Busting Brackets
Fansided

Duke vs Pittsburgh: 2020-21 key storylines for ACC matchup

By Tristan Freeman

Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; The Duke Blue Devils celebrate in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; The Duke Blue Devils celebrate in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Justin Champagnie Pittsburgh Panthers (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Justin Champagnie Pittsburgh Panthers (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

1. Each team brings back a key player for this game

The irony of Pittsburgh not playing much in the past few weeks was that it allowed its star player to heal up without missing any games. Sophomore wing/forward Justin Champagnie was off to a great start to the season, including back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He suffered a leg injury in late December that gave him a late February timetable for a return but he came back much earlier this past week, going for a game-high 24 points and 16 rebounds to beat Syracuse.

Champagnie has put himself in the ACC Player of the Year conversation, averaging 18.7 ppg and 12.9 rpg. He’s a huge part of the Panthers’ offense and opens things up for the rest of the team. For Duke to win this game, they’ll have to prevent another huge game for them. And luckily for the Blue Devils, they also brought back a star player for them as well.

Five-star freshman forward Jalen Johnson has been out for the last month due to a foot injury. Luckily for Duke, they didn’t play much of late either. Johnson did come back against Virginia Tech but played just four minutes. He’ll likely play more depending on how his foot feels and of all the Blue Devils, has the skill set to best guard Champagnie. That matchup could very well decide the game.