The Key Three: Duke basketball vs. Clemson

Duke has a chance to avenge its road loss to Clemson when the teams get together for a rematch at the Greensboro Coliseum at 9:30 p.m. Friday night. The third-seeded Blue Devils will be fresh after receiving a double-bye to the quarterfinals, while the Tigers may show some signs of fatigue following an overtime victory against Georgia Tech in Thursday's tournament nightcap. Here are tonight's keys to the game:

Lock down on McDaniels: Tiger swingman K.J. McDaniels did it all for Clemson in its upset of Duke Jan. 11 at Littlejohn Coliseum, tallying 24 points, 10 rebounds and a couple of emphatic blocks. The junior had help from Jaron Blossomgame and Landry Nnoko, but McDaniels is the engine that makes the Tigers run. Limiting his touches in a scoring position and cutting off his opportunities to leak out in transition will be critical to Duke's defensive gameplan. When McDaniels struggles, Clemson often has major problems scoring.

Attack the basket: In the teams' first meeting of the season, Jabari Parker was still adjusting to the physical nature of ACC play. The freshman struggled against the Tigers, posting 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting and making just 2-of-6 from long range. Since then, Parker has figured out his strengths, opting to pass up the outside jump shots in favor of attacking the rim and drawing contact. It's a big reason why the ACC Freshman of the Year ended the regular season with six consecutive double-doubles.

Finish strong: Duke's late-game cold spell at Clemson was a warning of things to come in the rest of conference play. In four of the Blue Devils' five conference losses—all away from Cameron Indoor Stadium—Duke has been doomed by subpar second-half shooting and a lack of defensive intensity. With nothing but neutral sites the rest of the way, Duke won't have to worry about increasingly hostile crowds when their shots stop falling, but they will need to ratchet up the intensity to take, keep and extend a second-half lead.