Jon Scheyer details how Duke forced Miami into a bad shooting night
Duke had its way with Miami on Wednesday, earning an 84-55 victory for its fifth straight win. A big key to the dominant performance was the way the Blue Devils defended.
Miami shot only 31 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point range in the 29-point loss.
After the game, Duke coach Jon Scheyer shared how the Blue Devils were able to slow down Miami’s offensive attack.
“With them, you have to guard the ball. I know it sounds simple, but it starts with guarding the ball,” Jon Scheyer said. “And you have to have great communication. We switched a lot tonight. And you can switch when you have five guys who can defend in stay in front of the ball. I thought we had great communication.”
Duke did allow more offensive rebounds than Scheyer would have liked as the Hurricanes pulled in 16. However, some of that was due to the amount of missed shots by Miami with the Hurricanes shooting such a low percentage.
Overall, there wasn’t much for Scheyer to be unhappy about.
“The one thing that hurt us with some of the switching was the offensive rebounds that they got. We need to do a better job with that,” he said. “But overall, we have to guard the ball, and we did that.”
Jon Scheyer shares what is clicking for Duke amid five-game winning streak
It’s not just the defensive end of the court where Duke has been playing well lately. The Blue Devils have won five consecutive games since falling at North Carolina on Feb. 3.
Overall, Duke has won eight of its past nine games and 16 of its past 18.
After its most recent win over Miami, Jon Scheyer shared what has been clicking for the Blue Devils during this winning streak.
“Just embracing the lessons we’ve learned along the way this season,” Scheyer said. “In general, people can draw early conclusions about who people are, who teams are. … We’ve talked about, privately, just getting better in the whole season. We want to be at our best in February and March.
“I think we’re on an upswing,” Scheyer said. “I think we’ve continued to get better.”
Scheyer says this streak also says a lot about the grit and fortitude of his players. Regardless of the lows they may have experienced to this point, they have routinely gotten up and answered the bell this season.
“I think these guys have showed incredible toughness,” Scheyer said. “With things not going their way? You find out about people and the way they respond. All these guys, man? They responded at different times throughout the season – whether it be setbacks, whether it be losses. They’ve just kept working, kept believing.”