Blue Devils Primed for Top-20 Showdown at North Carolina

Thursday, January 19

Chapel Hill, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Primed for Top-20 Showdown at North Carolina

1/18/2023 1:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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THE OPENING TIP

The 13th-ranked Blue Devils cap their brief two-game road trip this week with a midweek tilt against in-state rival and 17th-ranked North Carolina on Thursday, Jan. 19 at Carmichael Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., live on the ACC Network.
The Duke women's basketball coaching staff will wear purple quarter zips during the game in support of "We Back Pat" Week. "We Back Pat" week is week-long initiative focused on bringing awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation and its fight against Alzheimer's disease.
Pam Ward and Christy Thomaskutty will call the action on ACC Network while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
Duke rose three spots to No. 13 in the Week 11 Associated Press (AP) Poll and checks in at No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Currently amid an 11-game winning streak, Duke is off to its best start in recent history – boasting a 16-1 overall record and a 6-0 mark in ACC play. The Blue Devils' 16 wins in 17 games, 11 consecutive wins along with their six straight victories to open conference action, mark program bests dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings the Blue Devils are slotted ninth (as of Jan. 17).
Defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils this season as the team has won each of its games by an average of 22.4 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 10 of the 17 to 50 points or less.
Duke has held its foes to 50.4 points per game on 34.0 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank third and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Jan. 17).
Duke has found its stroke from distance lately, knocking down its treys at a 45.5-percent clip over the last five games.
The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from its reserves, averaging 27.3 points off the bench.
Duke and North Carolina will square off for the 104th time in a series dating back to 1975-76, with the Tar Heels holding a slim 52-51 lead in the all-time series.
Although Duke has won seven of the last 10 meetings, North Carolina swept the series last year, posting wins on Jan. 27 (78-62) and Feb. 27 (74-46).

SHARING THE WEALTH

Duke's starting five of senior Elizabeth Balogun, junior Kennedy Brown, sophomores Shayeann Day-Wilson and Reigan Richardson and senior Celeste Taylor have provided a steady hand for the Blue Devils this season, combining for 66.1 percent (46.2 points) of the team's 69.9 points per game.
Taylor has reached double digits in 13 of the 17 games this season followed by Balogun with 10. Brown and Day-Wilson have tallied seven double-figure scoring games apiece while Richardson has posted six.
Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 12.9 points per game with Balogun (10.9) and Brown (8.2) right behind in second and third. Day-Wilson and Richardson round out the group with 7.5 and 6.7 points a contest, respectively.
Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 17 games this season, with Taylor (6) and Balogun (5) finishing with the team high on multiple occasions.
The squad features 10 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game with four of them averaging 20-plus minutes a contest -- Taylor (28.1), Brown (24.0), Day-Wilson (22.6) and Balogun (21.8).
As a team, Duke ranks fourth in the ACC in field goal percentage (.448) and has assisted on 269 of its 448 made field goals (.600) for an average of 15.8 dimes per game -- No. 2 in the ACC.
The Blue Devils are also second in the ACC in turnover margin (+4.18) and scoring margin (+19.47), third in free throw percentage (.764), as well as fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.04) and three-point field goal percentage (.335).

DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE

Disruptive defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils early in the season as the team ranks among the nation's elite, having held its opponents to 50.4 points per game on a 34.0 percent clip from the field.
Those marks check in at third and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, while ranking first in the ACC (as of Jan. 17).
Duke is also seventh in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.654 points per possession.
In three ACC road games, Duke has only allowed nine made field goals in the fourth quarter -- NC State (4-of-18), Wake Forest (3-of-9), Georgia Tech (2-of-12)
The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 22.4 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 10 of the 17 to 50 points or less.
In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also first in the ACC in rebounding defense (30.65), fourth in defensive rebounding percentage (.739), tied for fourth in blocks (4.82) and fifth in both three-point defense (.271) and steals (9.82).
In their most recent game against Georgia Tech, the Blue Devils outscored the home team 38-19 in the second half and held the Yellow Jackets to just 6-of-25 shooting (24.0 percent) from the field over the final 20 minutes of action.

DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Duke rose three spots to No. 13 in the Week 11 Associated Press (AP) Poll and check in at No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Blue Devils are also ranked eighth in the ESPN Women's Basketball Power Rankings.
The latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings has the Blue Devils slotted ninth nationally (as of Jan. 17), second in the ACC, with an undefeated record at home (8-0) and in true road contests (7-0), while being 1-1 in neutral site games.
With an average opponent NET ranking of 12, the Blue Devils are 3-1 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 9-1 against the top 100, including wins over NC State (No. 13), Louisville (No. 29), Virginia (No. 39), and Toledo (No. 59). Duke's lone loss came to UConn, which checks in at No. 3 in the NET.

UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY

Duke's duo of Elizabeth Balogun and Celeste Taylor has seen an uptick in its efficiency, particularly on the offensive end.
The team's leading scorer this season, Taylor is averaging 16.2 points on 46.6 percent from the floor and 48.6 percent from distance across since the start of ACC play.
She has scored double figures in all six games, including a season-high 23 points to help the Blue Devils knock off then-No. 6 NC State, 72-58.
In non-conference play, Taylor put up 11.2 points on 44.0 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three.
In six league games, Balogun has raised both her scoring (11.3) and rebounding (7.2) averages, while maintaining around the same efficiency shooting from the field and beyond the arc.
Balogun shot 53.2 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three in non-conference play, while ACC play has seen her shoot 57.1 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively.
During this stretch, Balogun has scored in double digits four times overall and in four of the last five, including back-to-back double-doubles in wins over Louisville (20 pts, 10 rebs) and at Wake Forest (12 pts, 10 rebs).

HEATING UP FROM DISTANCE

After a slow start from downtown to open the season, the Blue Devils have settled in and begun to find their stroke from three-point land.
Over its last five games, Duke has knocked down its treys at a 45.5-percent clip.
The Blue Devils have shot over 40 percent in three of the five games while six Duke players have combined for the 38 three-point makes.
Celeste Taylor has led the charge with 16 treys during this stretch, followed by Shayeann Day-Wilson and Elizabeth Balogun with five apiece.
Vanessa de Jesus and Ashlon Jackson have cashed in three apiece, Reigan Richardson has netted two and Taya Corosdale has added one.

UP NEXT
Duke opens a two-game homestand, playing host to Syracuse on Sunday Jan., 22 at 12 p.m., live on ACC Network.

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