Aiming to extend their winning streak to six games and to continue their dominance over Georgia Tech, No. 5 Duke travels to Atlanta on Saturday to play its second Atlantic Coast Conference contest.
Duke (9-2, 1-0 ACC) hasn’t lost since Nov. 26, when it fell to Kansas 75-72 in Las Vegas. The Blue Devils are 35-5 against the Yellow Jackets since 2000, but fell 72-68 at Georgia Tech last December.
Led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, Duke is still trying to find its footing on the offensive end of the court. The Blue Devils picked up an easy 68-47 home win over George Mason on Tuesday, despite shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on 3-pointers.
Flagg, who paces the team with 16.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, went for 24 points, nine boards and four assists against George Mason, while continuing to show to his all-around game.
“I loved how aggressive he was,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “It changes the whole dynamic of our team when he’s looking to attack. The beauty with him is some nights, it’ll be him taking 20 shots and that’s great. Other nights it’s going to be him getting 10 assists, which is going to happen.
“I think he’s due for a triple-double. I think he’s due for a 30-plus point game.”
Following Flagg, fellow freshman Kon Knueppel averages 11.6 points per game, while junior Tyrese Proctor adds 11.4.
While Duke’s offense has been steady enough, it is the defense that’s carried much of the load this year. The Blue Devils have allowed fewer than 50 points in consecutive games, lowering their average points allowed mark to 58.7 — eighth best in the nation.
Duke vies to continue that trend on Saturday, as Georgia Tech continues to search for its first power conference win.
The Yellow Jackets (5-6, 0-1) have wins over West Georgia, Texas Southern, Charleston Southern, Central Arkansas and most recently UMBC, but haven’t fared well against major teams, losing each by an average of 12 points.
Coach Damon Stoudamire’s group did halt its three-game losing streak Wednesday, when it topped UMBC 91-82 at home. Georgia Tech saw its 22-point lead shrink to six before it secured the victory, in more evidence of a troubling trend this season.
“To me, there’s no question we can play with Duke, but can we beat them, can we finish the game?” Stoudamire said. “To beat a team like Duke, you’ve got to play for 40 minutes. You can’t have lulls in the game, so that’s what I want to see.”
Lance Terry’s 15.5 points per game lead Georgia Tech, followed by Baye Ndongo’s 12.9 and Naithan George’s 11.0. The Yellow Jackets will look for back-to-back home wins against Duke for the first time since 1988-89.
–Field Level Media
