Robert Morris enters the contest having won its last seven games, and it hopes it can do more than just replicate a strong NCAA tournament performance in 2010 in which it lost to No. 2 seed Villanova 73-70 in OT. Duke has not played in a week since its loss to Notre Dame in the semifinals of the ACC tournament halted a 12-game winning streak. In the past three years, the Blue Devils have lost to No. 15 seed Lehigh and No. 14 Mercer in the Round of 64 and will look to make sure the Colonials don't become the tournament's newest Cinderella. Here are the X-factors for each team when the ball is tipped Friday night in Charlotte, N.C., for a ticket to the Round of 32.
Duke: swingman Justise Winslow
Winslow has been Duke’s hottest player since the departure of Rasheed Sulaimon in late January and since recovering from nagging rib and shoulder injuries. As a defensive warrior, Winslow will need to contain an offense that is perfectly primed to give the Blue Devils some trouble. Robert Morris small but speedy and shoots 37.7 percent from behind the arc. Duke will turn to its swingman to stop the kind of dribble penetration that has given the Blue Devils troubles all year, particularly in their regular season losses to N.C. State and Miami back in January.
On the offensive side of the ball, Winslow needs to work in tandem with Jahlil Okafor to expose the Colonials’ lack of height. Considering that Okafor is three inches taller and 55 pounds heavier than his Robert Morris counterpart, there is good reason to expect an especially big day from the 6-foot-11 ACC Player of the Year. Still, after a 6-foot-8 center Elijah Minnie, the Colonials’ next tallest starter stands at 6-foot-5, meaning Winslow can also succeed playing the post and bullying small defenders. He will also have to keep the turnovers down against a team that is ranked 12th in the country at getting steals. The Houston native pushes the tempo for Duke in the open floor, so he’ll need to continue creating fast breaks without getting reckless against a team that is capable of making him pay the price with active hands defensively.
Robert Morris: guard Rodney Pryor
A 6-foot-4 guard, Pryor has also been playing some of his best basketball of late. The junior joins Marcquise Reed and Lucky Jones as a member of a high-scoring offensive trio in the Colonials' backcourt. Pryor's increased production has been the engine behind his team’s success in the late regular season, Northeast Conference tournament and First Four nail biter against North Florida.
The Evanston, Ill., native has scored at least 15 points in eight of his last nine games, and in those contests, the NEC tournament MVP is shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 49.2 percent from beyond the arc. More than just a scorer, Pryor has also posted 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in that stretch. The Colonials are 19-6 when he scores in double-figures and 8-1 when he scores at least 20 points.
Finally, Pryor can find openings against a Duke team that struggles against the dribble penetration, and he’ll get a chance to take a crack at the opportunity on the biggest of stages Friday night. A 42.9 percent long-range shooter this season, he can also heat up in a hurry, putting together 5-of-6, 6-of-7 and 7-of-10 3-point attempts in some of his biggest games this season. He'll need another one Friday for the Colonials to pull off the shocking upset.
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