Duke basketball falls in love with long ball ahead of critical weekend

The Duke basketball team fell in love with the deep shot against Bellarmine. 

Chicks dig the long ball and so does the Duke basketball team, apparently.

The Blue Devils fell in love with the 3-point shot in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday night against Bellarmine but it worked to the favor of Jon Scheyer’s squad.

Despite the massive size advantage Duke had in the paint against the feisty and well-coached Knights (2-3), the Blue Devils hoisted 35 attempts from beyond the arc in just 55 total shots.

Not typically a recipe for success but on this evening 14 of the 35 attempts (40.0-percent) found its way into the basket as Kyle Filipowski led the way once again with 18 points and eight rebounds.

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Filipowski has been the best player on the floor for the Blue Devils in the young season after reports had surfaced that he was struggling on the court in the offseason for Duke. He is averaging 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest on 43.1-percent shooting.

Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison had his best game in a Duke uniform with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from distance while Jeremy Roach was the only other player who posted double-figures with 10 points and five assists

Every player that took the floor for the Blue Devils on Monday night scored as Scheyer limited his rotation to nine players despite the 74-57 victory.

Dariq Whitehead continued to come off the bench in his second game back from preseason foot surgery but the five-star freshman only scored two points in 10 minutes.

Dereck Lively also only added two points to the winning cause as he was in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game after coming off the bench for two games following his offseason calf injury.

Duke basketball with next major test of season on horizon

The marquee event of Feast Week is the Phil Knight Invitational as the Blue Devils will be playing in the Legacy Tournament alongside Portland, Oregon State, West Virginia, Florida, Xavier, No. 24 Purdue, and No. 6 Gonzaga.

No. 8 Duke (4-1) will open the event on Thanksgiving afternoon at 3:00p.m. (ESPN) against Oregon State (3-1) and then get the winner/loser of Florida (3-1) and Xavier (3-1) on Friday afternoon at 3:30p.m. (ESPN).

The championship will be held on Sunday, November 27 at 3:30p.m. EST (ABC).