No. 9 Duke Set to Take On Boston College Thursday Night

THE OPENING TIP

Fresh off a road win at Notre Dame, No. 9 Duke caps its two-game road swing on Feb. 9 as the Blue Devils make the trek to Boston for a matchup with Boston College at 7 p.m., on ACCNX.
Eric Gallantly and Josh Mauer will call the action on ACCNX while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
Duke is having one of the best seasons in recent history – boasting a 20-3 overall record and a 10-2 mark in ACC play. The Blue Devils' 20 wins in 23 games and 10-2 record in league play mark program bests dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
With the win at Notre Dame on Sunday, Duke grabbed sole control of first place in the ACC and picked up its first road win in the all-time series against the Fighting Irish.
The Blue Devils need just one more win to reach 1,000 program victories.
Duke checked in at No. 9 in the Week 14 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
It marks the Blue Devils' first appearance in the top 10 since 2016-17, when Duke finished the year ranked ninth in the final AP poll of the regular season.
In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted ninth (as of Feb. 7).
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 19.9 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 12 of the 23 to 50 points or less.
Elizabeth Balogun was tabbed as one of 10 players selected to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Mid-Season Top-10 list while Celeste Taylor was named to the 2023 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year 2023 Watch List.
Duke has held its foes to 51.7 points per game on 35.0 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank fourth and 12th in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first and second in the ACC (as of Feb. 7).
Duke has found its stroke from distance lately, knocking down its treys at a 38.5-percent clip in ACC play.
The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from their reserves, averaging 24.2 points off the bench.

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 67.9 percent (45.4 points) of the team's 66.9 points per game.
Taylor has reached double digits in 16 of the 23 games this season followed by Day-Wilson with 12 and Balogun with 11. Richardson and Brown have each tallied seven double-digit scoring efforts.
Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 12.0 points per game with Balogun (10.2) and Day-Wilson (9.6) right behind in second and third. Brown and Richardson round out the group with 7.0 and 6.6 points a contest, respectively.
Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 23 games this season, with Taylor (8), Day-Wilson (6), Balogun (5) and Vanessa de Jesus (2) 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 (28.6), Brown (24.3), Day-Wilson (24.3) and Balogun (22.4).
As a team, the Blue Devils rank second in turnover margin (+3.26), fourth in scoring margin (+15.22) and three-point field goal percentage (.330), fifth in free throw percentage (.745) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (0.95).
Duke also ranks seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage (.427) and has assisted on 336 of its 574 made field goals (.585) for an average of 14.6 dimes per game -- eighth in the ACC.

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 51.7 points per game on a 35.0 percent clip from the field.
Those marks check in at fourth and 12th in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first and second in the ACC (as of Feb. 7).
Duke is also tied for seventh in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.670 points per possession.
The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 19.8 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 12 of the 23 to 50 points or less.
In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and ranking second in field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also tied for first in the ACC in rebounding defense (31.09), second in three-point defense (.275) and defensive rebounding percentage (.740), third in rebound margin (+7.57) and blocks (5.13) and sixth in steals (9.09).

UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY

Duke's duo of Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor have seen an uptick in their efficiency, particularly on the offensive end.
The team's leading scorer this season, Taylor is averaging 12.7 points on 39.8 percent from the floor and 35.0 percent from distance since the start of ACC play.
She has scored double figures in eight of 11 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.
Day-Wilson has raised her play since the schedule transitioned over to conference action, improving her scoring average by almost four points while also raising her shooting percentage.
After putting up 8.8 ppg on 38.1 percent and 35.7 percent shooting splits in non-conference play, the sophomore has averaged 12.2 points on 44.8 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from deep.
She has scored double figures in six of her last eight games.

DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Duke checks in at No. 9 in the Week 14 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
It marks the Blue Devils' first appearance in the top 10 since 2016-17, when Duke finished the year ranked ninth in the final AP poll of the regular season.
The Blue Devils are also ranked ninth in the ESPN Women's Basketball Power Rankings.
The latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings has the Blue Devils slotted ninth nationally (as of Feb. 7), second in the ACC, with an undefeated record at home (11-0), an 8-2 mark in true road contests and 1-1 record in neutral site games.
With an average opponent NET ranking of seven, the Blue Devils are 5-3 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 12-3 against the top 100, including wins over Notre Dame (No. 6), NC State (No. 11), Virginia Tech (No. 21), Louisville (No. 33), FGCU (No. 48), Virginia (No. 52) and Oregon State (No. 56). Duke's three losses have come against UConn, Florida State and North Carolina, who check in at No. 2, No. 13 and No. 22, respectively, in the NET.

IN ELITE COMPANY

The Blue Devils are the only women's basketball team so far this season to shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe and 64 percent or higher from beyond the arc in the same game, according to HerHoopStats.
Duke cashed in nine of its 14 three-point attempts and went 15-of-15 from the foul line in the win over the Wolfpack.
After tallying 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals against Syracuse, Celeste Taylor joined Chelsea Gray (3X), Haley Gorecki (4X), and Lexie Brown (4X) as the only Duke women's basketball players since 2009-2010 to post multiple career games of 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 4+ Assists, and 4+ Steals, according to HerHoopStats.

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.
Since the start of conference play, Duke has knocked down its treys at a 38.5-percent clip compared to just 34.3 percent in non-conference action.
The Blue Devils have shot over 40 percent in five of the 12 ACC games while seven Duke players have combined for the 70 three-point makes.
Celeste Taylor and Shayeann Day-Wilson lead the charge with 21 and 20 threes apiece, respectively. Vanessa de Jesus has cashed in nine, while Elizabeth Balogun has knocked down eight and Ashlon Jackson six.
Reigan Richardson and Taya Corosdale round out the group with three triples apiece.

LAST TIME OUT

The No. 16 Duke women's basketball team grabbed sole control of first place in the ACC and picked up its first road win in the all-time series against Notre Dame Sunday afternoon as the Blue Devils took down the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish, 57-52, in front of a raucous, sold-out Purcell Pavilion crowd.
Celeste Taylor paced the Blue Devils in all three major categories, finishing the game with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Duke also received strong contributions from Elizabeth Balogun (nine points, seven rebounds), Shayeann Day-Wilson (nine points, two rebounds), Jordyn Oliver (eight points, four rebounds) and Taya Corosdale (eight points, two assists).
Duke won the rebound battle (37-33) against Notre Dame, the ACC's second-best rebounding team, and held the Fighting Irish nine rebounds below their season average of 44.8. The Blue Devils also outscored the home team 26-22 in the paint and held a plus-17 margin (21-4) in bench points.
Check out the full recap here.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE EAGLES

Boston College (14-12, 4-9 ACC) comes into Thursday's game following a 79-72 loss at Syracuse on Sunday.
The Eagles have five players averaging double figures this season – Dontavia Waggoner (13.1), Maria Gakdeng (11.2), Taina Mair (11.0), Jojo Lacey (11.0) and T'Yana Todd (10.3).
On the boards, Waggoner leads the way with 7.5 rebounds a game while Taina Mair averages a team best 7.0 assists per contest.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils are back at Cameron for a Sunday afternoon tilt, playing host to Miami in their Play4Kay game on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m., live on RSN.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

#GoDuke

No. 9 Duke Set to Take On Boston College Thursday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Balogun

Kennedy Brown

Taya Corosdale

Shayeann Day-Wilson

Vanessa de Jesus

Ashlon Jackson

Jordyn Oliver

Reigan Richardson

Celeste Taylor

Duke information

No. 9 Duke Set to Take On Boston College Thursday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Balogun

Kennedy Brown

Taya Corosdale

Shayeann Day-Wilson

Vanessa de Jesus

Ashlon Jackson

Jordyn Oliver

Reigan Richardson

Celeste Taylor

Related Videos

Duke information