No. 3 Duke looks to exact revenge against No. 5 Miami for the drubbing they received in Coral Gables back on January 23. Coming off of a tough loss on the road against Virginia, here are the keys for the Blue Devils to right the ship in this battle of top-five teams:
Production from the power forward spot: Will the White Raven fly?
First things first, we may finally see Ryan Kelly back on the court tonight. After suiting up for Thursday's contest against Virginia, speculation was rampant that he would return for this game against Miami. After Hurricane center Reggie Johnson made an unexpected return from injury against Duke the first time these two teams met, it would be fitting for Kelly to appear in a similar fashion tonight. Even if Kelly does play, Duke needs better production from Josh Hairston and Amile Jefferson than they received against the Cavaliers. The two forwards combined for two points, two rebounds, and eight fouls in 28 minutes of action. That simply isn't good enough, with or without Kelly.
Get Mason Plumlee his shots
Plumlee has averaged 10.3 field goal attempts per game this season, yet in the team's last four games he hasn't attempted more than seven shots in a contest. In three of those four games Plumlee was also below his season average of 7.6 free throw attempts per game as well. The fading National Player of the Year candidate needs to be featured early and often for Duke to establish a post presence in this game after being utterly dominated in the paint against Virginia just two days ago. If Kelly does play today, his ability to hit the outside shot could open things up for Plumlee on the interior and do wonders for his offensive production.
The point guard matchup: Quinn Cook vs. Shane Larkin
Duke and Miami feature two of the best point guards in the ACC in Cook and Larkin. In the two teams' previous meeting Larkin won the matchup in a landslide. While the Hurricane's sophomore floor general poured in 18 points, snagged 10 rebounds, and doled out five assists, the Blue Devil guard managed an atrocious 1-for-12 performance from the floor. Cook is coming off of a solid offensive game against Virginia, where he scored 22 points—including four three-pointers—but he has struggled to find his teammates of late. Cook is averaging just 2.0 assists over his last three games. Whichever point guard can garner control the game early on will set their team up for the victory.
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