Duke has had a two-day window to prepare for its final game before ACC play starts, and the quick turnaround is nothing new for the Blue Devils, who played their first 10 games in a span of 23 days.
After a comfortable win Saturday, the Blue Devils will look to wrap up a two-game homestand in victorious fashion against St. Francis (Pa.) Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Tired legs won’t be an excuse for the Blue Devils, as just one of their starters logged more than 30 minutes in Saturday’s comfortable win against South Dakota. In Duke's two previous games, the starters logged an average of 34.8 and 33.4 minutes, respectively, and these averages would have been much higher if freshman Wendell Carter Jr. had not struggled with foul trouble in both games.
“We need to keep [Wendell] out of foul trouble. It totally impacts his game,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said following Saturday's victory against the Coyotes, when Carter played just 16 minutes.
Carter’s four fouls in the PK80 championship game against Florida Nov. 26 limited him to just 21 minutes. Against Indiana last Wednesday, his night was cut short when he fouled out with 3:39 left. Although this foul trouble is unlikely to influence the outcome against the Red Flash, it could cause problems in ACC play if Duke's shooting woes continue and it is forced to rely increasingly on its bigs.
One Blue Devil who has experienced troubles with his shot recently is freshman Gary Trent Jr., who has shot 40 percent or worse from the field in seven of 10 games this season and was just 3-of-10 in Saturday’s game. But he has more than made up for these shooting performances with late-game heroics against Michigan State, Texas and Florida.
“He didn’t play well today. I think the shooting is affecting the rest of his game, and it didn’t affect him in these big wins,” Krzyzewski said.
If Trent’s performance in close games continues to be a deciding factor in close victories for Duke (10-0), his shooting troubles will likely be overlooked. But if he can also find his shot, he could stretch the floor and give the Blue Devils’ posts some much-needed room to work going into conference play.
St. Francis (3-4) experienced no such shooting problems in its last contest. Despite falling to Stony Brook 85-83, the Red Flash shot 62.5 percent from 3-point range and 60.4 percent from the field.
St. Francis, represented by its mascot Frankie the Friar, has played two top-25 opponents this season. Its opening game against then-No. 22 Saint Mary’s ended in an 85-68 loss. However, the Red Flash played a closer contest against 17th-ranked Louisville—coming up just short 84-72.
Sophomore guard Keith Braxton leads St. Francis in scoring with 16.4 points a game on 51.8 percent shooting this season. With only one of their top five scorers not listed as a guard, the Red Flash rely on their frontcourt scoring much less than the Blue Devils.
This game will be Duke's final tuneup before it heads to Boston College Dec. 9 for its ACC opener.
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