Duke Basketball: 2019-20 keys to bounce-back home win over Louisville

3. Win the Turnover Battle

In Duke’s two ranked matchups so far this season against Kansas and Michigan State, Duke has forced a total of 42 turnovers, while having 31 of their own. This means Duke has a +11 turnover ratio in their two biggest games to this point of the season.

In their two losses so far this year, Duke has turned the ball over 37 times while forcing only 30 turnovers, meaning they have a -7 turnover ratio in games they have lost.

In their three losses this season, Louisville has turned the ball over 46 times, compared to the 38 turnovers from their opponents, meaning they have a -8 turnover ratio.

What do all these numbers tell you, you ask? Well, the fact that Duke has a +11 turnover ratio in wins over ranked opponents, a -7 ratio in losses, mixed with the fact that Louisville has a -8 turnover ratio in losses, just goes to show you how important it is to win the turnover battle.

The good news for Duke is that the Blue Devils average only 13.5 turnovers per game, which isn’t bad at all, but the bad news is, Louisville turns it over even less with an average of only 12.2 turnovers per game.

However, although the Cardinals might turn the ball over less, Duke averages almost double the steals than that of Louisville

With 9.4 steals per game, the Blue Devils rank 18th in the nation when it comes to steals per game and because of this, they give opposing offenses trouble no matter who they play.

All that being said, the turnover battle is going to be a major key to this game and whoever wins it has a very good chance to be the one who comes out on top by the end of the night.