After impressive victories against Kentucky and Army propelled Duke to the top spot in the AP Top 25, the Blue Devils will host Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. The Blue Zone takes a look at a key player from each side who could be a difference-maker in the matchup.
Duke: Center Marques Bolden
Junior center Marques Bolden has found himself in an entirely unique, and perhaps undesirable, position. The only upperclassman starter among the most highly touted recruiting class ever, Bolden has had to content himself with a mainly defensive and leadership role while television commentators gush over his new teammates. It must feel like a rerun of last season, when one-and-done big men Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter, Jr. overshadowed a recovering Bolden. He scored under four points per game last year, and he is on pace for the same level of production this season.
Yet, the 6-foot-10 Bolden wasn’t the highest-ranked center in his class without reason. Bolden’s incredible displays of basketball ability, like his 15-point performance against Division II champion Ferris State, frustratingly lack consistency but helped him keep his status as a starter. Eastern Michigan’s defensive attention on the Blue Devils’ big three will let Bolden tear up the paint and lend him some much-needed momentum.
Only at Duke could a former top-20 recruit take the backseat, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski will surely not hesitate to replace Bolden with Javin DeLaurier or Jack White if it gets him one step closer to another championship banner. Wednesday’s game will undoubtedly be a runaway win for the Blue Devils, but it will play a larger part in determining Bolden’s fate this season by either providing the confidence boost he needs to silence the doubters or force him out of the starting lineup for good.
Eastern Michigan: Forward James Thompson IV and Center Boubacar Toure
Eastern Michigan has neither the raw talent nor the three-point prowess to take Duke on as a team, so it will be forced to play the matchup game instead. The Blue Devils have not yet encountered a team with the Eagles’ size and experience, so the Eagles will most likely lean on their bigs to batter down star-studded Duke. Redshirt senior center James Thompson and redshirt junior Boubacar Toure, 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11 respectively, can make the difference between another blowout Blue Devil win and a tightly contested game.
Duke’s Marques Bolden will most likely guard Toure, a Senegal native. That leaves either Cam Reddish or Zion Williamson to take on the task of guarding Thompson, who will have at least two inches on either of them. Both of Eastern Michigan’s twin towers know how to put the ball in the basket—Toure has scored in double figures in all three games this season, and Thompson averaged a double-double last year.
On the defensive end, the Eagles’ post duo will present a tougher challenge than either of the Blue Devils’ previous two opponents. Although Williamson could rise above relatively small Kentucky and Army teams — the tallest player in each team’s starting lineup was under 6-foot-10—Thompson’s and Toure’s length could stymie Zion’s acrobatic layups and otherworldly dunks.
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