Duke basketball: Three keys to the rematch against North Carolina

Incorporating Bagley III into the lineup

The biggest development since the last time these teams played was the knee injury Marvin Bagley III suffered sometime during the game with the Tar Heels, causing him to miss four straight games. Because Duke heavily relies on the team’s starting five, the thought was that the Blue Devils would struggle to win without a player that averages around 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

But surprisingly Duke thrived during the absence, winning all four games without their All-American by an average of 17 points. Three of those wins were against teams either already in the NCAA Tournament, or right on the bubble. Of course, when a Hall of Fame coach such as Mike Krzyzewski is on the team’s sidelines, it can’t be a giant surprise.

Bagley had a successful return against Syracuse last week, coming off the bench to score 19 points and grab seven rebounds. In Monday’s loss to Virginia Tech, he had 12 points, but didn’t have a big impact against a much smaller Hokies team.

His return also has an effect on others, particularly Grayson Allen. The senior guard was playing his best basketball of the season in those four games, averaging over 20 ppg. But in the past two, he’s returned to barely getting double-digits. Of course Duke is a better team with Bagley back, but unless he and Allen can play well together, March Madness won’t end well for them.