Utah Utes: Five Takeaways From Their Survival Victory over the Duke Blue Devils

Photo: Troy Taormina-USA Today Sports

Duke Truly Missed Amile Jefferson

This is the first game where you could see the glaring hole that is left in the rotation for Duke without Amile Jefferson.

When you think about the monster games that both Jakob Poeltl and Kyle Kuzma had in this game you have to wonder how much the presence of Jefferson would have changed some of that.

Utah Utes

Jefferson is one of only nine players that is averaging a double-double per game.

But more importantly, the 6-foot-10 forward brought interior intensity to the floor and toughness.

Duke was able to get away with not having Jefferson against Georgia Southern.

But when the Blue Devils had to deal with a true post threat like Jakob Poeltl you could see where Jefferson’s presence might have made a difference.

This is going to raise questions for the Blue Devils going forward.

How are they going to fend off some of the frontlines they are going to have to deal with in ACC play?

Can Chase Jeter mature fast enough to give the Blue Devils some solid minutes in the post to help Marshall Plumlee out?

They are going to have to figure something out sooner rather than later because this will not be the only game where they will have problems in the paint.

Next: Jakob Poeltl Simply Does Not Disappoint