Duke Basketball

The Duke Blue Devils looked pedestrian without Zion Williamson during Tuesday's 71-70 victory over the 11-18 Wake Forest Demon Deacons and will likely have to battle the archrival North Carolina Tar Heels without him Saturday.

"I don't think he'll be ready for Saturday," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said, per C.L. Brown of The Athletic. "I have to be careful not to push this. I'd be surprised if he's not ready by the ACC tournament."

Williamson suffered a knee injury in the opening minute of a Feb. 20 loss to the Tar Heels when his foot went through the bottom of his shoe. Duke has gone 3-2 without him.

Duke looked lost in the first matchup with North Carolina after Williamson went out with his injury.

Luke Maye (30 points and 15 rebounds) and Cameron Johnson (26 points, seven rebounds and four assists) exploited the Blue Devils on the inside, targeting smaller defenders and taking full advantage of the absence of Duke's primary shot-blocker.

Fortunately for Krzyzewski's team, it still has RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish as two potential top-five picks to lead the way. That is a luxury no other team in the country can count on, especially with its top playmaker sidelined with injury.

Barrett rescued Duke in Tuesday's victory with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Reddish dealt with foul trouble throughout.

While that duo is more talented than almost anything an opponent can counter with, it is difficult to envision the Blue Devils living up to national championship expectations without Williamson. He is an impossible matchup in one-on-one scenarios, which forces defenses to send double-teams his way and opens up his teammates.

He also cleans up the glass and protects the rim on defense, where the Blue Devils have been particularly vulnerable since he suffered his injury.

Duke is still playing for an ACC crown and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but it may be without Williamson as it does so during the closing stretch of the season.

The Duke Blue Devils narrowly escaped an inexcusable loss with Zion Williamson sidelined Tuesday.

Duke overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and held off the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a 71-70 victory, but only after Chaundee Brown missed a buzzer-beating putback that would have given the visitors the win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils improved to 26-4 overall and 14-3 in ACC play and remained one game behind Virginia and North Carolina in the loss column in the race for the regular-season conference crown. Wake Forest fell to 11-18 overall and 4-13 in the conference.

RJ Barrett went into takeover mode despite seven turnovers and finished with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Tre Jones (13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals) provided effective support as Cam Reddish dealt with foul trouble throughout. Jones temporarily went to the locker room in the second half, but he returned for crunch time to help close out the win.

Brown (21 points and 10 rebounds) and Brandon Childress (19 points, five boards and three assists) led the way for Wake Forest in defeat.

              

Defensive Strides Without Zion Duke's Biggest Need for Stretch Run

Wake Forest had no business competing with Duke based on talent alone, but the Blue Devils struggled to string together defensive stops Tuesday and were largely flat as they fell behind by double digits in the second half.

It didn't help that Reddish sat out extended stretches with foul trouble, but the performance wasn't indicative of a team that is No. 3 in the country on offense and No. 5 on defense in KenPom.com's pace-adjusted rankings.

That lofty defensive ranking largely reflects the Blue Devils squad with Williamson on the floor. The team has looked like anything but a top-five defensive squad without him swatting shots, protecting the rim, battling for rebounds and darting into passing lanes.

On Feb. 20, North Carolina poured in 88 points with Luke Maye punishing smaller defenders such as Barrett and Cameron Johnson consistently attacking the rim without Williamson there to alter shots.

Virginia Tech also notched a win against the Zion-less Blue Devils with Kerry Blackshear Jr. controlling the paint and grabbing five offensive rebounds on his way to 23 points. There was nobody to turn him away outside of Javin DeLaurier, who hasn't been a focal point in the rotation and isn't someone Duke can rely on in the NCAA tournament.

Fortunately for Mike Krzyzewski's squad, Jones is still there to hound ball-handlers on the perimeter.

He tallied three steals against Wake Forest, setting the tone on multiple defensive possessions by picking up guards full court and forcing them to use some of the shot clock. However, the players behind him struggled to feed off his energy and allowed the Demon Deacons to control long lengths of play.

Barrett must play bigger than his size when he is matched up against players like Maye. Reddish has to avoid foul trouble so he can create turnovers like Jones. And more Duke players need to secure rebounds so they aren't exploited on second-chance opportunities.

Jack White (5.1) is the only Blue Devils player outside of Williamson and Barrett who's averaging more than five rebounds per game, making the issue all the more concerning with No. 1 sidelined.

Duke is in national championship-or-bust mode this season with three potential top-10 picks on the roster and can still rely on Barrett and Reddish at times to carry the offense. That duo alone gives the team more firepower than the majority of its opponents, but the defensive lapses without Williamson there to clean things up are worrisome now that the calendar has flipped to March.

If the Blue Devils don't make significant strides in a hurry, those worries will be exacerbated as the level of competition increases with the North Carolina rematch, ACC tournament and NCAA tournament.

Otherwise, it will be up to Williamson to return and save them despite concerns about his health.

                        

What's Next?

Both teams are in action Saturday for their regular-season finale. Wake Forest hosts Florida State, while Duke will look for revenge on the road against North Carolina after losing to its archrival at home on Feb. 20.

Duke forward Zion Williamson will remain out for Tuesday's game against Wake Forest as he continues to recover from his knee injury, according to Rece Davis of ESPN.

This will mark the fourth full game he's missed since he suffered a knee sprain Feb. 20 against North Carolina after his shoe blew out.

Tuesday's game marks Duke's the last home matchup of the year, leaving only Saturday's road battle against the Tar Heels before the postseason.

The 6'7", 285-pound freshman has averaged 21.6 points on 68.3 percent shooting, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. His 42.4 player efficiency rating is the NCAA's highest this decade, per Sports Reference.

The 5-star recruit entered Duke with tremendous hype and was ranked No. 6 overall on 247Sports' composite list for 2018. He's exceeded lofty expectations and proved to be the nation's best collegiate basketball player.

Duke lost the aforementioned UNC game by 16 points and has gone 2-1 without him.

Guard Alex O'Connell has done well, especially given the circumstances of replacing a superstar. The 6'6" sophomore dropped 20 points (5-of-8 from three-point range) at Syracuse en route to a 75-65 win. He also scored 11 versus Miami.

However, no one can replace Williamson's all-around game, as he's arguably the best player in the country on both ends.

Still, O'Connell's 40 percent marksmanship from downtown should be beneficial, as it was during the pivotal road win at Syracuse. RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish, who are first and third on the team in scoring, should continue to assume more of the scoring duties.

Duke star Zion Williamson doesn't appear to be getting close to a return, even though his injured knee is improving.

Per Marilyn Payne of WRAL Sports, head coach Mike Krzyzewski addressed the status of his freshman sensation after the Blue Devils' 87-57 win over Miami Saturday. 

"There's 'getting better.' There's no time pressure on him [Zion Williamson]," Krzyzewski said. "He's getting better. ... We're not in any hurry."

Krzyzewski added Williamson is "moving really well," though he hasn't taken part in any contact drills. 

Williamson has missed each of the past three games since spraining his knee during Duke's loss to North Carolina on Feb. 20. The freshman sensation was injured 36 seconds into that contest after his knee buckled when his shoe fell apart. 

The Blue Devils were able to avoid catastrophe on that day when it was announced Williamson would be listed as day-to-day. 

Given everything that Williamson has at stake over the next few months—most notably, being the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft if he leaves Duke—an injury is going to generate a lot of questions to be answered. 

Duke has national title aspirations with Williamson in the lineup. He is among the leading contenders for national player of the year with an average of 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. 

The Blue Devils have just two games remaining in the regular season, including a rematch with North Carolina on March 9, before the ACC tournament begins on March 12. 

Playing without Zion Williamson for the third straight game, the Duke Blue Devils got back on track with an easy 87-57 win over the Miami Hurricanes.

Since losing their star player to a knee injury, the Blue Devils lost two of their past three games, including a 77-72 defeat at the hands of Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

Playing a Miami squad that entered Saturday with a 4-11 record in ACC play and no road wins turned out to be just what Mike Krzyzewski's team needed.

RJ Barrett and Marques Bolden posted double-doubles in the win. Barrett had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Bolden scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Cam Reddish chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

     

Blue Devils' Attacking Style Proves They Can Win Without Zion

Whether Williamson is healthy or not, the Blue Devils aren't a good three-point shooting team. They are ranked 328th in the nation with a 30.7 percent success rate from behind the arc, per NCAA.com.

Losing Williamson from the lineup almost served as an excuse for Duke to try proving it could be a successful shooting squad. The team attempted 181 shots over the previous three games, with 89 coming from three-point range.

It's not a bad strategy, and some of those attempts against North Carolina and Virginia Tech likely came late while it tried to play catch-up, but the Blue Devils only made 24 of those 89 shots (27.0 percent).

When the offense is at its best, Duke is dominating in the paint. It failed in that regard against Virginia Tech:

In its second game without Zion Williamson, Duke dropped a road showdown with 20th-ranked Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils were again missing the impact of Williamson, scoring just 24 points in the paint – nearly 20 points below its season average of 42.5.

— ESPN Blacksburg (@ESPNBlacksburg) February 27, 2019

Williamson is certainly the key to such success, but Saturday's win over Miami proved the Blue Devils can attack the basket without him. Only 17 of their 63 field goal attempts were from three-point range.

Barrett seemed to realize he didn't need to settle for jump shots after going 6-of-22 from behind the arc in the previous three games:

RJ BARRETT WITH THE HAMMER pic.twitter.com/BpXDG03aUy

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 2, 2019

These guys are good.

Duke ends the half on a blistering 18-3 run. pic.twitter.com/xvr40Lparx

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 2, 2019

The absence of Williamson left Duke without an identity. He's such a dynamic force on offense and defense that it would be unfair to expect this group to be the same without him.

Krzyzewski knows adjustments will be required for the team to reach its full potential.

"Once we started the game it was obvious that we weren't getting our normal movements offensively and defensively," Coach K told reporters after the Virginia Tech game. "They are accustomed to Zion being that second big even though he is not a big. He is a great player. So we have to make some adjustments there."

Saturday marked the first time Duke looked comfortable since Williamson's injury. Playing against a bad team provided the group with the opportunity to succeed in the midst of adversity.

The results proved the Blue Devils are capable of being a national title contender without their best player as long as they play to their strengths instead of trying to force things that haven't worked all season.

     

What's Next?

Miami will play its final home game of the regular season against Pittsburgh on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. Duke will host Wake Forest on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

When it comes to marketing, Skechers is not afraid to take shots at a competitor.

That much is clear from the company's latest ad.

On Feb. 20, Duke Blue Devils star Zion Williamson—the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft—suffered a sprained knee in the opening minute of a showdown against the North Carolina Tar Heels when his left shoe, a Nike PG 2.5, blew out.

Zion's shoe: destroyed 😳 pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019

Puma attempted to capitalize on the moment by tweeting, "Wouldn't have happened in the pumas." That tweet was deleted, though.

While Puma changed its mind on going after Nike, Skechers went hard by using the tagline "Just blew it. We won't split on you." in its latest ad:

Skechers Instagram ad takes shot at Nike & Zion Incident. pic.twitter.com/huDcC9u21s

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 1, 2019

Skechers is running ads on Instagram and in The New York Times tomorrow calling out Nike for Zion Williamson’s ripped shoes. 👀 pic.twitter.com/WdDuyoc5OE

— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) March 2, 2019

Williamson has missed Duke's last three games.

Duke announced that freshman superstar Zion Williamson will not play against Miami on Saturday while he continues his recovery from a Grade 1 sprain in his right knee.

It will mark Williamson's third consecutive game missed after suffering the injury in the opening seconds of an 88-72 loss to North Carolina on Feb. 20.

The Blue Devils beat Syracuse 75-65 in their first game without Williamson, but they fell to No. 20 Virginia Tech 77-72 on Tuesday.

Williamson is among the leading candidates to win College Player of the Year honors, as he is averaging 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, while shooting a remarkable 68.3 percent from the field.

He is second on the team in scoring behind RJ Barrett and third in assists, but he leads the Blue Devils in both rebounding and steals.

In games Williamson has played in full this season, Duke is 23-2. It was the No. 1 ranked team in the nation for much of the season, but since Williamson went down, the Blue Devils have been dropped down to No. 3.

Duke is a lock to make the NCAA tournament, and it is difficult to envision the team being anything worse than a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the tourney regardless of what happens over the final three games of the regular season and in the ACC tournament.

The most important thing for Duke is ensuring Williamson is healthy and able to play by the time the NCAA tournament starts.

Duke is still a dangerous team without Williamson due to the presence of Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones, and it is undoubtedly capable of beating lower-level teams. Miami finds itself in that category this season, as it is just 12-15 overall and 4-11 in conference play.

A home win over Miami can't be taken for granted, though, as the Hurricanes took North Carolina to overtime before losing 88-85 on the road last month.

With Williamson out again Saturday, much of the scoring burden will fall on Barrett and Reddish, while Alex O'Connell will likely have more scoring responsibility off the bench as well.

Cassell Coliseum continues to be a nightmare for the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils following their 77-72 loss to the 20th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies on Tuesday night.

This marks the third straight season a Duke team ranked in the Top Five has been upset on the road by Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils were playing their second consecutive game without Zion Williamson because of a knee injury.

After Duke went on a 7-0 run to tie the score at 70 with 1:52 remaining, Ty Outlaw put the Hokies back on top for good with a three-pointer from the corner.

Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Virginia Tech in the win.

RJ Barrett overcame a slow start to finish with 21 points. Cam Reddish added 17 points and six rebounds.

           

Coach K Needs to Reduce Burden on Star Players

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is in a difficult position at this point in the season. The Blue Devils started the day tied with Virginia and North Carolina atop the ACC standings with identical 12-2 records.

In addition to fighting for the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils are in the mix for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

Given those stakes, it's understandable that Krzyzewski would ride his best players as much as possible. He's also putting a burden on those stars, which highlights how low Coach K's faith in his roster depth is.

The trio of Reddish, Barrett and Tre Jones have played a combined total of 990 out of 1,080 minutes since Jan. 26. Barrett and Reddish played all 40 minutes against Syracuse on Saturday, while Jones got two minutes of rest during the game.

Because the shots Williamson would normally take are being spread out, Duke's offense has become more predictable. Javin DeLaurier and Alex O'Connell combined to score seven points and took two field goals.

After the win over Syracuse, Krzyzewski told reporters that he was going to give O'Connell and Joey Baker more time on the court.

"He's played well in practice," Krzyzewski said. "Obviously, we haven't shot the ball well except for that [road] Virginia game, and Alex and Joey are two of our better shooters, so he'll continue to get stuff."

Baker made no impact off the bench against Virginia Tech. The freshman, who was supposed to redshirt this season, attempted one field goal.

Factoring all of this in, it's easy to see why Krzyzewski wants to use Barrett, Reddish and Jones as much as possible. But there's also the big-picture consideration worth exploring.

The Blue Devils don't need another ACC championship—regular-season or tournament—because their success will only be measured by what happens in the NCAA tournament.

Assuming Williamson returns at some point, all of Duke's current concerns will go away. For now, though, asking Barrett, Reddish and Jones to play virtually every minute of every game is only exposing how limited this roster is.

Giving players like Baker and O'Connell more time now to establish an identity could help the Blue Devils in March. Baker was part of the team's revered 2018 freshman class. His redshirt is gone, so there's no reason to keep hiding him.

Krzyzewski's excessive use of his Big Three hasn't helped Duke develop the talent around them to prepare the team for the most important time of the season.

           

Cam Reddish Needs to Be More Aggressive in Zion's Absence

If there was any silver lining for Duke with Williamson's injury, it was the possibility that Reddish would start to play more like the player everyone expected him to be out of high school.

This is what Reddish's Jan. 2018 scouting report from ESPN.com had to say about his ability:

"That talent has had him under the microscope since a young age, and while he's had some ups and downs, his progression has been largely linear as he's gotten more aggressive, learned how to create his own shot, and become an increasingly dangerous shooter. There's more upside left to discover as he learns to be assertive within the flow of offense, gets more consistent with his approach, and buys into maximizing his defensive tools."

Four months into Reddish's college career, he remains an enigma on a game-to-game basis. He scored a season-high 27 points in the Feb. 20 loss to North Carolina, but it came on 10-of-23 shooting with no assists and four turnovers.

Reddish followed up that showing with just five points on 2-of-11 shooting against Syracuse.

As Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo noted, one of Reddish's biggest problems is his tendency to settle for three-pointers:

"While he is more than capable of getting hot from outside and swinging a game, it's begun to feel like he's launching threes simply to compensate for his struggles to create good shots otherwise. On the season, Reddish is shooting 39.8 percent on 118 two-point shots, and 33.2 percent on 208 three-pointers. The disparity in attempts is due in part to the ball-dominant Barrett and hyper-efficient Williamson, but it's simply not the profile of a player who should ever be counted on to shoulder an offense."

That trend continued against Virginia Tech, as Reddish took six of his 13 attempts from behind the arc.

Reddish has occasionally flashed more potential than just the three-point specialist he's become for the Blue Devils. He had six rebounds and six assists in a Jan. 26 win over Georgia Tech.

With a listed height of 6'8", Reddish has the size and length to be a versatile asset for Krzyzewski. He just chooses so often to sit back and let the game happen around him.

Until Williamson gets back on the court, Coach K needs Reddish to start showing the full repertoire of skills he did last month against Georgia Tech.

               

What's Next?

Duke will return home Saturday to take on Miami at 4 p.m. ET. Virginia Tech has one week off before playing its final road game of the regular season at Florida State on March 5.

Zion Williamson is a legend.

After highlight-reel dunks as a high schooler attracted a massive following, Williamson has become the featured attraction at Duke. No matter what happens during the rest of the 2018-19 men's college basketball season, he's solidified a place in the sport's history.

Because of Williamson's impact, RJ Barrett had found himself overshadowed by the physical and mythical presence of Zion.

Until the shoe-exploding knee injury against North Carolina on Feb. 21, that is.

Yes, Barrett has garnered his fair share of headlines. He plays nearly 35 minutes every night for one of the nation's best teams. But his teammate is the expected No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Before the injury, most people asked "how did Zion play last night?" and get to Barrett later.

Whether that's fair or unfair is up for debate. The truth is, Barrett, while averaging 23.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, is the sidekick to Zion's star.

Williamson's stunning exit against UNC, however, created a nightmare of a void―one only a special talent could fill. The Blue Devils always had this player, but it took Williamson's absence to fully push Barrett into the spotlight.

And he sure is comfortable on center stage.

This is the same player who dominated Team USA in the FIBA U19 Basketball Championships in 2017. Team USA had earned two straight U19 titles and three of the last four, but Barrett ended those runs with 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

He's the standout who racked up 33 points and six assists in his college debut, a 118-84 dismantling of Kentucky; the one who scored 32 points and played all 40 minutes during a thrilling win at Florida State when an eye injury limited Williamson in January.

And the same superstar who notched a quiet zero-turnover triple-double behind Williamson's 32-point display against NC State.

This shows how quickly Zion's orbit has controlled Barrett's prestige.

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/1099474412766584838

The reason isn't novel; Barrett would be a team-leading superstar if Williamson wasn't on the same roster. You'd expect this excellence from 247Sports' No. 1 overall recruit in the 2018 class.

After Williamson's injury, Duke couldn't keep up with UNC. Barrett missed a few shots but hardly could've played any better.

Despite the loss, Barrett turned in a 33-point, 13-rebound effort while receiving little help from non-Cam Reddish teammates. The other Blue Devils shot 1-of-16 from three-point range. It turns out an unexpected 39-minute absence from an NBA-bound star can really affect a team!

When Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke staff had several days to prepare a plan without Zion, though, Barrett flat-out dominated.

Syracuse didn't have an answer for him in Duke's 75-65 victory on Saturday. Barrett racked up 30 points on a clinical 14-of-20 line, while also dishing a game-best seven assists that shredded Syracuse's trademark zone defense.

RJ Barrett carved up the Cuse zone with his physicality but it's his progress as a facilitator that has stood out. Instincts have always been there, it was more about the willingness, which he's shown as of late. Lost in Zion mania is the tremendous season RJ Barrett is having. pic.twitter.com/HnnsquPP45

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) February 24, 2019

Barrett has an occasional habit of holding the ball too long, and that playmaker mentality will be a point of contention on his NBA scouting report. When he sees the floor like at Syracuse, he's even tougher to defend.

After all, you know he'll score. Barrett has proved as much all season alongside his roommate, a genuinely close friend.

Williamson told Devin Gordon of GQ he's closest with Barrett and Dana O'Neil of The Athletic that Barrett is "almost like my twin." They're at their best together.

No reasonable person would argue against Duke's best chance to win a national title being with the freshman duo on the court―but especially Williamson. He's a creative, powerful, efficient player who is exceptionally difficult to contain.

The best featured players know their wingman's worth. Sometimes, though, that wingman needs a moment in the spotlight to remind everyone else just how integral he is.

            

All statistics courtesy of KenPom or Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

Duke superstar forward Zion Williamson will not play in Tuesday night's matchup against Virginia Tech, according to Stephen Wiseman of The Herald-Sun.

Williamson is recovering from a knee sprain he suffered during Duke's 88-72 loss to rival North Carolina last Wednesday. It will be the second straight game he's missed with the injury. Duke beat Syracuse 75-65 without him Saturday, behind RJ Barrett's 30 points and seven assists.

The Blue Devils fell to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press poll released Monday after the loss to the Tar Heels.

Duke is still loaded without Williamson, boasting talents like Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones. But few players in recent memory have been as dynamic and exciting as Williamson, who seems a safe bet to be the top overall player selected in this year's NBA draft.

Williamson is averaging 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting a ridiculous 68.3 percent from three. While he isn't without his question marks—namely his perimeter shooting—his above-the-rim athleticism more than covers for his deficiencies, at least at the college level.

There has been public debate about whether Williamson should even play again this season or sit out the remainder of the year as a precaution from further injury and potentially hurting his draft stock. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters he hasn't discussed such a scenario with Williamson and that Duke will take every precaution in his recovery, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com:

"We would never play a kid who's not ready. We would never play a youngster who didn't want to play. It's not about that. He wants to play. He loves being at Duke. He doesn't like being injured. It's an injury you can get over in a shorter period of time. There's just a protocol that we have to go through to make sure he's completely ready. We're not rushing anything, so that's why we said day-to-day because it's literally day-to-day." 

There's little need to rush Williamson back this time of the season anyway—Duke's endgame is an NCAA championship. Having Williamson healthy come March is more important than having him available for the end of the ACC schedule.