Originally Posted by
JasonEvans
Percentage of opponent shots that are 3-point attempts:
38% in 2017-18
28% in 2016-17
29% in 2015-16
27% in 2014-15
24% in 2013-14
27% in 2012-13
24% in 2011-12
-Jason "It will be interesting to see if these numbers drop at all once we enter conference play... could lesser teams in the early season sched be shooting more 3s?" Evans
It is worth noting that Duke is not giving up 3-point attempts a lot more than some other top teams. The 38% of opponent shots at the 3s only ranks us in the middle of the NCAA pack (161st). The team that gives up the largest percentage of 3s is UT-Martin at 51.8%. Among notable teams that give up more 3s than Duke:
Syracuse - 45.6%
Ohio St - 44.0%
Wake - 42.9%
Virginia - 42.7%
Wichita St - 42.7%
BC - 42.4%
Az St - 42.4%
UNC - 42.4%
Kentucky - 42.2%
Kansas - 40.4%
Xavier - 40.3%
The reason this stat is notable is that Duke has traditionally been one of the best in the country at stopping teams from taking 3-pointers. Here is how we have ranked the past several years.
2018 - 161
2017 - 8
2016 - 20
2015 - 13
2014 - 4
2013 - 17
2012 - 3
While the makeup of our team, with two traditional bigs, is somewhat different from what we usually see from Duke, I largely agree that cannot be the answer behind this dramatic shift. It seems quite possible Troublemaker is right and we have made some fundamental shift in our D and are allowing teams to shoot a lot lot lot more 3s as a result.
-Jason "I really wonder if these numbers will normalize in ACC play... if not, this season is increasingly looking like a huge outlier for Duke" Evans