Getty DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils moves the ball against the Boston College Eagles during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55.
Duke Blue Devils superstar forward Zion Williamson is not expected to return for Saturday’s road game against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
“I don’t think he’ll be ready for Saturday,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski told C.L. Brown of The Athletic. “I have to be careful not to push this. I’d be surprised if he’s not ready by the ACC tournament.”
Williamson hasn’t played since suffering a Grade 1 knee sprain just over 30 seconds into Duke’s 88-72 home loss against North Carolina on February 20, when his foot went through the bottom of his shoe.
The Blue Devils are just 3-2 without him and they haven’t played well. Duke barely beat Wake Forest 71-70 last night, overcoming a 41.4 percent shooting effort (24-for-58) and a 16-for-26 showing from the free-throw line.
Since Zion Williamson got injured 36 seconds into the North Carolina game, Duke is 3-2, outscoring opponents by 4 points per game.
The Blue Devils started the season 23-2 and were outscoring teams by an average of 20.3 points per game.
Duke really struggled once Williamson went out with his injury in the first meeting against North Carolina. Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson attacked the Blue Devils inside, exploiting Williamson’s absence and Maye finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds while Johnson had 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists. UNC scored 32 of their first 34 points in the paint and finished with a 62-28 scoring advantage there.
Duke survives Wake Forest 71-70 off 28 points from RJ Barrett who set the Blue Devils’ freshman season scoring record with 696 pts.
The Blue Devils still have RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish, two potential top-five picks in the next NBA Draft and Barrett, in particular, has carried the team as of late, averaging 26.2 points in the five games without Williamson.
Barrett led the way with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists against Wake Forest while Reddish scored just six points in 26 minutes because he dealt with foul trouble. Barrett and Reddish are a formidable duo but this team won’t go far if Williamson doesn’t come back soon, not many players impact the game on both ends of the floor like he does and Duke’s vulnerability without him proves his worth.
Duke is after the ACC crown and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament but Zion Williamson’s return date is still uncertain. Williamson was averaging 21.6 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 68.3 percent from the field in 28.2 minutes over 26 games.
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