Duke at Boston College: Gameday Open Thread

Duke looks to win its fourth straight game as the Blue Devils head to Boston College for a Tuesday night matchup.

The Blue Devils blew out B.C. in their first meeting of the season, 88-49, on New Year’s Eve.

Duke is playing the second of a three-game road trip. The Blue Devils won at Syracuse last Saturday and will face North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Saturday.

Here are all the numbers and the tale of the tape for the Duke-BC matchup.

Center Vernon Carey has been red hot, scoring 26 points in each of his last two games and recording a pair of double-doubles to win ACC Player and Rookie of the Week. Carey had a career high 17 rebounds in his last game.

Duke is still working Wendell Moore Jr., who returned after missing nearly a month with a broken hand, back into the rotation. Blue Devils sophomore shooter Joey Baker also didn’t play last game, although it’s not clear if that was a coach’s decision or due to some type of illness or injury.

Boston College is coming off a win at North Carolina that ended a slump where the Eagles had lost five of six. B.C. stands at 11-11, 5-6 in the ACC, while Duke is 18-3, 8-2.

Your officials for tonight's game: John Gaffney, Brian O'Connell, Pat Driscoll

Same starters for Duke: Vernon Carey Jr., Cassius Stanley, Tre Jones, Jordan Goldwire, Matthew Hurt.

Pregame speech from Javin DeLaurier:

One of Duke's captains, Javin DeLaurier's words to his teammates before taking Conte Forum court centered on importance of bringing their own energy. He said there won't be 30K people here like Sat night at Syracuse. Duke, of course, lost here 2 years ago.
— Stephen Wiseman (@stevewisemanNC) February 4, 2020

Slow start for Duke. Three turnovers and missed first three shots. BC up 8-2 at the under 16.

Odd shot selection for Duke early on, and Blue Devils don't get back, leading to a dunk by BC. Score is up to 12-2.

BC is challenging everything inside. Duke hasn't responded yet. Blue Devils have missed several shots from right at the rim. Blue Devils have missed seven in a row.

Unforced turnover for Duke as Goldwire kicks it over the midcourt line. BC up 10 and could be up by much more if not for its own sloppy play.

After getting a DNP in Syracuse, Joey Baker enters the game before its eight minutes old.

At the under 12, BC is up 12-4. Eagles are up 10-0 on points in the paint.

7-0 run gets Duke back into it. BC calls time out to keep a loose ball. Eagles lead 16-11 with 8:48 until half. Duke is 0-for-6 from three, 3-for-17 from the field, getting outrebounded 14-9.

Another missed three and loose ball foul for Duke. BC should be up by 15 to 18, but Eagles are struggling on offense, haven't put sluggish Blue Devils away.

Jack White gets a steal and feeds Cassius Stanley for another impressive dunk. Jim Christian calls another time out. 16-13 BC, we're under eight now.

Duke takes a lead at 6:02 mark. BC hits to take it back. We go to the under four 18-17, BC. Eagles offense is stagnant. BC is 1 of its last seven with four turnovers in last six minutes.

Duke is 0-for-9 from three. BC is 0-for-7.

Seven different Blue Devils have missed three-point shots so far

Following the break, Duke misses two more threes (Eight Blue Devils have now missed from outside). BC drives into the lane and scores. Eagles are up 18-10 in the paint.

Derryck Thornton reaches double digits in the first half against his old team. He had just six in the entire first game.

Tre Jones hits a finger roll with just under five seconds left in the half. Duke trails 24-21 at the half in a half that featured just abysmal offense from both sides.

Duke was 8-of-30 from the field, BC 12-of-30. Duke was 0-for-12 from three, BC 0-for-9. Duke turned it over six times, BC 10.

It's safe to say that Duke is not going to have another half like that. BC missed a golden opportunity to ice this game. Eagles probably needed a bigger halftime lead in order to hold on in this one.

New lineup to start the second half. Wendell Moore Jr. and Alex O'Connell replace Matthew Hurt and Jordan Goldwire. Carey, Jones, Stanley still out there.

Duke again briefly takes the lead. Again BC goes back to driving to the rim. A layup and one puts BC up 29-25.

Last two possessions, Duke has driven the lane and thrown up wild shots while trying to draw a foul. Next possession, Carey drives and gets whistled for a charge, his third foul of the game. We go to the under 16 with BC up 31-29 and Duke still not clicking on offense.

BC drives the lane to score yet again. 33-29. Vernon Carey picks up his fourth foul after missing inside. He goes to the bench. Duke teetering on the brink of serious trouble here.

Duke grinds out a two-point lead at the under 12, 36-34. Tough to call it a run, based on how bad both offenses are running right now. Duke now 0-of-14 from three, BC 0-of-12.

Popovic hits the game's first three. 27th time was the charm. BC now up 39-38.

BC drives and scores (again. some more), then Duke turns it over. 41-40 Eagles. 10:14 left.

Carey is back on the floor but playing tentatively. Had a rebound stripped from him on one end, knocked from his hands on the other.

Layup by Heath. Layup by Mitchell. Crowd is going wild. BC up 47-43, Duke calls TO with under 8 left.

Not sure if Duke was trying to go vanilla on the perimeter D with Cole Anthony coming up next, but if this is the Blue Devils' defense out there, Anthony may score 80.

Joey Baker hits from three for Duke. Fifteenth time was the charm! Duke down 47-46 as we go to the official under 8 timeout.

Duke switches to zone. Carey hits two free throws to give Blue Devils a one point lead.

When BC doesn't get the ball all the way to the rim, nothing falls for them. Duke just needs to somehow stop the penetration.

BC misses, Tre Jones hits. Duke up 52-49, BC calls time out. 5:27 to play.

Duke with full court coming out of the timeout, gets back to back steals. Blue Devils up 54-49 on 8-0 run. Popovic charges. That's three straight BC turnovers.

Vernon Carey comes very close to picking up his fifth foul on a charge, on what might have been a Popovic flop. No call from ref, but Carey got spooked and traveled.

Driving layup by Jones makes the run 10-0. Duke up 56-49 at the under four.

BC hits a free throw and Jones hits another layup. 58-50 with 1:39 left. Blue Devils look like they're going to survive.

That'll do it. Duke gets out of Boston with a 63-55 win. Duke is 19-3, 9-2 in the ACC. North Carolina is up next.