Duke Basketball: 5 things the Blue Devils need for Christmas

To show up on the road

Despite only participating in two true road games this season, the Duke Blue Devils have looked shaky in both of them.

While the loss to Boston College is still on everyone’s mind, Duke also struggled on the road to the Indiana Hoosiers – something that could signal a trend for the Blue Devils that needs to be broken.

Indiana, while rebuilding well under new head coach Archie Miller, lost by 21 to Indiana State in their season opener and then lost by 20 points to Fort Wayne at home. That’s 20 points to a team that has five (albeit close and on the road) losses so far this season. Indiana is rebuilding, but the Blue Devils should have won that game by far more.

Throw in the loss to Boston College on the road, and Duke needs to prove that they can get it done in enemy territory in a big way. Close road wins turn into close road losses, as the Blue Devils found out the hard way.

Obviously, this is a small sample size, but Duke’s next road game is against no pushover.

NC State has bounced back well under Kevin Keatts with an impressive 9-3 record that includes a win over the then No. 2 Arizona Wildcats. This team looks completely different than the one a season ago, despite losing a huge name in Dennis Smith Jr. and bringing in a new coach.

A big win over this team would be a great sign for Duke and really cement the Boston College loss behind them as a fluke.