After graduate student forward Amile Jefferson went down in the first half with a bone bruise on his right foot Saturday against Boston College, the No. 7 Blue Devils will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on surging No. 9 Florida State, winners of 11 straight, Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Duke will have to improve its defense in Jefferson’s absence, which faltered in the second half against the lowly Eagles. The Blue Zone takes a look at a player from each team who could be the difference-maker in the game:
Duke: Forward Harry Giles
It has been a long time coming, but the freshman is beginning to show flashes of the brilliance that made him the nation’s No. 1 recruit. After missing the Blue Devils’ first 11 games due to arthroscopic knee surgery and being eased back into action, Giles made strides while stepping in for the injured Jefferson against the Eagles Saturday, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. A game removed from his first career start, Giles also pulled down five rebounds to help anchor Duke down low.
Interim head coach Jeff Capel will need to help Giles get back up to speed to anchor Duke’s interior defense—the Winston-Salem, N.C., native did not participate in defensive drills during most of his rehab. Although Giles improved defensively against Georgia Tech, he’ll need to steady a help-side defense that struggled to defend the paint against the Eagles.
"With Amile out of the game, we’re losing a very experienced guy and we’re replacing him with a guy who’s very good, but young,” Duke junior guard Grayson Allen said Saturday. “With Harry [Giles] being the only big in the game, or Jayson [Tatum] moving to the four, it’s just learning to talk."
In addition to honing his communication skills, Giles will have to stay out of foul trouble after fouling out in just 24 minutes against Boston College to help mask the Blue Devils’ lack of post depth, even with sophomore Chase Jeter set to return from a back injury. If Giles can stay on the court against the Seminoles, he should bring energy down low that could help Duke overcome Jefferson’s absence.
Florida State: Guard Terance Mann
The former four-star recruit was part of the recruiting class that brought leading scorer and budding star Dwayne Bacon to Tallahassee, and has been a difference-maker on offense for Florida State. Mann ranks fourth on the team with 9.2 points per game, but has shot a blistering 59.6 percent from the field. Although he isn’t a threat from behind the arc, connecting on just two of his nine 3-point attempts this season, he complements Florida State’s sharpshooting duo of Bacon and guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes with his ability to score at the rim.
But Mann does struggle with at times possessing the ball, posting a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. If Mann can handle the ball well to penetrate the Blue Devils’ interior defense and score like he is capable of, he could make it a lot more difficult for Duke to keep up with the Seminoles.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.