Sir, your hand is in my face.

Chip Alexander writes about the respective defensive philosophies of State and Duke:

Duke, which faces the Pack tonight at Cameron Indoor Stadium, takes a different defensive tack. The third-ranked Devils get out and attack. They're all arms and bodies and quick hands, jumping into the passing lanes, trapping, bumping, looking to disrupt.

"They try to deny everything," State guard Courtney Fells said.

What Courtney said is especially true in regards to three point attempts. They completely take those shots away. I mean, check out their opponents' 3FGA/FGA ratio over the last several years:

2004: 25.2 (ranked 4th nationally)
2005: 20.8 (1)
2006: 21.3 (1)
2007: 24.3 (2)
2008: 26.5 (4)

In general, ACC schools prefer not to take threes, but these numbers are much more a reflection of Duke's "hustle" (fn. 1) along the perimeter.


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Footnotes:

1.) Now, you may be saying to yourself, "I sure do wish I could hustle like Duke does." My friend, I am here to tell you that you can. All that's required is your adherence to the hustle pyramid below.