Key three: Duke needs to play cleaner basketball against Notre Dame

Trevon Duval said he needs to take care of the ball better and be more disciplined against the ACC’s other veteran teams like Notre Dame.
Trevon Duval said he needs to take care of the ball better and be more disciplined against the ACC’s other veteran teams like Notre Dame.

After falling in gut-wrenching fashion to No. 2 Virginia Saturday, Duke looks to get back in the win column Monday against Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. The Blue Zone gives three keys for a Blue Devil win: 

Dominate the interior 

Freshmen Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr. have been dominant over the Blue Devils’ last five contests, combining for eight double-doubles during that span. Facing a Notre Dame team with just two players at least 6-foot-9 or taller in its rotation, Bagley and Carter will have a palpable size advantage. 

With junior Grayson Allen still sporadic from the perimeter, look for Duke to continue to play through its big men down low and to win the battle on the glass once again. 

Limit the turnovers

After losing the turnover battle 16-5 against Virginia Saturday, the Blue Devils will need to do a much better job handling the ball to take control against Notre Dame. Freshman guard Trevon Duval has seemingly hit a roadblock of late. 

The New Castle, Del., native has scored just 11 points over his last three games, while committing 10 turnovers during that span, including a costly erratic pass in the closing minutes against Virginia. Duval and the Blue Devils will need to slow down Monday and control the tempo in order to play a clean and efficient game against the Fighting Irish.

Get the bench involved

Duke will likely need to dig deeper into its rotation Monday after getting just six combined minutes from its bench against Virginia on Saturday. Against a top-five opponent, the Blue Devils were hurt by their lack of depth, as starters Marvin Bagley III, Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr., were forced to play all 40 minutes of the contest.

Facing a short turnaround, look for head coach Mike Krzyzewski to give added minutes to Justin Robinson, Jordan Goldwire, Alex O’Connell and Javin DeLaurier early on in the contest to allow his starters to rest up after Saturday’s tough loss.


Michael Model

Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113.  Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.

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