No. 2 Duke men’s basketball is just a day away from its first big test of the season, a matchup with No. 12 Arizona. As the game inches closer, the Blue Zone keys in on three aspects that could decide the winner:
Stay out of foul trouble
In the first half of what was anticipated to be a quick and clean first win for Duke against Dartmouth, the team faced frustration due to several unnecessary fouls across its starting lineup. Guards Tyrese Proctor, Jeremy Roach and Jared McCain all picked up their first personal foul in the first five minutes of play, and all three committed a second foul before the end of the first half. The early fouls could’ve easily been prevented and were mostly due to lack of focus. Playing disciplined defense could have caused turnovers for the Big Green and fast break points for the Blue Devils, but instead fouling caused head coach Jon Scheyer to have no choice but to substitute out Proctor earlier than he planned.
Duke did go into halftime with a comfortable 21 point lead, but first half fouls made the battle to gain ground more frustrating than it needed to be for the Blue Devils. Another two quick fouls in the first five minutes of the second half put freshman starter Jared McCain in jeopardy of fouling out; McCain sat out of the second half for about 10 minutes before being subbed in and ultimately picking up his fifth foul. If Duke wants to be confident in their anticipated matchup against No. 12 Arizona, these early fouls need to be eliminated. Scheyer can’t have restrictions on his second half rotation due to players getting into foul trouble. Every player needs to be able to afford to foul in the final minutes of the matchup. After all, each player gets five fouls for a reason; the Blue Devils need to spend them wisely.
Listen to your elders
All four freshmen got minutes Monday, and while the team’s first win hopefully allowed them to empty some early-season jitters from their tanks, these young players will no doubt be nervous to take on the Wildcats. Arizona will come to Durham as the first team this season to pose a real threat for Duke. In the Wildcats’ first game against Morgan State, they started four seniors and a sophomore, including the infamous North Carolina transfer Caleb Love. In Love’s Tar Heel days, he had his fair share of trips to Cameron Indoor to play in the iconic rivalry. Now, he comes to play for Arizona, having plenty of experience in games against the Blue Devils.
On Duke’s roster, Roach and graduate student center Ryan Young are potential figures of maturity in the starting lineup. Beyond Roach and Young, though, much of the team’s firepower comes from talented freshmen and sophomores. Returning sophomores such as Kyle Filipkowski, Proctor and Mark Mitchell had their share of competitive games last season, but Duke’s roster still does not nearly have the experience of Arizona’s. It’ll be crucial for every player to follow the game plan and the leadership of more experienced players to set themselves up for success against their Pac-12 visitors.
Defense wins championships
In their first official matchup, the Wildcats dominated 122-59. The performance included double-digit scoring performances from every starter and three players off the bench. While a Morgan State matchup may not be the best indicator of Arizona’s offensive performance against the Blue Devils, the Wildcats did display that their scoring isn’t completely lopsided. Arizona’s balanced scoring means that no one can be caught sleeping on defense. Even if the shots are falling for Duke, restraining scoring is essential for sealing the Quad-1 win. Limiting Love and the Wildcat offense will put the Blue Devils at a significant advantage to create runs, build comfortable point margins and start the season 2-0.
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