Duke Basketball: Blue Devils’ “Keys” to victory against Iona in the NCAA Tournament
By Ryan Shepard
Only a year removed from a second-round loss to eventual final four participants, South Carolina, the Duke Blue Devils are locked and ready to unload on the Iona Gaels.
Major Key
Duke's Marvin Bagley III win ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He's also All-ACC first team.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) March 4, 2018
In honor of the God, DJ Khaled, it’s only right that we start off with the “major key” for this first round matchup. If you’re new to my writing and have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain. The “major key” is named in honor of the Florida DJ’s “major key” motto in which Khaled delivers sound advice that is astoundingly simple, yet helpful.
The “major key” for this game is to get Marvin Bagley III the ball early and often. This is an easy thing to overlook considering that he’s their best player, but the Duke Blue Devils have struggled to get him the ball in key games this year. In losses against St. John’s and North Carolina during the regular season, Bagley III got fewer than ten shot attempts. If the Blue Devils are going to avoid a disappointing first round exit, they’ve got to get him touches and shot attempts.
Alicia’s Key
OK, so maybe Duke is just not a good 3-point shooting team. Yikes. 1-for-13.
— Donna Ditota (@DonnaDitota1) March 4, 2018
In honor of my first musical crush, “Alicia’s Key”, is the key that “No One” is talking about, but everyone should be paying attention to. In order for the Blue Devils to come out victorious on Thursday, they will have to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc. In the Blue Devils last five losses, they have shot a combined thirty-six for one hundred eleven attempts from beyond the arc. If Grayson Allen, Gary Trent Jr., and Wendell Carter Jr. don’t put on their best Steph Curry impressions this week, the Gaels could pull off the impossible.
My Key
Grayson Allen's got a history of foul calls. pic.twitter.com/UDaCKnxSEQ
— ESPN (@espn) March 10, 2018
My key to Duke’s victory is very simple. If the Blue Devils want to come out and blow the Gaels off the floor, they need to limit any dumb mistakes. When I say they need to avoid dumb mistakes, I’m really saying that Grayson Allen needs to avoid doing anything stupid.
Next: Teams who look good now, but will ruin your bracket
Allen needs to avoid any inadvertent hip checks, tripping incidents and above all else, Allen needs to avoid any meltdowns. He’s come so far this year and it’d be a shame for him to revert back to typical Grayson Allen tendencies.