The Blue Devils open their season 7 p.m. Friday with a matchup against Marist at Cameron Indoor Stadium before hosting Grand Canyon the next day. Although neither game should be too challenging for top-ranked Duke, the season's opening weekend will give the team a chance to showcase what it has been working on throughout the summer and fall with a showdown against No. 3 Kansas looming Tuesday. Here are three keys to success for the Blue Devils:
Dominate the Boards
Although Duke had the rebounding advantage in both of its exhibition games, Virginia State was able to rebound a lot better than it likely anticipated, especially on the offensive end—the Trojans had 19 offensive rebounds, a decent-sized figure compared to the Blue Devils’ 27 defensive rebounds. The total rebounding numbers were close, too, with Duke taking the 41-37 advantage. But the Blue Devils dominated the glass in their next game even without starting center Marques Bolden, outrebounding Augustana 59-26 and limiting the Vikings to only four offensive boards.
Amile Jefferson and Chase Jeter stood out in that second game, grabbing 14 and 12 rebounds, respectively. Last year, Marist’s leading rebounder was then-freshman Brian Parker, who averaged 5.2 rebounds per game. Parker will likely play a key role in crashing the glass against the Blue Devils. Grand Canyon’s leading rebounding threat is graduate student Darion Clark, a 6-foot-7 forward who transferred from USC.
Convert from the Charity Stripe
Despite having the No. 1 free throw shooter in the ACC last year in Luke Kennard as well as the seventh best in the conference in Grayson Allen, free throws have been a struggle thus far for the Blue Devils. After going 3-for-6 against Virginia State, freshman Javin DeLaurier went 0-for-5 against Augustana, contributing to the 13 free throws that Duke missed in that game. Duke’s usual strong shooters from the charity stripe have remained consistent, with Kennard shooting 12-for-14 and Allen shooting 11-for-14 in the exhibition games. Frank Jackson went 5-for-7 as well. On a team that scores a substantial number of points in transition, converting foul shots will be pivotal for the Blue Devils' success this season.
Find the Open Shooters Behind the Arc
With Frank Jackson potentially running the point alongside Allen and Kennard, Duke will present some shooting combinations that will be difficult for Marist and Grand Canyon to defend. And with the expected return of Jayson Tatum, who can also shoot 3-pointers efficiently, those combinations will only get scarier for the Blue Devils' opponents. Duke's shooting from downtown was especially outstanding in its first preseason game, when Allen shot 3-for-6 and Jackson shot 4-for-7 from deep. Freshman Jack White has also shown that he has range, shooting 2-for-2 from beyond the arc at Countdown to Craziness and going 2-for-2 again against Augustana.
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