The only thing hotter than the Miami weather was Duke from the field tonight in their 86-63 victory over the Canes in Florida. The Blue Devils shot an unprecedented 81% from the field in the 1st Half, the best shooting percentage in one half by any Duke team in history. That's pretty astounding considering the offensive juggernauts this program has produced and even more astounding that it came from one of their worst offensive teams in their history.
Jon Sheyer was amazing, scoring a career-high 25 points but to me, it was the play of the much maligned Greg Paulus that led Duke tonight. Paulus had 15 points and 3 assists and more importantly, only had 2 turnovers. He shot the ball very well and that allowed him to dribble penetrate. When Paulus is aggressive, they are almost unbeatable because if he hits his shots then he can dribble penetrate and either try to score or kick it out to an open shooter. Now, let's not get too crazy considering this was 9-9 Miami that they were playing but how can you not be impressed with their offensive output? The best part about their offensive explosion is that it didn't affect their defensive intensity, something that has been there all year long despite the offensive woes.
The Blue Devils will look to build on their success from tonight against Wake Forest at home on Thursday night. This is an important string of games for the Blue Devils. They play Wake on Thursday and NC State in Raleigh on Saturday and in my opinion, they need to come away with two W's their. Anything less, could really hurt them down the road considering their brutal February schedule. Overall, I'm extremely impressed with the way this team handled some unusual adversity. They played well and hopefully this effort could propel them to bigger and better things.
As for Thursday night, Wake is not the same team they have been over the years. Last year, they were down but they still had two dynamite players in Williams and Grey. Now, without those guys, they look to Kyle Visser to be their money guy and I'm not so sure that will be good enough to beat the Blue Devils at home. I look for a little less offense but way more than they have been averaging.
Prediction: Duke 75 Wake Forest 59
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