The key three: Duke basketball vs. N.C. State

No. 23 Duke (13-4, 2-2 in the ACC) will attempt to get above 0.500 in conference play for the first time this season when the Blue Devils host North Carolina State (11-6, 1-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Wolfpack boast the ACC’s leading scorer—sophomore forward T.J. Warren—but have struggled thus far in conference play. Here are the three keys to a Duke victory:

Shut down State’s Role Players

In Duke’s losses this season, the Blue Devils have allowed opposing streaky role players to get going and spark victories. Against Clemson, freshman forward Jaron Blossomgame and center Landry Nnoko had career days in the Tigers’ upset win. Duke needs to build on Monday’s defensive performance in the win against Virginia rather than reverting back to its old habits—this means the Blue Devils must stay disciplined on dribble penetration and get rebounding contributions from all parts of the lineup. Warren is an outstanding scorer, but the sophomore will have a tough time beating Duke by himself. If the Blue Devils can limit the rest of the Wolfpack—most notably freshman Anthony “Cat” Barber, Desmond Lee and Ralston Turner—and limit offensive rebounds, they should cruise to victory.

Tempo, Tempo, Tempo

The Blue Devils will probably not use the 5-man substitution pattern they did on Monday, but Duke needs to frequently rotate players in and out of the lineup to keep the pedal to the metal against a team with less depth. All of the Blue Devils—especially freshman phenom Jabari Parker—have found getting into the paint to be much more difficult against ACC competition. The best way to remedy Duke’s struggles inside is by pushing the ball and penetrating against a defense that is on its heels. With all of the weapons the Blue Devils have, if they can speed up the tempo of the game on both ends of the court, their depth will likely wear down a North Carolina State team with limited offensive options. However, Duke must rebound effectively to get out and run, meaning that the Blue Devil forwards must take care of their block-out assignments.

Finish

In the past, Duke teams always seemed to have players step up at the ends of halves and at the ends of crucial possessions. This Blue Devil squad has been lacking that defining characteristic this entire season, but seemed to turn the corner when were able to hold off Virginia after squandering a double-digit lead late in the game on Monday. Duke finally seemed to grasp the importance of doing the little things like communicating on both ends of the court and boxing out—it will be interesting to see if the Blue Devils can build on that momentum and finish possessions and ultimately finish the game the way they want to. The other possibility is that inconsistency will rear its ugly head again late in possessions and late in halves and Duke will let the Wolfpack hang around longer than they should.