Duke Basketball: 3 keys for Blue Devils to beat No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs

Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels must have big games

I’ve already talked about the frontcourt and wing matchups but the most important battles for Duke will be on the perimeter. While Moore has the ability to slide over to the two or four-spots depending on the situation, the starting due of Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels will play over 90% of the minutes in the backcourt.

Roach is the more experienced player, having started most of last season and played a good amount of minutes. The 6’1 guard has always been sporadic with his scoring ability but this year he’s averaging around 9.0 ppg through six games. He’s not a great shooter and overall scorer and will likely be tasked with guard Andrew Nembhard. If Roach can give Duke around 10 points and good defense against the senior opposing guard, it’ll be a successful night individually.

Keels is more of the x-factor for the Blue Devils. The five-star freshman had the biggest debut possible, going for a game-high 25 points on 10/18 from the field against Kentucky. He completely outplayed fellow freshman TyTy Washington on the other end and his size and athlectism is matched by few players in college basketball. He had 18 against Gardner-Webb but the other four games were fairly “average” in terms of offensive production.

Keels will need to look the same way he did against Kentucky in this game but will have a tougher opponent in Rasir Bolton, a 6’3 shooting guard transfer from Iowa State that is averaging double figures with the Bulldogs. He’s shooting over 50% from deep and has excelled playing off the ball so far this season. He’s also very fast off the dribble and could cause problems for Keels in certainly situations. Gonzaga has more depth in the backcourt as well, with five-star freshmen, Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis coming off the bench.

It’s important that both Keels and Roach combines for at least 30 points to provide needed balance offensively, so that Moore and Banchero doesn’t have to go for 20 points themselves in this game. They have the potential and capability to go off but the opposing backcourt of Nembhard and Bolton has the edge in experience heading into this game. Let’s see if the young Blue Devils can collectively come together to beat the No. 1 team in the country.