Duke basketball: 3 keys to the Florida State rematch
By Jack Burgess
Key to a Duke basketball victory against Florida State: Possessions
According to kenpom.com, both Duke and Florida State rank in the mid-tier of AdjT, which equates to possessions per 40 minutes. Duke has a 68.1 AdjT versus Florida State’s 68.0, so they are both generally in the same realm when it comes to possessions thus far in the regular season.
Coming into the game, the Blue Devils’ trend of adjusted tempo favors them to possess the basketball more times than the Seminoles. In association with the execution key, if Duke refrains from turning the ball over, then they should have longer possessions. And longer possessions almost always result in more possessions than opposing teams.
If the Blue Devils have more possessions than the Seminoles, then they will get more looks from the field and make more shots.
Duke ranks 11th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 116.4 points per 100 possessions. This means that it ranks in the upper echelon of teams that score when they possess the ball. Florida State is 132nd in the same metric.