There was a time when Duke basketball was synonymous with man-to-man defense. A time when Mike Krzyzewski’s veteran-laden team would slap the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium to signal they were about to turn up the heat on defense.
But the 2017-18 Blue Devils have been far from a defensive juggernaut, as the young Duke team struggled to pick up man-to-man concepts during the season, causing Krzyzewski to switch to a 2-3 zone.
While the switch to the zone has taken Duke into the top 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency, it hasn’t exactly brought back memories of Duke defenses from championships past.
So naturally, when all five players slapped the floor while dropping into their zone during No. 2 Duke’s Sweet 16 win over No. 11 Syracuse on Friday, Twitter had a field day.
Ouch.
