In their second consecutive road conference game, No. 2 Duke will travel to PNC Arena—where the Blue Devils lost to Mercer in the NCAA tournament last year and fell to N.C. State two years ago for their first loss of the season—to take on a hungry Wolfpack team. Tipoff is at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Three keys to a Duke notching its 15th straight win to open the season:
Don't wait to turn it on
Against Wake Forest Wednesday, the Blue Devils got their first sense of how tough it is to win on the road in the ACC. Despite entering the game with seven losses, the Demon Deacons almost doubled the time Duke has spent trailing this season, jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game and became the first team to lead the Blue Devils in the second half. Duke turned it on after Wake Forest took a late lead, using a late 7-0 run to seize control and eventually prevail, but the Blue Devils need to show a sense of urgency from the opening tip Sunday if they want to reverse their recent struggles at PNC Arena.
Although the Wolfpack have struggled at times and have five losses already, their backcourt trio of Anthony "Cat" Barber, Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner is one of the most dangerous in the ACC. If Duke lets any of the three get going early and lets the crowd get into the game, it could be in for another dogfight. But if the Blue Devils can establish dominant freshman center Jahlil Okafor early on and set up their man-to-man defense, they could be able to seize control from the outset.
Make life difficult for N.C. State's dynamic trio
Part of a strong start for Duke will include making sure that Barber, Lacey and Turner don't get any wide-open layups or 3-pointers, but the Blue Devils also know that they need to stay connected to the group at all times. Turner hit eight 3-pointers in one game earlier and Lacey can hurt opponents with penetration or his outside shot, so especially making sure the duo has to work for its production is a top priority.
Duke's players and coaches have been consistent in saying that they know they cannot completely shut down great players and don't need to thanks to a prolific offense, but that their goal is to make life tougher for them and take away what they do best. The Blue Devils know what they have to do, the question is whether or not they can execute for 40 minutes defensively against some of the most prolific guards they have seen. Expect starters Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook to rotate frequently with 6-foot-5 reserves Rasheed Sulaimon and Matt Jones to try to keep fresh legs on the perimeter.
Limit transition opportunities
Unlike last year, Duke has been generally pretty solid in its halfcourt defense this season, making teams work to put up teams and holding opponents to just 26.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. But the Blue Devils still have some work to do in limiting dribble penetration and in transition. Led by Codi Miller-McIntyre, Wake Forest owned a 20-6 advantage in fastbreak points despite Duke's dynamic backcourt players and the explosiveness of swingman Justise Winslow. The Demon Deacons were able to capitalize on lax Blue Devil transition defense and take advantage of Duke's mistakes.
If the Blue Devils can get stops even when opponents may have numbers, they will take another step toward becoming the great defensive team they aspire to be come tournament time. And facing players like Turner and Lacey who can thrive in transition, Sunday's contest wouldn't be a bad time to start making the appropriate improvements.
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