While there were plenty of flaws in the Dukes egg against Shippensburg, I feel finishing played the largest role in their misery. Of course, I'd argue that it might not mean much in the long run. It feels to me like a culmination of awful in the shooting department that I feel like the Dukes will be hard pressed to repeat.
Below is a chart of the returning Duquesne players' shooting percentage Friday night compared to their shooting percentage last year.
Name.....................vs Shippenburg.......vs every opponent on the 2013-14 season
Gill, LG................. 61.5%.....................38.1%
Colter, D................38.5%.....................36.2%
Mason, M...............27.3%....................56.6%
Jones, J...................25%.......................37.4%
Ridenour, D...........20%........................36.7%
McKoy, D..............16.7%.....................59.5%
Gill had an outstanding night and at 75% from three, he was clearly feeling it. Colter had a fairly normal shooting night. Other than that, every other Duke shot well below their abilities.
If the scoring against the Raiders was alarming, it begs the question, which numbers are better evidence of true ability? I'd argue that the season sample size is. If players simply shoot to their norms, suddenly it's a fifteen to twenty point win. For those worrying, the offensive ability probably wasn't the reason for the close game and we should see players rebound. The issues I saw were with defense and transition. The Dukes defended with little conviction after the first media time out and for a team meant to run, the look out of sync on the break.
