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Duke Basketball: 2019-20 keys to beat Michigan State in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

By Matthew Travis

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 15: Joey Baker #13 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 15: Joey Baker #13 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

1. Joey Baker and Alex O’Connell Must Step Up

The Blue Devils will be without starting shooting guard, Cassius Stanley for the foreseeable future. Because of this Duke will need someone to fill the hole he leaves behind, that someone comes in the form of both Alex O’Connell and Joey Baker.

Baker has been incredible this season as he has seen his minutes per game increase from 4.5 last season to 11.9 this season.

It is because of this that his production has increased from 0.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.0 assists per game to 5.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game this season.

While this isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, it is quite a bit when you consider the fact that he didn’t play his first game until the end of February last season. Now however you will likely see Baker get even more than 11.9 minutes with Cassius Stanley out for a while.

Baker’s 16 points in Friday’s game against Winthrop really makes one think if he might deserve to get a shot at starting for the Blue Devils. While this likely won’t be the case against Michigan State, there is a good chance we see this before Stanley returns.

So if Baker doesn’t start, who will?

The answer to that question is likely Alex O’Connell. O’Connell has started in three of Duke’s eight games so far this season, each of those three games Duke went onto win with an average margin of victory of 32 points over those three games.

With Stanley out here is what I imagine the starting lineup will look like:

This is a starting lineup that we have yet to see and it would also be Duke’s fifth different starting lineup in nine games. Over the eight games Duke has already played, only three players had started in all of them, Tre Jones, Vernon Carey jr. and Cassius Stanley.

This just goes to show you how important Stanley has been for Duke this season and it also goes to show you just how much his absence will impact Duke. However, in his absence, you should expect to see a lot more out of both Alex O’Connell and Joey Baker.

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