Key three: Duke men's basketball vs. Penn State and Cincinnati/Rhode Island

The top-ranked Blue Devils will compete in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off this weekend, as they take on Penn State Saturday and either No. 24 Cincinnati or No. 21 Rhode Island Sunday. After falling to No. 7 Kansas Tuesday, Duke will look to bounce back while some of its key players are likely to remain sidelined. Here are three keys to success for the Blue Devils this weekend:

Get the ball into Grayson Allen’s hands

Even if Allen is missing his shots to start the weekend, there is nothing he can do to get out of the slump he’s in other than to keep shooting. He has only shot 34.9 percent from the field through the Blue Devils’ first three contests and 29.2 percent from 3-point range, which was not expected to be a cause for concern for Duke. But Allen is playing with the added pressure of seeing three of his most talented teammates on the bench in street clothes. The loss against Kansas may have looked ugly to Blue Devil fans, but this team has not yet tapped into its full potential in part because its junior captain did not step up in Madison Square Garden.

Let Luke Kennard Shine

After leading all scorers with 22 points against Kansas, Luke Kennard has already shown how much more polished he is now than he was last year. The sophomore guard's two 3-pointers were part of a barrage of triples in the second half for the Blue Devils, who finished 8-for-19 from long range. Allen shot just 1-for-7 on 3-pointers, meaning the rest of the team shot 7-for-12 from beyond the arc at an impressive 58.3 percent clip. Kennard also bounced back from missing two free throws last Saturday against Grand Canyon and made all six of his attempts from the charity stripe Tuesday, proving that the ACC’s leading free-throw shooter last season can still be consistent from the line. Averaging 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game through the first three contests, Kennard is developing into more of a playmaker and less of a pure shooter, which Duke needs from him this season.

Continue to Play Lockdown Defense at the Perimeter

Part of the reason the Blue Devils rallied in the final minutes against Kansas was that they forced a lot of misses from 3-point range. The Jayhawks shot 2-for-17 in the entire game. This 11.8-percent performance came after Marist shot just 12.0 percent and Grand Canyon shot 25.0 percent from 3-point range last weekend against Duke. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski should be pleased with those numbers, as he has made aggressive man-to-man defense a point of emphasis for his team this season. In the interior, Duke appeared to lack the strength to match up with Kansas’ big men, but that is something it can expect to improve with the return of the injured freshmen, particularly Harry Giles and Marques Bolden.