What we’ve learned about Duke basketball as the Blue Devils play for the PK Legacy title

Memories of a flat finish in Indianapolis, when Kansas scored 15 of the game’s final 20 points to beat Duke, 69-64, at the Champions Classic, inhabited the Blue Devils brains on Friday.

This time, Duke finished with a flourish, its defense limiting Xavier to just four free throws over the final five minutes, 51 seconds of a 71-64 Blue Devils win at the Moda Center.

It was a sign the young Blue Devils learned a tough lesson back on Nov. 15. Less than two weeks later, they were better at crunch time.

Interestingly, they didn’t need first-year head coach Jon Scheyer to remind them. During a timeout with 3:49 to play, with Duke up 67-62, didn’t need to raise the point.

“They were the ones talking,” Scheyer said. “Our guys were just `Hey. We’ve been here before. We know what to do.’ And they came out and all five guys were locked in.”

It’s part of the process with this Duke team, far from a finished product. Scheyer’s still finding which quintet he’s most comfortable putting on the court, admitting it could change game-to-game.

So during this stretch, finishing off a win with big stops down the stretch is serious progress.

“That’s what’s gonna win us games at the end of the day,” Duke freshman center Kyle Filipowski said. “We didn’t give the ball up at the end of the game like we did against Kansas. We finished possessions. We finished defensive possessions. That’s really what’s key for us to come out on top.”

Here’s what else we’ve learned about the Blue Devils (6-1) as they prepare to face either Gonzaga or Purdue in Sunday’s Phil Knight Legacy tournament championship game at 3:30 p.m.

Filipowski a complete player

Over the summer, Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead were considered Duke’s top incoming freshmen even though Filipowski was also a top-10 player in the class.

Injuries to the 7-foot-1 Lively and 6-foot-6 Whitehead, though, stunted their progress. While playing their way into game shape, they are still not contributing as expected.

Filipowski, though, is more than making up the difference.

The 7-foot center is averaging 15.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. He’s tied with Lively for the team lead with eight blocked shots. He’s collected five steals during Duke’s two PK Legacy games, including a team-best four against Xavier.

He’s shown the ability to protect the rim and he’s adept in matchups with guards on the perimeter as part of Duke’s switching, man-to-man defense.

On Thursday against Oregon State, Filipowski guarded Beavers guard Jordan Pope near the free-throw line. He held his ground against a dribbling Pope, then knocked the ball away for a steal to help Duke win, 54-51.

“That, to me, was a huge, huge period of growth for him,” Scheyer said.

On Saturday against Xavier, when Filipowski found himself matched up with a guard, he waved off a teammate who wanted to switch with him.

“I’m pretty proud of that,” Filipowski said. “There’s a lot of talk about me saying ‘he doesn’t play defense.’ I have a chip on my shoulder So I just gotta keep that up. My coaches and teammates, they’ve been on me since the beginning about playing defense.”

Hard-nosed defense

That shutdown finish to the Xavier game is the latest example of the pride, and talent, the Blue Devils display on the defensive end.

Duke has allowed 54.4 points per game, limiting teams to 38.4% shooting. The opposition has made just 26.1% of its 3-pointers.

No team has scored 70 points or more against Duke.

Against Xavier, 7-foot senior center Jack Nunge scored just five points on 1 of 13 shooting. He’s his team’s leading scorer at 17 points per game.

“Dereck’s response on defense and Ryan (Young’s) physicality,” Scheyer said. “That’s a big-time thing. He’s a leading scorer. He’s been averaging 17. We talked about the defense collectively, but without those two guys guarding him, it would have been a long night for us. So really proud of the bigs and their effort.”

Lively, Whitehead progress

It’s been a slow process getting those two projected NBA Draft first-round picks going.

Lively, who missed one game with a strained calf muscle, is only playing 16.5 minutes per game. He’s made 9 of 13 shots but all of his made field goals have been dunks. He’s only 1 of 6 from the free-throw line and is averaging 3.2 points per game.

He does have those eight blocked shots, which is encouraging. But he’s committed 15 fouls, tied for most on the team with Young even though Lively plays an average of five fewer minutes per game.

While Lively is in the starting lineup, Whitehead has come off the bench for all four of the games he’s played since returning from a fractured right foot.

He’s had moments, like when he hit 2 of 3 shots to score five points against Xavier. But he also turned the ball over twice while playing 10 minutes in that game.

Whitehead has played 13.3 minutes per game, hitting only 29.6% of his shots from the field (8 of 27). That includes 3 of 12 on 3-pointers.

In the final five minutes against Xavier, when Duke finished so well, Scheyer used Young, Mark Mitchell, Jeremy Roach, Filipowski and sophomore guard Jaylen Blakes.

The day figures to be coming this season when Lively and Whitehead are playing 30 minutes or more per game. But that appears to be several weeks away at this point so the Blue Devils will rely on others.