The Blue Devils avoided a second consecutive loss Saturday when they rallied late in the second half to down Wake Forest 85-83, but Duke will face another big challenge Monday when it heads to South Bend, Ind., to take on No. 14 Notre Dame. Here are three keys to the game:
Clean the glass
Although the Fighting Irish enter the contest in the bottom half of the conference in rebounds, junior Bonzie Colson leads the ACC with an average of 10.6 rebounds per game. The versatile forward was a thorn in the Blue Devils' side a year ago and averaged 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the teams' two matchups. Notre Dame is especially dangerous off of offensive rebounds, which often lead to open looks for one of the Fighting Irish's many capable 3-point shooters.
Graduate student Amile Jefferson has yet to appear healthy from a right-foot bone bruise and Duke has yet to find a stable answer behind him—even turning to seldom-used Antonio Vrankovic against the Demon Deacons. A strong performance on the boards is a must for the Blue Devils against one of the better offenses in the ACC.
Get out in transition
The Fighting Irish are coming off a last-second defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech due to a buzzer-beating coast-to-coast finish by the Yellow Jackets' Josh Okogie. Considering the Blue Devils' troubles scoring efficiently in the half-court, Duke may be best served pushing the ball up the floor on misses and looking to initiate early offense through guards Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen. Notre Dame ranks fifth in the conference in scoring defense, but transition defense has been a problem for the team at times this season. In what is sure to be a close game, any easy buckets Duke can squeeze out by taking advantage of its speed could go a long way toward coming home with a victory Monday.
Weather the storm
The Fighting Irish have only dropped one game at home this season and enter the matchup having notched victories in three consecutive years against the Blue Devils. Duke has shown a tendency to come unglued in road games against ranked teams and even the slightest wobble against Notre Dame could bury the Blue Devils. Duke will need to capitalize on the momentum from Kennard's second-half outburst Saturday and hang tough against a desperate Fighting Irish team that has dropped two straight games.
Interim head coach Jeff Capel will be facing one of his biggest challenges of the season against a seasoned veteran in Mike Brey. The Fighting Irish head coach is one of the best in-game coaches in the country and has molded Notre Dame into a team that excels in tight contests. In what could potentiallybe his final game before the return of head coach Mike Krzyzewski, all eyes will be on Capel to see if he can get the inconsistent Blue Devils to put forth their best effort Monday night.
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