Looking to extend its winning streak to six games and continue its dominance over Georgia Tech, No. 5 Duke will travel 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 lost 75-72 to Kansas 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. Despite shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on 3-pointers, the Blue Devils held on for an easy 68-47 home win over George Mason on Tuesday.
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 his all-around play.
“I liked how aggressive he was,” Duke coach John Scheyer said. “It changes the whole dynamic of our team when he’s looking to attack. The beauty with him is some nights, he’ll take 20 shots and that’s great. Other nights he’ll get 10 assists, which That’s 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 is averaging 11.6 points per game, while junior Tyrese Proctor adds 11.4 points.
While Duke’s offense has been fairly steady, it has been the defense that has carried much of the burden this year. The Blue Devils have allowed less than 50 points in consecutive games, dropping their average points to 58.7 – eighth best in the country.
Duke looks to continue that trend on Saturday, as Georgia Tech looks 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 have not fared well against major teams, averaging 12 points per team. Has lost to.
Coach Damon Stoudamire’s group snapped its three-game losing streak on Wednesday when it topped UMBC 91-82 at home. Georgia Tech saw its 22-point lead cut down to six before getting the win, more evidence of a troubling trend this season.
“For me, there’s no question that we can play with Duke, but can we beat them, can we finish games?” Stoudemire said. “To beat a team like Duke, you’ve got to play 40 minutes. You can’t have a sloppy game, so that’s what I want to see.”
Lance Terry’s 15.5 points per game lead Georgia Tech, followed by Bey Ndongo’s 12.9 and Nathan George’s 11.0. The Yellow Jackets will try for consecutive home wins against Duke for the first time since 1988–89.
–Field Level Media
