The Blue Devils put their undefeated record and No. 1 ranking on the line tonight as Clemson travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium to continue ACC play.
Here are the three keys to the game:
Get Mason the ball early
Mason Plumlee, who is averaging 10 field goal attempts per game this season, has taken a total of five shots in the first half of his last two games combined. What's more, he's only attempted two first half free throws in those contests. Ryan Kelly is coming off a fantastic week, one which earned him ACC player of the week, but Duke needs to reincorporate Mason in the offense if they are going to have success against the ACC's upper echelon.
Convert free throws
They're called free throws for a reason. Though this hasn't been a season-long issue for Duke, Saturday's contest against Wake Forest featured some horrendous free throw shooting, as the team went just 11-for-22. The Blue Devils have had similar trouble in a few games this season, notably against Delaware and Elon. The main culprit of the poor shooting is none other than Mason Plumlee. While the national media continues to laud the senior's marked improvement from the charity stripe, the truth of the matter is that Mason is shooting a woeful 54.2 percent -- 32-for-59 -- from the line since the calendar turned to December. He shot 52.8 percent last season.
Contain Devin Booker
Booker gives up a fair amount of height to Mason Plumlee -- he stands at just 6-foot-8 -- but proved against Florida State that he can be a forced to be reckoned with against top-flight ACC programs. Booker lit up the Seminoles for 19 points and 11 rebounds, though ultimately Florida State prevailed in their ACC opener. Booker leads the Tigers in both points and rebounds, while averaging almost an assist, block, and steal per game.
Stay here at The Blue Zone for live analysis during the game and follow @dukebasketball on Twitter for the quickest updates.
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