Duke basketball: Percentages say Mark Williams is unmatched

Misses from Duke basketball’s Mark Williams are few and far between.

True, the offensive repertoire of Mark Williams is far from extensive. After all, most of the Duke basketball big man’s buckets are simple dunks. And his somewhat limited moves and lack of top-shelf strength have kept his average number of foul shots to 2.0 per game, a relatively small number for such a towering starting center playing 22.1 minutes per game.

Nevertheless, the 7-foot-1, 240-pound sophomore is averaging a career-high 10.6 points and 6.8 rebounds for the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils (22-4, 12-3 ACC).

That’s not to mention Williams’ game-winning putback flush in the squad’s 76-74 escape in Durham against the unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Tuesday.

Welcomed shooting percentages for any Duke basketball giant

Mark Williams’ bucket-getting contributions come with a level of efficiency unrivaled right now across the country. According to the official Twitter account for Duke stats, only one player in the nation is currently shooting better than 70 percent from both the field and charity stripe.

That player, of course, is Williams.

Even with a cold night, at 71.7 percent from the field and 74.5 percent from the foul line, Williams might remain above both 70-percent thresholds. As it stands, the projected 2022 first-round draft pick, who is riding a four-game streak with double-digit points, ranks No. 1 in the ACC across the following offensive categories:

• 2-point field goal percentage (72.1)
• True shooting percentage (72.5)
• Player efficiency rating (33.3)
• Offensive box plus/minus (7.4)

Meanwhile, Williams leads the conference with 3.0 blocks per game. So it’s no surprise his 87.1 defensive rating also paces the league.

All in all, it’s safe to say the former five-star recruit out of Virginia is doing his job — and then some.

Next up for Mark Williams and the ACC-leading Duke Blue Devils is a home bout at 6 p.m. ET Saturday, a rematch against the unranked Florida State Seminoles (14-11, 7-8 ACC). They dealt Duke a 79-78 overtime loss in Tallahassee in mid-January.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball news and views.