his lone attempt from three-point range. The two made free throws were also the only attempts from the stripe all game for the senior.
If Jordan Goldwire can stay within himself and put forth a performance like this going forward, Duke will be in a great position to make the NCAA Tournament, as weird as that sounds.
Mark Williams
Mark Williams is a seldom-played five-star freshman, but it seems he is getting more comfortable on the floor, especially Tuesday night.
Williams finished with six points and six rebounds in 13 minutes on 3-of-6 shooting.
The 7-footer provides something that Duke has been lacking this season, a rim-protecting shot blocker and a rebounding force in the paint.
Matthew Hurt has been outstanding for Duke this season, but given his frame and athletic ability, he has his defensive and rebounding issues that could be somewhat neutralized with a productive Williams at the center position.
The major dilemma would come if Jalen Johnson, Matthew Hurt, and Mark Williams were all on the court together, allowing potential difficulties on the offensive end of the floor with the team’s spacing.
But for now, Mark Williams could be exactly what Duke needs on defense.
Duke basketball players who hurt their stock against Georgia Tech
Jeremy Roach
Jeremy Roach, the Duke freshman point guard, seems to be in the doghouse of Mike Krzyzewski as he was limited to just 16 minutes in the win over Georgia Tech.
After his standout performance in the loss to Virginia Tech, Roach posted 11 points in the loss to Pittsburgh and has not scored in his next two games against Louisville and the Yellow Jackets, shooting a combined 0-of-6 from the field.
It appeared as if Roach had adjusted to the learning curve of playing high-level college basketball, but now it seems the five-star prospect has hit another freshman slump in ACC play as Duke needs his explosiveness and toughness.
Wendell Moore
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for Wendell Moore.
The sophomore got off to an awful start and seemed to turn a corner after a 25-point performance against Boston College.
Moore then totaled eight combined points over the next two games and then turned in respectable outings against Pittsburgh and Louisville.
However, against Georgia Tech, he only mustered four points on 1-of-5 shooting with four rebounds and three assists in addition to three fouls and four turnovers in 29 minutes.
Wendell Moore has the versatility to be a very good player for the Blue Devils but still lacks the consistency for a second-year leader.
Joey Baker/Jaemyn Brakefield
Junior Joey Baker and freshman Jaemyn Brakefield both had high expectations at one point in the season.
Baker, entering his junior season, was expected to make a big leap with his shooting abilities and relentless energy.
There’s no debating that Baker leaves everything on the floor, but his inability to consistently see the floor is due to his lack of made shots.
Joey Baker has made a total of seven shots in 11 games, three being three-pointers, and is shooting 25.9-percent from the floor.
Jaemyn Brakefield was a pleasant surprise after Jalen Johnson went down with an injury but has seen his minutes evaporate since Johnson’s full return.
Brakefield logged 27 minutes against Virginia Tech and has played a combined 10 minutes in the last three games.
Hopefully, these players stay ready if their number is called at some point during the remainder of the season.