With head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s emotional 1,000th win out of the way, the No. 4 Blue Devils return to conference play against eighth-ranked Notre Dame Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind. Up against long-time Duke assistant Mike Brey and one of the country’s most lethal scorers in Jerian Grant, Duke looks to win its fourth consecutive game and improve to 18-2 on the season. Here are the three keys to tonight’s game:
Force Notre Dame to put it on the deck
Against most teams, Duke would prefer opponents to attempt more 3-pointers than shots in the paint. Not against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are the only team in the ACC that averages more points per game than Duke largely due to the fact that they shoot the 3-ball at 40 percent as a team, good for first in the conference. Most of Notre Dame’s predesigned sets try to find an open shot from behind the arc, but when they break down, Jerian Grant usually looks to take his man one-on-one. The senior averages 17.1 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Although it is imperative that Grant’s driving lanes are quickly closed, Duke must force Pat Connaughton, V.J. Beachem, Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia—all of whom have also made 25 or more 3-pointers on the season—to put the ball on the floor and attempt shots they are not accustomed to taking. It is one thing if Duke wants to show zone to disrupt Notre Dame’s offensive rhythm, but the Blue Devils have to pay extra attention to closeouts against one of the most dangerous teams in the nation from distance, regardless of what defense they play.
Get Justise Winslow involved somehow
In the first weeks of the season, the argument could have been made that Justise Winslow looked like Duke’s best player. However, in Duke’s recent games, the freshman small forward has struggled on both sides of the court due to shoulder and rib injuries. The Houston native has scored just 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting his last four games and played just 10 minutes Sunday. Although he is banged up, the Blue Devils need to try to find a way to get at least some production out of Winslow Wednesday with the team only really going eight-deep lately.
At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Winslow is one of the few players that can matchup with Grant, Connaughton and No. 2 Virginia's wings Malcolm Brogdon and Justin Anderson Saturday. If he is unable to give his team much again on either end, Duke's tough week will likely be even tougher.
Find the right combination
In his postgame interview Sunday, Coach K cited his two-center lineup as the spark-plug for the team’s comeback win against St. John’s on Sunday. Jahlil Okafor and Marshall Plumlee played together for as many as eight minutes during the team’s 13-1 run to close the game, which opened up Okafor’s offensive game and led to domination on the glass. Against Notre Dame, however, Duke likely cannot expect the two to have success playing together. The Fighting Irish only have two primary contributors 6-foot-8 or taller, Beachem and starter Zach Auguste, so defending Notre Dame's spread offense with two big men could be difficult.
With Winslow's health also a question mark, it could be tough for the Blue Devils to find the right rotation in a hostile environment, especially in a hostile road environment where they coughed up a late lead last year. Regardless of the circumstances, though, if Duke can find the right group to play with passion down the stretch, it should have a good chance to notch its third top-10 road win of the season. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff just might have to push the right buttons at the right time again to find that group.
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