Duke's Best and Worst Lineups: Central Arkansas

Mike Krzyzewski continues to mix and match lineups like a mad chemist.

Krzyzewski used 21 different lineups in the 104-54 win over Central Arkansas, including 15 that hadn’t been used in a previous game. Although, in Krzyzewski’s defense, the early injury to Tre Jones may have scrambled his plans, slightly.

On the year, Duke has used 52 different lineups.

The fivesome that dominated the previous game, outscoring Colorado State by 23 in just under 10 minutes—Alex O’Connell, Javin DeLaurier, Tre Jones, Cassius Stanley and Jack White—never saw the floor together.

Instead, the two lineups that clicked best on Tuesday night didn’t include O’Connell or White, but used a total of eight different Blue Devils.

Vernon Carey Jr., Jordan Goldwire, Wendell Moore Jr., Justin Robinson and Cassius Stanley outscored CAU 9-1 over a 3:33 span. Javin DeLaurier, Goldwire, Moore, Matthew Hurt and Tre Jones went 8-0 over 1:56.

The crew that spent the most time on the floor together was O’Connell, Carey, Hurt, Moore and Stanley. They played together for 7:27, winning by a 25-19 score.

No lineup in the Central Arkansas game was outscored.

For the season, there’s still plenty of experimentation to do, but it’s clear that O’Connell, Jones, Stanley, White and a big man is a fairly strong combination.

While Wendell Moore struggled in the Kansas game and has been making steady improvement since, his value is clear in the lineup rankings. Moore is a member of eight of the top 10 lineups, ranked by plus-minus. Tre Jones, with seven, is the Blue Devil with the next most appearances in the top 10.

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