Busting Brackets
Fansided

Duke Basketball: 3 keys to beat Kansas in 2019 Champions Classic

By Matthew Travis

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Kansas Jayhawks and Duke Blue Devils huddle during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Kansas Jayhawks and Duke Blue Devils huddle during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
DURHAM, NC – FEBRUARY 21: Javin DeLaurier #12 of the Duke Blue Devils passes as he drives between Anas Mahmoud #14 and Ray Spalding #13 of the Louisville Cardinals during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 21, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC – FEBRUARY 21: Javin DeLaurier #12 of the Duke Blue Devils passes as he drives between Anas Mahmoud #14 and Ray Spalding #13 of the Louisville Cardinals during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 21, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

3. Move the ball around

In order to beat Kansas on Tuesday, the Blue Devils MUST move the ball around and get some assists. In Duke’s first exhibition game against Northwest Missouri State, they had only 11 assists, in their second exhibition game against Fort Valley State they had 29.

Against Northwest Missouri State, Duke won by only six, against Fort Valley State, Duke won by 69. See what I’m getting at?

If Duke wants to beat Kansas they’re going to have to move the ball around and get a lot of assists. With players like Tre Jones, Jordan Goldwire and Wendell Moore on the court who are known for their ability to move the ball around, this should be a no-brainer.

In order to beat a team like Kansas, you can’t have one guy continuously going at them on the offensive end, you need to move the ball around and keep changing things up. If they have a game like they did against Northwest Missouri State when they only had 11 assists, the outcome won’t be in their favor.

But if they move the ball around and have a game like they did against Fort Valley State when they had 29 assists, Duke fans will like what they see Tuesday night.

It is for this reason that Tre Jones is going to be so valuable for Duke in this game and beyond, because he has the ability to keep moving the ball around without turning it over. He might not be the best shooter but it is because of this that he has been so successful.

It is also for this reason (plus his defense) that you will likely see Jordan Goldwire get a lot of time this season. Against Fort Valley State Goldwire got the start and although he had only seven points, he managed to dish the ball out for eight assists and only one turnover.

Next. Ranking all head coaches for 2019-20. dark

Assists are going to make or break Duke’s season and this is something that will be very evident early against Kansas. After Tuesday’s game look at the box score, if Duke has less than 16 assists I bet you they lost the game or won by a very slim margin, if they have more than 16 I bet you they won the game rather handedly.

Moving the ball around is going to be key for Duke this season and if they don’t do it on Tuesday, they will not win the game.

Home/Duke Blue Devils