The Blue Devils take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at 4:00 p.m. at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. Before every basketball game, we’ll break down a player on each team who could be the difference-maker in the upcoming contest.
Duke: forward Jabari Parker
Parker needs to begin 2014 on a high note. The highly-touted freshman has exceeded expectations and has quickly evolved into the Blue Devils’ most talented and dynamic player. This means that in tough ACC match-ups, like today’s, Parker needs to show up on both ends of the court. Even though Parker had a season-low 12 points in the 86-48 win against Elon on Dec. 31, look for him to put up big numbers in today’s contest in terms of points and rebounds. Parker is averaging 21.4 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game this season, but if Parker can exceed those numbers in South Bend, Duke should be able to pull away from Notre Dame and notch its first conference win of the season.
Notre Dame: guard Eric Atkins
The senior from Columbia, M.D. will be asked to play a greater role in 2014 with the suspension of leading scorer Jerian Grant, who was a selected to the preseason All-ACC team. The Fighting Irish clearly missed Grant in their final non-conference game against Canisus, which Notre Dame had to squeak out in overtime on its home floor. But Atkins was a bright spot for the Fighting Irish, scoring a career-high 30 points and dishing out seven assists. He will need to cut down on his mistakes today if he wants to prevent Duke fast-break points, as he turned the ball over seven times in the Canisus match-up. Atkins has big shoes to fill and there is no better way to prove himself than against the No. 7 Blue Devils in Notre Dame's first-ever ACC contest.
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