Jon Scheyer wants Duke to stay aggressive on offense in the 2nd half vs. Virginia: 'We have 24 points but it feels like a lot'

Duke scored just 24 points in the first half of the ACC Tournament championship game on Saturday night, but held a seven-point lead over Virginia. Despite the paltry output relative to Duke’s averages, head coach Jon Scheyer wants his team to stay the course in the second half and keep attack the Cavaliers pack-line defense.

Speaking to ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe at the half, Scheyer was blunt about the low-scoring nature of games against Virginia and the stout defense the Cavaliers pride themselves on.

“I just thought we were assertive. Just really aggressive” Scheyer said. “When there are opportunities to drive, taking them. We had a couple turnovers, but that’s going to happen. Overall, I just want us to be aggressive, keep sharing it. And they’re good. I mean, we have 24 points but it feels like a lot. And we just have to — it’s a possession-by-possession game. And that’s what we’re going to talk about here at half.”

Scheyer also noted that the tempo and tenor of the game on Saturday evening was different than when the two teams met on Feb. 11 — a 69-62 win for Virginia.

“It’s a big difference from last game versus them. They really make you defend for 25 seconds. You have to have great discipline. I love what we’ve done at that end. They’ve also missed a few shots — we can tighten it up. But that was a heck of a first half for our defense and we need to regroup here,” Scheyer said.

Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg detail what’s changed for Duke in ACC Tournament

The Duke Blue Devils are one win away from an ACC title under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer. ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg revealed what changed throughout the end of the year and the ACC Tournament.

Simply put, everyone is healthy and the Blue Devils might be playing their best basketball at just the right time. That’s a recipe for a dangerous team.

With a win over Virginia in the ACC Championship, Duke would continue quite the year.

“Well, I think they have everybody healthy now and have had everybody healthy for quite some time and that’s been really good for their continuity,” Bilas said on SportsCenter. “You have Dariq Whitehead on the floor who can stretch the floor, he’s their best three point shooter. Tyrese Proctor when he took over the point guard position, I mean, he’s just 18 years old and he should still be in high school. 

“That’s really helped Duke because it took Jeremy Roach off the ball. He can be more of a weapon offensively and Derek Lively II, his rim protection, the lob threat that he is, his athleticism. He’s a game changing player. Kyle Filopowski has been great all year long. But they’re playing without fear on the offensive end. Like they’re taking shots without worrying about missing out and they’re making a high percentage of them.”

Greenberg mentioned the Blue Devils’ balance getting better and ultimately making the team borderline great.

“Their offense has caught up to the defense,” Greenberg said. “I think that’s really important. But when you talk about roles, I think you can assign a role but you have to have those players, champion role. And these guys have bought into what they do well, and I think Jon Scheyer’s done an absolutely terrific job. Elite defensive team, but now they’re also an elite offensive team because of the role definition, because obviously Proctor has his hands on the ball as an initiator. And now the depth has been developed … The pieces fit, they’ve got great trust.”