Preview: Boston College at No. 17 Duke

DURHAM – There was the flash from one of Duke's freshmen at the end of the first half in Wednesday night’s game against Ohio State.

And then the other freshman got things going in the second half, scoring in double figures for the first time this season.

Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II are coming along.

Whitehead provided a spark at the end of the first half against the Buckeyes, creating a turnover that led to his fourth 3-pointer of the season. Lively had the bigger impact in the second half, when he scored seven of his season-high 11 points. The 7-footer hadn’t scored more than five points in any game before Wednesday night.

Coach Jon Scheyer stressed patience when it comes to Whitehead and Lively, the Blue Devils’ pair of top-5 recruits who missed nearly three months and about one month, respectively, during the preseason.

“I hope for all of these freshmen, not just you guys but anybody, is patient with them,” Scheyer told media after Wednesday night’s win over No. 25 Ohio State.

As far as who needs to be patient … well, the freshmen aren’t patient and Scheyer has had to remind even himself to apply some patience.

“I don’t think they’re very patient, which is what makes them really good,” Scheyer said on Friday afternoon. “I don’t want them to be patient. By the way, I’m not patient either. I have to remind myself to do that.”

Recapping what we've known: Whitehead missed nearly three months — the first three games — following surgery on his right foot to repair a fracture. Lively missed about a month, including the opener, because of a calf strain.

The timing of the injuries matters as much as the time elapsed with them on the sidelines.

“They missed the most-crucial time of year for any freshman,” Scheyer said. “They’ve been working hard and it’s going to take them some time.”

Duke has room to be patient — to an extent. The Blue Devils’ 20-game ACC slate begins with Saturday’s game against Boston College, and then they’ll wrap up an impromptu three-games-in-two-weeks series against the Big Ten with Tuesday night’s game against Iowa in New York.

Along with Whitehead and Lively makes impact plays against Ohio State, Duke as a whole continued its evolution.

“In terms of maturing through runs, we saw it against Ohio State, I thought we weathered runs a lot better than we had in Portland and against Kansas,” forward Ryan Young said. “I felt like we were always in control of (Wednesday’s) game, which was awesome to see because that’s something that a young team like ours needs to be able to grow and learn how to win, and how manage game situations.”

Duke becoming its best self will be heavily dependent on Whitehead and Lively continuing to ramp into the season.

“As you’re coming back from injury, we’ve had to hold them back with what they can do,” Scheyer said. “You’re trying to get fully healthy and all that. … I think it’s only a matter of time as long as we have the approach of we’re just working and getting after it, which these two guys have.

“I don’t think any of us are patient, but we understand this is a long season and we’ve got a long way to go still.”

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Here’s what to know ahead of Saturday’s game:

Time: 4 p.m.

Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham.

TV: ACC Network.

Announcers: Wes Durham (play-by-play) and Malcolm Huckaby (analyst).

Series; last meeting: Duke leads 26-3 and has never lost to BC at home; Duke won 72-61 in last season’s only meeting.

Records: Boston College 5-3; Duke 7-2.

Stat to watch: 46.7% | 44.9%.

The first number is BC’s effective field goal percentage, which is 284th in the country (entering Thursday night’s games and per KenPom); the second number is Duke’s e-FG defense, which is 47th nationally.

As a primer: e-FG percentage is basically a team’s field goal clip with added weight for made 3s since, you know, 3 is better than 2. It’s an effective (intended) way to illustrate a team’s shot-making ability beyond the conventional field goal percentages.

In short: BC isn’t a great-shooting team, nor do the Eagles rely much on 3s.

BC has shot above 50% in e-FG twice this season, and one of those was Wednesday night’s 88-67 blowout loss at Nebraska. So the Eagles are actually 4-2 when shooting 50% or worse on e-FG. The Eagles’ season clip of 46.7% is eighth-worst among Power-6 teams — though it’s better than three ACC teams (Florida State, Georgia Tech and Louisville).

It’s good that Duke’s e-FG rate is in the top 50 nationally, but the Blue Devils have had their worst two performances in that category in the last two games.

Purdue became the first team to cross 50% against the Blue Devils, at 50.9%. Ohio State was at 50%. In related news, Duke has also surrendered the worst two offensive rebound rates (41.2% and 36.4%) in those games, respectively.

Eagle to watch: Guard Makai Ashton-Langford (No. 11).

Earl Grant’s style doesn’t exactly make stars out of players.

Ashton-Langford was BC’s leading scorer last season at 12.0 points per game, shooting 39.6% on field goals and 29.3% on 3s.

He’s the Eagles’ top scorer again this season, up to 12.1 points per game, shooting 38.3% from the field and 16.7% (4 of 24) on 3s.

Again: The style for Grant, the second-year coach who was previously at College of Charleston, doesn’t lend itself to numbers that jump off of the page.

Ashton-Langford is worth watching not only because he’s BC’s best offensive threat, but because he’s also struggled lately and might be due for a breakout game.

The 6-4, 180-pounder has nine points in each of the last two games after scoring in double figures in five of the first six. He’s a combined 5-for-22 in the past two games. Ashton-Langford never had three straight single-digit scoring games last season.

Blue Devil to watch: Point guard Jeremy Roach (No. 3).

The straw that stirs the Blue Devils’ drink has a nice three-game rebound after Duke’s first game in Oregon.

Roach has scored 16 points per game, with 10 rebounds and 12 assists against six turnovers, in Duke’s three games since he was 3-for-14 against Oregon State.

More importantly, as will be the case with Roach this season, is his standing as the point guard and leader.

“It’s not just one way where I’m telling him things,” Scheyer said. “He’ll tell me things he sees on the floor or actions we can go to, and I think that’s what makes a really good guard a really good player, where they feel like they can follow that instinct.”

KenPom prediction: Duke wins 73-58.

Devils Illustrated prognosis: BC will want to muddy-up this game and keep possessions low. It’s an experienced team — not just relative to Duke — and probably won’t be as intimidated as most that come to Cameron this season.

This feels like one of the most-important early tests for Scheyer.

Not because it’s the ACC opener, but because he’s got to get his young team recalibrated and refocused coming off of a big win. The emotional rollercoaster of a loss to end the PK Legacy with a hard-fought win against Ohio State could be draining; it’s up to the leadership and staff to keep things pointed in the right direction.

Complicating things is BC’s style, which will make Duke have to be more patient than other games. If Duke gets on big runs in this game, it’ll have more to do with stringing together defensive stops on long possessions than it has to do with firing on all cylinders offensively.