The Blue Devils relied on six players to notch a high-profile win against Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Tuesday.
On Saturday, they will hope to get some of their veterans some much-needed rest before another high-profile Tuesday contest.
No. 5 Duke will return to the court after its 78-69 win to play Maine Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Following the win against the Spartans, Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski reiterated that the team cannot practice with five-star freshmen Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Marques Bolden still sitting out games due to leg injuries and junior All-American Grayson Allen fighting through a toe injury.
That means a team that was initially expected to have a deep bench is still relying on its veteran core entering December. Allen, senior Matt Jones and graduate student Amile Jefferson will once again look to lead the way against the Black Bears before taking on No. 24 Florida at Madison Square Garden.
“Hopefully, we don’t have to play with six guys going down the road, because I know the ACC is really tough. I know the next game we play is really tough,” Jones said after Tuesday’s game. “It definitely was a physical game—a little fatigue at the end.”
Although Jones and company have had to deal with more time on the court than anticipated early in the season, the Blue Devils (7-1) have rolled to five consecutive wins thanks to their four-guard lineup. With sophomore Luke Kennard and freshman Frank Jackson joining Allen as the team’s leading scorers early in the season, Duke has been able to take advantage of driving lanes and open jump shots to lead the nation in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric through eight games.
The Blue Devils will look to notch their sixth straight victory with a win against a Maine team that has already allowed at least 80 points five times this season. The Black Bears (2-5) have struggled to start the season and will have have their hands full containing Kennard and Jackson off the dribble.
Against Michigan State, the duo did most of the damage during a game-defining 11-0 run, and Jackson has scored in double figures in every game to start his freshman campaign. The Alpine, Utah, native’s explosiveness off the bounce and ability to stop on a dime for pull-up jumpers have made him a nightmare matchup for teams that try to contain Duke playing man-to-man defense.
“We have so much confidence in Frank. As a freshman, he’s played great for us so far, and he’s continuing to grow as a person and as a player,” Kennard said. “The whole team, Coach, all the coaches, we believe that he can make big plays for us, and we called a play for him and he just kind of took control there in that little spurt. He scored and he went right back to it, but he helped us a lot there in that spurt.”
With Kennard leading the Blue Devils in scoring and Jefferson posting four double-doubles in his last five games, Maine will likely look to get Duke’s starters in foul trouble to test the team’s depth. The Blue Devils only used sophomore big man Chase Jeter off the bench Tuesday, but have also played forwards Javin DeLaurier and Antonio Vrankovic in recent weeks to spell the starters.
Junior guard Wesley Myers is the leading candidate to test Duke’s man-to-man defense Saturday—the Niagara transfer averages 12.7 points per contest and shoots 40.0 percent from 3-point range. Freshman forward Anthony Fleming is the team’s main threat down low with 10.7 points per contest and a 59.6-percent shooting clip, but the rookie could struggle against the savvy veteran Jefferson at just 6-foot-7 and 222 pounds.
One advantage Maine could have is its depth. Twelve Black Bears average at least 10 minutes per game, but Maine will have to find consistency to stay in Saturday’s contest.
Even with Allen’s injury, the Blue Devils know their trio of co-captains will help them find their way when adversity hits—as it did Tuesday when players other than Allen combined to make 2-of-15 3-pointers. But Jones, Allen and Jefferson led Duke to yet another victory and looked very much like three hungry veterans after their ups and downs early in their respective careers.
“Matt and Amile have been in over 100 games. Those three kids are on the court and have won a national championship against Wisconsin. They’ve been in big-time games,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They’ve earned it. It’s not inherited wealth, let’s put it that way.”
As Marist did in Duke’s regular-season opener, Maine is expected to protest North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2. USA Today reported Thursday that the Black Bears will wear black and rainbow-themed warm-up shirts to protest that the law that limits protections for LGBTQ people and requires transgender people to use public bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.
Amrith Ramkumar and Sameer Pandhare contributed reporting.
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