The key three: Duke basketball vs. Temple

Coming off an 88-50 shellacking of Delaware last Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, No. 2 Duke will face Temple today at 3:15 pm in East Rutherford, N.J. Last season, the Owls upset the then-No. 5 Blue Devils 78-73.

Here are your three keys to this afternoon’s action:

A more balanced rebounding effort

Duke has been unremarkable on the glass so far this season—the Blue Devils' -1.0 rebounding margin ranks 219th in the nation. They average 35.3 rebounds per game, and senior forward Mason Plumlee accounts for almost one-third of those boards, pulling down an average of 11.0 per game. Duke's guards—freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, sophomore Quinn Cook, junior Tyler Thornton and senior Seth Curry—said contributing on the boards has been a focus in practice. Additionally, Ryan Kelly has to step up—the 6-foot-11 senior forward is averaging just 4.6 RPG.

Neutralizing Wyatt

Khalif Wyatt, a second-team All-Atlantic 10 selection last year who is averaging 15.2 points per game so far this season, exploded for 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field against the Blue Devils  last season. When the Owls played Villanova Wednesday night, the Wildcats held off Wyatt, who only made 4-of-16 field-goal attempts. Limiting Wyatt's open looks on the offensive end will be key to staving off a hungry Temple team that's especially dangerous when Wyatt is in top form.

Limiting turnovers

When the Blue Devils and Owls squared off last season, Temple scored 21 points off Duke's 16 turnovers. This year, the Blue Devils are averaging 12.1 turnovers per game. Keeping their number of turnovers down against an Owl squad that capitalized on Duke's mistakes in last season's matchup will be critical in avoiding another upset. This onus will largely fall on point guard Quinn Cook, who is averaging 5.9 APG but is also turning it over 3.0 times per game. That's not bad considering how much he pushes the ball and has the rock in his hands, but he will be a new look for Temple to defend—he played just 12 minutes against the Owls last year.