College Basketball
Big 10/ACC Challenge Preview: Indiana vs. #3 Duke
- Matchup: Indiana Hoosiers (5-1, 0-0) vs. #3 Duke Blue Devils (5-1, 0-0)
- Date: Nov. 27, 2018
- Time: 9:30 p.m. (est)
- Network: ESPN
- Location: Durham, North Carolina
- Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Seating Capacity: 9,314
Can Duke Bounce Back?
Duke comes into the ACC vs Big 10 Challenge off of a loss to now #1 Gonzaga in Maui, 89-87. Duke played as poorly as possible, yet still should have been able to take home the win in the end. The Blue Devils now face the challenge of playing in a big game after a heartbreaking loss. Indiana will be led by likely top 10 pick, freshman Romeo Langford.
Starters
Duke
Center – #20 Marques Bolden
Forward – #01 Zion Williamson
Small Forward – #05 RJ Barrett
Guard – #02 Cam Reddish
Point Guard – #03 Tre Jones
Indiana
Forward – #13 Juwan Morgan
Forward – #03 Justin Smith
Small Forward – #00 Romeo Langford
Guard – #10 Rob Phinisee
Guard – #01 Aljami Durham
Statistics
Indiana
The Hoosiers of Indiana are led freshman phenom Romeo Langford, who has an impressive stat line. He has logged 18.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, and has shot the ball at .520% per game. Indiana has also seen double-digit scoring contributions from senior forward Juwan Morgan (17.5 PPG and 9.0 RPG ) and sophomore forward Justin Smith (10.2 PPG). Indiana has scored 84.3 PPG as a team while only giving up 60.3 PPG to opponents.
Duke
Like Indiana, Duke has three players who score in double figures. They are led offensively by RJ Barrett, who has an extremely impressive stat line. The Freshman forward has put up 22.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.0 APG and shot the ball at a solid .408%. Duke also has freshman power forward Zion Williamson (20.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.7 BPG) and freshman guard/forward Cam Reddish (15.7 PPG). As a team, Duke is ninth in the country in total scoring, clocking in at 91.8 PPG. Defensively, they have allowed teams to score 71.2 PPG.
Duke’s Key
Duke will be unable to fully contain Romeo Langford, so they will need to turn and stop Juwan Morgan and Justin Smith instead. If Javin DeLaurier, Marques Bolden, and Jack White can slow down Indiana’s frontcourt, Duke will be able to coast. This means being able to withstand having Duke’s big men lifted up to the perimeter and off of the block, something #1 Gonzaga did effectively against Marques Bolden early on, forcing him to the bench.
Indiana’s Key
The Hoosiers must take smart shots and ensure Duke is taking the ball on an inbound instead of being able to grab the rebound run in transition. Gonzaga did a fantastic job of taking smart shots and limiting long rebounds, making sure Duke had to take the ball out of their net and inbound it. If Indiana wants to have any shot of beating Duke, they have to force them to inbound the ball.
Prediction
The Blue Devils will force Indiana into poor shots early in the game which will result in the Blue Devils grabbing long rebounds and running in transition. Indiana’s frontcourt duo will be frustrated early on by the Duke frontcourt. Duke will bounce back from a tough loss in Maui and take out their frustration on Indiana.
Duke: 96
Indiana: 75
Follow us on YouTube and Twitter
Photo Credit: Duke Basketball via Twitter
