After nearly two weeks off for final exams, Duke returns to the court Thursday evening to take on Wofford at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Zone breaks down three keys to the game if the Blue Devils hope to come away with a victory:
Do not play to the opponent’s skill level
Duke has had problems thus far in several of its contests against opponents that were seen as vastly inferior to the Blue Devils. Against both Georgia State and Winthrop in November, games in which Duke was 28.5-point and 23.5-point favorites, respectively, the Blue Devils ended up finding themselves in a gritty fight. This goes without mentioning the team's matchup against Stephen F. Austin, in which the Lumberjacks stunned the entire college basketball world en route to an 85-83 overtime win.
The Blue Devils have simply let their opponents hang around too long before delivering the knockout blow, making for far more excitement and tension than most Duke fans would like to see in these non-Power Five matchups. In order to get rid of the narrative of struggling against less talented teams, the Blue Devils will look to come out of the gates blazing Thursday and ensure that Wofford is zapped of any shred of confidence it has as soon as they step foot on the hardwood of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Stay true to the Duke identity
Wofford’s perimeter game will be of great importance in determining the outcome of Thursday’s contest. The Terriers are shooting 39.0 percent from beyond the arc, with their backcourt of Storm Murphy and Nathan Hoover having already proven to be enough to defeat an ACC team, with Wofford upsetting North Carolina just this past Sunday. It is going to be essential for Duke to get back to playing the brand of basketball it has established as its style for this year.
The Blue Devils need to stop getting beaten in the paint. With the tear that Vernon Carey Jr. has been on and the tough, physical basketball Duke has been playing, the team needs to reestablish its dominance in the paint on both ends of the court. It will be very easy to get caught up in a 3-point contest with the Terriers, but Duke does not have the shooters for that to come out in its favor.
Who will give the Stanley spark?
Cassius Stanley surprised Duke fans when he was fully suited up and given the start against Virginia Tech, with most initial reports on his injury stating that he would be out until after Christmas. Though Stanley passed the eye test, something was clearly still not right with his hamstring, as he posted his worst stat line of the year in his lowest amount of minutes played.
The Los Angeles native has an intangible aspect to his game in addition to his array of other weapons that provides an imminent spark on the court. Whether it is one of Stanley's coming-to-be trademarked slams or a sneaky backdoor cut to the rim, the Blue Devils are far more dangerous with him on the court. It will be key to see where the spark will come from Thursday. It very well could be Stanley himself if his knee is fully healthy after the few weeks off. Other possibilities are Wendell Moore Jr. or Alex O’Connell, both of whom have shown signs of that razzle-dazzle that Stanley has. Either way, a little spark will go a long way for Duke to come out on top.
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Jake Piazza is a Trinity senior and was sports editor of The Chronicle's 117th volume.