Playing against Duke can be a draining experience.
Just ask Winthrop. Last year, in the first round of the NCAA
tournament, they lost by an embarrassing 84-37 to the Blue Devils,
after averaging 68.5 points per game during the rest of the
season.
Or ask South Carolina, Temple, North Carolina A & T, North
Carolina State, North Carolina, Florida State or St. Johns, which
were all held to less than 60 points by Duke last season.
The point is obvious: the Blue Devils are one of the most potent
defensive teams in the NCAA.
“Duke plays great defense,” said UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin, who is 1-3 lifetime against the Blue Devils as a head
coach. “They put such a great amount of pressure on
you.”
Pressure is the key to Duke’s game plan. They press, play
zone, man, or flip, or do just about anything else to get into the
faces of the ball handler.
“It’s just a lot of pressure,” said guard Jon
Crispin, who said he grew up hating Duke. “You never get open
looks.”
Such defensive intensity has been the driving force behind
Duke’s domination during the past five years.
Consider: they have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the past
five years, and have reached the championship game twice en route
to one national championship.
“It all starts with defense,” said Duke senior
forward Dahntay Jones. “Defense is our number one
priority.”
The Blue Devils’ stats back that up. Duke had more steals
than its opponents in 25 out of 35 games last season, and won the
turnover battle in 27 games.
Winning the turnover war is key to Duke’s whole game plan,
because the team strives for quick baskets and fast break points to
go on scoring runs.
“We score mainly off of defensive rebounds and steals, so
we make sure it is there every night,” Jones said.
Whether the Bruins are up for the challenge is yet to be
determined. They struggled offensively in both exhibition
appearances, racking up just 67 points against Branch West and 64
points against EA Sports, but played better in the season opener
against San Diego.
To correct the problem, Lavin said the most important thing for
his team is to play mistake-free basketball.
“We have to pass and catch the ball, and we must have good
ball security,” he said.
Crispin said if they can take care of the ball, the next step is
to try to cause Duke to get out of their defensive rhythm.
“We need to swing the ball around and make them
work,” Crispin said. “We can use each other to make
their defense rotate.”
Executing that game plan is easier said than done. Branch West
and EA Sports brought similar pressure to what UCLA will see on
Saturday, and the team couldn’t handle it.
“We’ve been playing against zone and man, which are
the same type of defenses that Duke plays,” Crispin said.
“(The exhibition teams) were trying to pressure us and were
changing defenses, and we struggled.”