Duke basketball vs. Georgia Tech: Scouting report, prediction for Blue Devils
A revenge game has arrived for Duke basketball.
The 11th-ranked Blue Devils (12-3, 3-1 ACC) host Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-3) on Saturday (5 p.m., ACC Network) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has won seven in a row, including two ACC road games, since its 72-68 loss against the Yellow Jackets in the league opener.
The Blue Devils have won 12 in a row against Georgia Tech in Durham. The Yellow Jackets haven’t won a road game in the series since a top-25 meeting in 2004. Here’s a look at some other things to know and a score prediction for Duke’s return to Cameron against Georgia Tech.
Duke basketball’s defensive rebounding
Duke basketball is on pace for its best defensive rebounding percentage in the KenPom.com era. Going back to 1997, the Blue Devils’ best ranking in that metric was 66th in 2007. Duke is 25th through 15 games, limiting teams to an offensive rebounding percentage of 24.4.
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That’s a big deal for a program that went from No. 1 in average height last season to 42nd this year. The Blue Devils and Yellow Jackets each grabbed 33 rebounds in the first meeting, but Duke has reached 40 boards in three of the last four games.
Kyle Filipowski, Blue Devils’ 3-point shooting
In its loss at Georgia Tech, Duke finished 4 of 16 (25%) from 3-point range. Senior guard Jeremy Roach was the lone Blue Devil to knock down multiple 3s against the Yellow Jackets. Over the last three ACC games, Duke has made 27 of 68 (39.7%) shots from long range and multiple players have contributed in each outing. After logging seven games with multiple 3-pointers as a freshman, sophomore 7-footer Kyle Filipowski has four such games this season.
Georgia Tech’s Baye Ndongo dominated vs. Duke
Georgia Tech freshman Baye Ndongo is nearly averaging a double-double (12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds) as one of the top newcomers in the ACC. Ndongo has been even better in the last five games, averaging 17.2 points and 9.6 boards. The Yellow Jackets have lost four in a row, but Ndongo was the MVP in the win against Duke. The 6-foot-9 forward had 21 points, five rebounds and four blocks in his debut versus the Devils.
Duke vs. Georgia Tech score prediction
Duke 84, Georgia Tech 65: Tyrese Proctor – who was injured in the opening minutes of the first meeting – and the Blue Devils won’t need to look far for motivation. After a letdown in Atlanta, Duke should dominate in Durham.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball vs. Georgia Tech: Score prediction, scouting report
