No. 11 Duke (18-5, 7-3 in the ACC) will take on Boston College (6-16, 2-7) Saturday at 6 p.m. up north at the Conte Forum. The Blue Devils will be playing their second road game in the last 12 days and have another road test on Wednesday at North Carolina. Here are the three keys to a Duke victory against the Eagles:
Stay disciplined against Hanlan and Anderson
Boston College has two of the best offensive players in the ACC—sophomore guard Olivier Hanlan and junior forward Ryan Anderson. Both players average more than 15 points per game and account for almost half of Boston College’s offensive production. Hanlan is an explosive guard that can score in a variety of ways and Anderson is a crafty forward that has a great feel for the game. Although the Eagles have very few weapons other than Hanlan and Anderson, Duke could find itself in a dogfight if the Blue Devils are not attentive defensively and let Hanlan and Anderson get going. Boston College only has a chance if its dynamic duo has a special game and can facilitate for its teammates. Duke should win easily if the Blue Devils take care of business on the defensive end.
Execute the offense on the road
The main reason Duke should be confident about its chances if the Blue Devils defend is that Boston College has one of the worst defenses in the conference. The Eagles allow 74.0 points per game on 46.0 percent shooting and have their lackluster defense to thank for their atrocious record. Boston College has been competitive in almost every game because of Hanlan and Anderson—the Eagles have just never gotten the stops when they need them. With the resurgence of sophomore guard Rasheed Sulaimon and all of Duke’s weapons, the Blue Devils should have no trouble putting up gaudy offensive numbers once again as long as they execute their basic sets in a hostile environment.
Stay focused on the task at hand
Even with the recent struggles of junior point guard Quinn Cook, the Blue Devils should have no trouble beating a Boston College team that has no hope of matching Duke’s depth. However, if the Blue Devils get complacent because of their recent success and because they are back near the top of the ACC standings, the Eagles could hang around and pull off the shocker. Duke should know from its losses at Clemson and at Notre Dame what can happen if the team loses focus on the road in ACC play. Duke can't look ahead to its matchup at the Dean E. Smith Center until the win against Boston College is locked up.
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