The Duke Blue Devils won their fifth straight game on Tuesday night, a 68-47 victory over the George Mason Patriots, to hold tight to their No. 3 spot in the KenPom rankings.
The Duke defense held George Mason to 29.4% from the field and 11.8% from 3-point range, its second straight game allowing fewer than 50 points. The Blue Devils haven’t allowed more than 78 points in a game this season, and they sit second in the KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency ranking with 88.5 points allowed per 100 possessions.
While the defense thrived, the offensive side of the ball continued to struggle. Duke scored fewer than 30 points before halftime for the second straight game, and the Blue Devils made 37.5% of their shots and 33.3% of their threes. They’re still the 14th-ranked offense in the KenPom database, making them one of five teams in the top 15 on both ends.
Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] finished with 24 points, 17 of which came after halftime, for his fifth 20-point performance of the season. The 17-year-old forward sits behind only Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome on the KenPom Player of the Year board.
The North Carolina Tar Heels lost their fifth game of the year on Tuesday, tumbling down to 28th in the rankings. Duke’s next opponent, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, currently sits 111th with a 4-6 record.