Fresh off an eight-day break for final exams, Duke will look to extend its nation’s best 131-game nonconference home winning streak against Tennessee State Monday at 7 p.m. The Tigers boast an 8-2 record and challenged N.C. State Dec. 10, forcing the Wolfpack into overtime before falling 67-55 at Reynolds Coliseum. Here are three keys to success for the Blue Devils in Monday's contest.
Ease Giles In
After his return from a torn ACL suffered in November 2015 was delayed 10 weeks due to unrelated arthroscopic knee surgery, freshman forward Harry Giles, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, is expected to make his Duke debut Monday. Giles has already torn both ACLs—his left in 2013 and a partial tear of his right in 2015—so Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff will likely ease him in after missing so much time.
As was the case with the returns of prized recruits Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum, Giles will likely be rusty having not played a competitive game in 13 months and will probably focus on regaining his conditioning. If the 6-foot-10 forward does play Monday, his aggression and explosiveness will be two areas to watch for a lineup that already boasts plenty of scoring options.
Keep Grayson Hot
After a slow start to the season in large part because of a turf-toe injury, preseason first-team All-American Grayson Allen erupted against UNLV before the exam break. The junior guard scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-16 shooting, connecting on 6-of-9 3-pointers. Perhaps most importantly, Allen showed no hesitation driving to the basket and finishing strong at the rim, an issue early in the season when he was not 100 percent.
Against a Tennessee State defense that gives up less than 65 points per game, another strong outing from Allen would go a long way in making sure Monday's game is not closer than it needs to be. With Allen, sophomore Luke Kennard and Tatum, the Blue Devils have three explosive scorers few teams can match.
Play Tough Despite Rust
There’s one thing that stands out about the Tigers in assessing their season so far—they won’t go down without a fight. After narrowly escaping with a victory against Tennessee State Dec. 10, N.C. State senior forward Beejay Anya said the Tigers “came in[to] [Reynolds Coliseum] and thought they could punk us.”
Especially after eight days off for finals, the Blue Devils will need to bring energy early to avoid a slow start like the one that the Wolfpack suffered against the Tigers.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.