Five instant reactions to the Duke basketball victory over Army

Flagg battled some second-half cramping for the second straight game, which is something to monitor with three ranked opponents on the schedule before the end of the month. However, in just 25 minutes on Friday night, he finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. He leads the Blue Devils in assists, blocks, and steals through three games, and he’s second in scoring and rebounding. Even if he doesn’t average 20 points per game, he’s the heartbeat of the team.

The Blue Devils shot 44.7% from 3-point range against the Army Black Knights thanks to a torrid second half, and Duke has connected on 41.8% of its threes through two games. However, exactly half of the team’s attempts have come from beyond the arc, and that dedication to perimeter shooting creates stretches like the start of Friday’s game. Seven of Duke’s first 10 attempts were 3-pointers, a frustrating stat when paired with the 1/11 start from long range. As we wrote after the Maine victory, this coaching style wins over 40 minutes, but the Blue Devils need to be careful they don’t build big holes against great teams.

For the second straight game, six different Blue Devils finished with at least 10 points. Duke is averaging 98.0 points per game, and while that efficiency likely won’t hold through conference play, the way the team scores is incredibly encouraging. Flagg (15.5 points per game) and fellow five-star freshman Kon Knueppel (18.5) are the only players averaging more than 12.0 per game, but five other players are averaging at least 8.0. That depth will pay off in February and March when Scheyer can call upon whoever he needs in tight games. The more players who can step forward, the better.

Duke survived its slow offensive start against the Black Knights thanks to its absolute dominance on the glass. Flagg and freshman 7-footer Khaman Maluach pulled down 25 rebounds between them as the Blue Devils finished with 50 boards as a team, 18 more than Army. Seventeen of those came on the offensive end to create 17 second-chance points, 15 of which came before the halftime break. Every major member of Duke’s rotation is at least 6-foot-5, and that’s paying off with a rebounding disparity of 90-59 to start the season.

If any Duke basketball fans have read our previous takeaways, this entry should come as no surprise. However, the trio of Sion James, Maliq Brown, and Mason Gillis deserved their own block again. James scored 12 points with four assists while finishing with a team-high +44 in the plus-minus. Gillis, who scored eight points thanks to two 3-pointers, ended up at +32, and Brown finished +16 with seven rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. It’s two games against Maine and Army, but their veteran leadership and playmaking are already on display.

Flagg battled some second-half cramping for the second straight game, which is something to monitor with three ranked opponents on the schedule before the end of the month. However, in just 25 minutes on Friday night, he finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals. He leads the Blue Devils in assists, blocks, and steals through three games, and he’s second in scoring and rebounding. Even if he doesn’t average 20 points per game, he’s the heartbeat of the team.

The Blue Devils shot 44.7% from 3-point range against the Army Black Knights thanks to a torrid second half, and Duke has connected on 41.8% of its threes through two games. However, exactly half of the team’s attempts have come from beyond the arc, and that dedication to perimeter shooting creates stretches like the start of Friday’s game. Seven of Duke’s first 10 attempts were 3-pointers, a frustrating stat when paired with the 1/11 start from long range. As we wrote after the Maine victory, this coaching style wins over 40 minutes, but the Blue Devils need to be careful they don’t build big holes against great teams.

For the second straight game, six different Blue Devils finished with at least 10 points. Duke is averaging 98.0 points per game, and while that efficiency likely won’t hold through conference play, the way the team scores is incredibly encouraging. Flagg (15.5 points per game) and fellow five-star freshman Kon Knueppel (18.5) are the only players averaging more than 12.0 per game, but five other players are averaging at least 8.0. That depth will pay off in February and March when Scheyer can call upon whoever he needs in tight games. The more players who can step forward, the better.

Duke survived its slow offensive start against the Black Knights thanks to its absolute dominance on the glass. Flagg and freshman 7-footer Khaman Maluach pulled down 25 rebounds between them as the Blue Devils finished with 50 boards as a team, 18 more than Army. Seventeen of those came on the offensive end to create 17 second-chance points, 15 of which came before the halftime break. Every major member of Duke’s rotation is at least 6-foot-5, and that’s paying off with a rebounding disparity of 90-59 to start the season.

If any Duke basketball fans have read our previous takeaways, this entry should come as no surprise. However, the trio of Sion James, Maliq Brown, and Mason Gillis deserved their own block again. James scored 12 points with four assists while finishing with a team-high +44 in the plus-minus. Gillis, who scored eight points thanks to two 3-pointers, ended up at +32, and Brown finished +16 with seven rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. It’s two games against Maine and Army, but their veteran leadership and playmaking are already on display.