The key three: Duke basketball vs. Furman

After successfully claiming the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic championship, No. 4 Duke will head home Wednesday to face Furman at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the midst of Thanksgiving break. Three things the Blue Devils will need to do against the Paladins before enjoying the holiday:

Take advantage of a struggling Furman offense

Furman currently ranks 303rd in the nation in points per game with 59.7 and is the third team Duke has played this season that at the moment sits below the 60.5 points per game mark. In both of those previous contests—against Presbyterian and Temple—the Blue Devils were able to come away with at least a 20-point victory. Duke, on the other hand, boasts the 13th-highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 89.4 points per game. Furman will be trying to desperately to keep pace with the frenetic Blue Devil offense and Duke will need to keep the Paladins uncomfortable in their own end and force them to commit turnovers.

Contain Kris Acox

In Furman’s lone win, forward Kris Acox went 5-of-6 from the floor for 14 points and added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. In the Paladins’ two losses, the sophomore from Reykjavik, Iceland, was held to just 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. And although junior guard Stephen Croone is the leading scorer on the season so far for Furman, the offense seems to go as Acox goes. He will most likely be matched up against power forward Amile Jefferson for most of the day, so it will be up to the captain to lock down the Paladins’ inside threat.

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Drop dimes

The Blue Devils rank 18th in the country in assists per game and will need to keep that style of play up on Wednesday evening. In the two games the Paladins dropped, their opposing teams out-assisted them 36 to 10, but in their win over Appalachian State, they dropped 21 dimes to the Mountaineers' nine. By letting point guard Tyus Jones and captain Quinn Cook continue to facilitate the offense and set up shots for other players, Duke will create more open looks and high-percentage shots against a team that currently ranks 179th in the country in points allowed per game.