Season in Review

Duke

32-5 (13-3 ACC)

The expectations were sky high for Duke this year, coming off a National Championship run and returning nearly all of their players. Nothing they did at the beginning of the season did anything to dampen these expectations. Then, ironically, the season took a turn during the Butler game. Star guard Kyrie Irving got injured, forcing him out for the rest of the regular season. Duke still played pretty well without him, losing only 4 games. There were some signs of weakness, though, especially in their losses.

One of their main problems was the relative ineffectiveness of Kyle Singler. With all the buildup, Singler really had a disappointing year. He especially had a rough stretch near the end of the ACC season. Singler ended up scoring 16.9 points per game, but he only shot 32% from the 3 point line. A positive for Duke was the emergence of players like Seth Curry. Curry ended up averaging 9 points per game but came up big in some big games (especially their home game against UNC).

Of course any discussion of Duke starts and ends with Nolan Smith. He had a monster year, carrying the team on his back in some games, and was really a star for the Blue Devils. Smith ended up with 20.6 points per game, shooting nearly 46% from the field and leading the team in assists. Duke has to be disappointed with the way they ended the season, and I think most of that goes back to Irving. He returned for the NCAA Tournament, and that had a big impact on the team's chemistry. They struggled in a close win against Michigan and then were flat out demolished in the second half against Arizona.

Biggest Win:

75-58 vs. North Carolina on 3/13 (ACC Tournament Final)

Duke always gets up for the ACC Tournament, and played that whole week like they had something to prove. Many people thought UNC would be able to beat them for the second time in a week, but the Devils were having none of that. They controlled this game from start to finish and looked great in building a comfortable lead against their hated rivals. You could tell that the team really wanted that game in their postgame interviews.

Worst Loss:

93-78 at St. John's on 1/30

You could put the loss to Arizona in this spot, but I look at the January non-conference game against the Johnnies. This was the game where you really could see a chink in the armor. Duke was down by 21 points at halftime in a game that most people expected them to win. This was only the second loss of the season and the first one in blowout fashion.

Postseason Play:

As I said before, Duke played very well in the ACC Tournament, rolling to fairly easy wins over Maryland, Virginia Tech and UNC. Their smallest margin of victory was 14. Then the team took a #1 seed into the NCAA Tournament. They had no trouble with Hampton, but had to survive a last-second shot attempt to beat Michigan by 2. Then came the game against Arizona. They played solidly in the first half but it all fell apart for Duke in the second half and they ended up losing by 16. Definitely a bitter end to a season that had a lot of promise.

Looking Ahead:

There is no such thing as rebuilding at Duke, and to think that they will be anything other than great next year is foolish. The team definitely loses a lot, with Singler and Smith graduating and Irving leaving early for the NBA. That represents the top 3 scorers. There is still a lot of talent remaining, though, with Curry and Andre Dawkins in the backcourt. They will be joined by the highly touted Austin Rivers (son of Doc), who will be a freshman. The frontcourt will basically be all Plumlees, and Ryan Kelly. Look for Duke to be in the preseason top 10.