Fresh off its first loss, Duke will look to bounce back against a fourth straight opponent expected to make the NCAA tournament, as it returns the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night.
Playing Indiana for the third time in four years as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the No. 3 Blue Devils will look to come out with the energy and fight that was lacking against Gonzaga— leading to a double-digit deficit they were ultimately unable to overcome.
“No one wants to lose but I definitely think to lose that game was a great learning experience for us. It is just something that happens in basketball and we have to learn and move on from it,” R.J. Barrett said at Monday's media availability. “We have to play hard from the beginning of the game every game. We cannot just ease into it. Against a good team like Gonzaga, that’s [a loss] going to happen to us.”
Duke’s four freshman phenoms will not be the only highly-touted NBA prospects on the floor Tuesday. The Hoosiers (5-1) are buoyed by first-year guard Romeo Langford, who leads the team in scoring at 18.5 points and is second in rebounding at 5.8 boards per game. The New Albany, Ind., native—who considered the Blue Devils early in his recruiting process—plays a similar style of ball to Barrett, often slashing to the rim and boasting a decent jumper.
Langford is the main offensive threat for Indiana, averaging 2.5 more shots per game than the next closest player and shooting 52 percent from the field. However, the 6-foot-6 forward has not yet proven a consistent outside shot, hitting just 26.1 percent of attempts from deep, which should be a point of emphasis on defense for the hosts.
“I played with [Langford] at the McDonald’s game. He is a really good scorer, he can read and he can shoot,” Barrett said. “We will have to play a harder defense than we did last game.”
Although Langford will take the spotlight, Juwan Morgan is another player the Blue Devils must lock in on, and his physical profile and stats are similar to those of Rui Hachimura—who torched Duke (5-1) during the Bulldogs' win in the Maui Invitational final.
Morgan, like Hachimura, stands 6-foot-8 and weighs around 230 pounds. The senior leads the Hoosiers in the field goal percentage at 71.7 percent and has developed a more-than-credible outside shot, shooting 60 percent on 2.5 attempts from downtown per contest. On top of the 17.5 points he averages, Morgan is a force in the paint, pulling down 9.0 rebounds and blocking 1.3 shots per game.
"We should not be letting teams get 80 points on us, especially with the defensive potential that we have and how we have seen we can play defense. It needs to be a consistent 40-minute effort," Jack White said Monday. "The biggest thing is talk, honestly. We are still trying to instill it and make it second nature for us."
The Blue Devil defense will look to come out organized and energized, especially after being dominated in the first half against Gonzaga. However, on the offensive side of the ball, Duke needs to facilitate more ball movement as it did earlier in the season, and the Blue Devils will hope reignite Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish on the offensive end.
After averaging 18.8 assists per game through their first five contests, the Blue Devils had only eight against the Bulldogs. The lack of ball movement was especially noticeable in the final minute, where Duke was unable to convert on seven shots in the last minute to try to grab the lead.
“We just need to get back to play the way we play,” Barrett said. “We did not have as many assists than when we started the season off.... Coach is fired up. We are all fired up for another opportunity to prove ourselves and try to bounce back.”
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