ACC hoops performance trends: Darn it, Duke is playing defense this year

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY SportsFollowing up on Saturday’s post about current performance vs. preseason expectations in the ACC, here is a visual look at each team’s underlying performance so far this season (defensive efficiency on the Y, offensive efficiency on the X):

The farther up, the better the defense, and the farther right, the better the offense. Elite teams will be close to the upper-right corner, and not surprisingly, that’s where we find Duke and Virginia. The Cavaliers have the best defense in the ACC (surprise!) but maybe only the fourth- or fifth-best offense. Duke has been just plain scary.

The Blue Devils can be volatile year-to-year at the defensive end in the one-and-done era,…