The key three: Duke basketball vs. Louisville

After having their 41-game home winning streak snapped Tuesday against Miami, the No. 4 Blue Devils head back on the road to take on No. 6 Louisville at noon at the KFC Yum! Center. Heading into last weekend, the game was anticipated to be head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s first attempt at his 1,00th career win, but after back-to-back losses, Duke is now looking to prevent its first three-game losing streak since 2006-07. Here are three keys to the game if Duke is to avoid that fate:

Stop the ball-screen

The Blue Devils struggled mightily in ball-screen action Tuesday against Miami, giving Hurricane guard Angel Rodriguez and his counterparts open driving lanes that lead to lay-ups or kick-out 3-pointers. Louisville guards Chris Jones and Terry Rozier—the Cardinals' leading scorer at 17.4 points per game—have explosive speed and could pick Duke apart with ball-screen if the Blue Devil defense does not make the necessary adjustment's from Tuesday's loss. If junior forward Montrezl Harrell—a 58 percent shooter—is involved in the screen action, Duke also can't lose sight of the Preseason AP All-American, who can both finish above the rim and knock down jumpers.

Play with patience

When Duke racked up 14 consecutive double-digit wins to start the season, freshman Jahlil Okafor was both a dominant force inside and a willing passer when opponents attempted to double-team the center. Against both N.C. State and Miami, Okafor still got his points, but didn't shoot as efficiently from the floor, and his teammates couldn't knock down perimeter shots to keep the Blue Devils in the game. Continuing to run the offense through Okafor by giving him multiple post touches each possession will open up opportunities on the offensive end—Duke just has to take advantage of them.

Spread the ball

Everyone has a bad game eventually, but when everyone has that day at the same time, it doesn’t make for good basketball. Duke’s starting five and rotation players were able to beat then-No. 2 Wisconsin, then-No. 18 Michigan State and Connecticut by spreading the ball and not relying on a star—although consistent production from Okafor and big performances from point guard Tyus Jones certainly helped. Okafor will likely face double-teams again Saturday, meaning someone will be open. The Chicago native seems to usually make the right decision, and finding the open teammate repeatedly may force Louisville to give him more one-on-one chances—ones the freshman has turned into easy points all season long.