Duke drops BC 86-51 in first round of the ACC Tournament

Duke opened the 2021 ACC Tournament on a positive note, Tuesday, knocking off Boston College, 86-51, to advance to the second round and a rematch with Louisville on Wednesday.

The Blue Devils needed an opportunity to hit the reset button after two overtime losses and a blowout defeat to arch-rival North Carolina on Saturday.

And Duke got exactly that in a first round game with the ACC’s worst team, and an Eagles squad that has lost eight of its last nine and has just two wins since Dec. 22.

Mike Krzyzewski’s team, which was mentally taken out of its regular season finale with UNC just 10 minutes into the game, appeared to be mentally prepared for its opening tournament game.

The result was a quick 10-2 run, and the Blue Devils never looked back.

“Huge,” Krzyzewski said when asked how important it was to get off to a good start. “In the games that we’ve played well we haven’t turned the ball over and got good shots and we haven’t started out in a hole. Today, playing like that to begin with - we played a really good game.”

While the path to an NCAA Tournament berth is present only through a league title, Duke played with purpose and saw two of its freshmen, who struggled down the stretch, rediscover their groove and begin playing with confidence yet again.

One of those two, DJ Steward, was outstanding for the Blue Devils from the very start. Though he cooled a bit in the second half, the freshman combo guard scored a team-high 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half behind 3-of-6 shooting from long range.

But his impact went well beyond the scoring. Steward was laser focused, and as a result, he finished the game second on the team in assists with four. He also proved to be an asset on the glass, pulling down three rebounds to lead the way for the perimeter.

The young guard appeared to have his confidence shaken in the final week and a half of the season, but based on Tuesday’s effort, he appears to be back in a positive mental space.

“I feel like this is a good game for us to build our confidence,” Steward said. “Trusting each other. I feel like we had a lot of assists out there, and it’s a great game for us going into a dogfight tomorrow versus Louisville.”

Steward’s play helped contribute to a dominant first half from the Blue Devils, which saw them outscore Boston College, 41-27. Duke returned to the floor in the second half with the same aggressive mentality, and put together an even stronger effort in the final 20 minutes of action, outscoring the Eagles, 45-24.

Jeremy Roach, Steward’s freshman backcourt mate, was the other young Blue Devil to find his confidence and rhythm. Like Steward, Roach had been struggling mightily, but started to climb out of his struggles late against UNC.

He, too, carried that over to today’s game, and played with energy and confidence. The result was eight points, four rebounds and five assists compared to just one turnover.

That is a huge sign for Duke heading into the second game of the Tournament.

Duke was incredibly efficient on offense, hitting 52.5% from the field, including 46.9% (15-of-32) from 3-point range. Duke’s 15 made shots from beyond the arc was a season high, and showed the team was locked in.

“Our perimeter was outstanding,” Krzyzewski said. “And they shared the ball. We had 22 assists, and we shot the ball well. We came here yesterday. We drove in to do our 45-minute practice just to get a good feel because we knew there wouldn’t be hardly any warmup for our game.

“The perimeter really shot the ball well yesterday. Sometimes you do that the day before the game and not the day of, but it seemed to carry over.”

One of the primary reasons for Duke’s high efficiency was the presence of big man Mark Williams.

The 7-foot freshman was once again a force on the offensive end of the floor, where he scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 24 minutes of action.

He lived above the rim, and his teammates connected with him on multiple lobs at the rim. Of course, the freshman center finished each opportunity.

“My teammates just finding me in the right places,” Williams said when asked about his efficiency. “They’re finding me in the right places - it’s easier for me to just go up and make a shot, or catch a lob or something like that. Honestly, my teammates they’re finding me in the right places. I try to return the favor a little bit.”

While the three freshmen certainly set the tone and pace for the game, Duke did put together a pretty complete performance from top to bottom.

Duke’s bench contributed 32 points, led by senior Jordan Goldwire’s 12 points, highlighted by 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.

It wasn’t all about Goldwire, though, as Joey Baker found a rhythm scoring eight points in 22 minutes, while Henry Coleman also put together a strong outing with four points and five rebounds in 15 minutes of action.

“Obviously our defense was good and we had really good balanced scoring,” Krzyzewski added. “The contribution from Henry (Coleman) was key. Real key.”

Mark Williams added his thoughts on the team’s complete effort.

“I think everybody played well today. Everybody was prepared. We were locked in from the beginning of the game on.”

Ultimately, Duke’s bench outscored Boston College’s 32-18.

In addition to Duke’s offensive success, the defense was strong, holding Boston College to 39.1% shooting, including just 6.7% (1-of-15) from 3-point range. Duke also forced 20 Boston College turnovers and converted those into 23 points.

The Blue Devils will battle Louisville on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on the ACC Network.