WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Duke will try to continue to limit turnovers against UNC

By Jake Lloyd

Mar 6, 2009

During the defining stretch of North Carolina’s 101-87 win at Duke in mid-February, a pattern was established.

The Blue Devils would make a poor decision on the offensive end leading to a turnover. The Tar Heels would then convert the miscue into points on the other end.

And, just like that, a close game became a relatively easy win for the Tar Heels in the final couple minutes.

“We’ve had dumb turnovers that just shouldn’t happen,” Gerald Henderson said.

They haven’t happened, however, very much since that game — when North Carolina, led by turbo-charged point guard Ty Lawson, turned 15 Duke turnovers into 25 easy points. In fact, Duke has had single-digit turnovers in each of its past four games — all wins.

Taking better care of the ball, and disallowing opponents to rack up easy transition points, is a big reason why the seventh-ranked Devils (25-5, 11-4 ACC) have a chance to tie No. 2 North Carolina (26-3, 12-3) for the conference regular-season title Sunday in Chapel Hill.

“That’s huge,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said, noting that the Devils have had a plus-8 turnover differential the past four games. “Plus, that means you don’t get the run-outs (for the other team).

“I don’t think our defense has been outstanding. … But at least we don’t have numerically advantage opportunities for our opponents against us when you turn it over.”

Since beating St. John’s on Feb. 19 — Duke’s first win following a two-game losing streak and a period of dropping four of six games — the Devils haven’t had more than nine turnovers in a game.

They committed a season-low six against Wake Forest, nine versus Maryland and Virginia Tech and just seven in Tuesday’s 84-81 win over Florida State. With all four games close, gaining extra possessions by protecting the ball was crucial for the Devils.

“I think there’s a sense of urgency in just us knowing how valuable possessions are in a game when you look back (at it),” Henderson said. “If you’re taking care of the ball and getting good shots every time or just getting a shot every time, you’re going to heighten your chances of winning.”

The numbers back up Henderson’s point. When the Devils have had less than 10 turnovers in ACC play, they’re 8-0. When they commit 11 or more, however, they’re just 3-4.

Now, they’re protecting the ball without a true point guard in the starting lineup. The day after Duke lost to Boston College on Feb. 15, Krzyzewski inserted Jon Scheyer into the point-guard spot — a position he had never played at Duke.

Krzyzewski also put freshman Elliot Williams into the lineup in favor of Greg Paulus, who joined Nolan Smith on the bench. Somewhat surprisingly, Duke’s ballhandling has improved since the move was made.

The players aren’t surprised. They know that Scheyer takes better care of the ball than people give him credit for. Also, Duke’s motion offense allows him to get rid of the ball once he crosses the midcourt line. The ballhandling duties are spread pretty evenly among usually at least three of the players on the court.

Of Duke’s current starting five, Scheyer, Henderson, Williams and Kyle Singler can all help out with ballhandling duties. And all of them have valued the basketball with extra care during Duke’s five-game winning streak.

“For me, I think it’s a matter of not trying to do too much all the time,” said Scheyer, who has committed just five turnovers in the five games. “Not just for me, but for everybody.”

Henderson said that it doesn’t even feel like there’s a point guard on the floor, and that’s just fine with the Devils. There’s no specific player who is in charge of running offensive sets.

“That’s not what Jon does best, that’s just what he’s doing for our team,” Henderson added. “We try to help him out with going and getting it from him or him passing ahead or hitting Kyle.”

And in the close games Duke has won, the Devils’ ballhandling has made all the difference. In losses at Wake Forest and Clemson and the home defeat to North Carolina, Duke’s opponents were able to create separation on the scoreboard with spurts created by turnovers followed by fast-break scores.

No such runs have occurred in Duke’s recent wins. The Devils defense hasn’t been great — allowing four of five teams to shoot at least 48 percent — but it has generally made teams work for their points.

Duke has allowed its last four opponents to score just 35 points off turnovers, and three of the teams scored eight points or less. This has allowed the Devils to keep control of tight games and then make the winning plays in crunch time.

And they know it’s something they’ll have to do if they want to escape the Dean Smith Center on Sunday with an upset victory and a share of the conference championship.

“I think the biggest thing when you’re playing them, your offense can’t hurt your defense,” Scheyer said. “We need to take good shoots, take care of the ball. Because obviously if you let them just run up and down (the court), they’re going to be a tough team to beat.

“So that’s where we have to be smart and not give them run-outs.”