Next up for the Blue Devils an intriguing matchup against an Eastern Michigan team who bring with them size and a defense that could perhaps give Duke trouble if they don't execute well on the offensive end.
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The Eagles employ a Syracuse-esque 2-3 zone and with their size ( they are huge ). Duke could be looking at a game of limited possessions so shot selection as well as patience will be paramount for the young Devils to pay attention to. Eastern Michigan enter Wednesday with 3 wins against 0 losses and are led in scoring by guard Paul Jackson who is averaging 18.7 a game to go with 6 assists.
The Eagles start 3 players 6'9 or taller and bring at least 3 players 6'7 of taller off of the bench. Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier will need to stay out of foul trouble as the Eagles run waves of bigs at them down low or Duke will have to counter with a smaller lineup - truly going 5-out and force the bigs of Eastern Michigan to defend Jack White on the perimeter.
Duke comes in with 2 wins one over 2nd ranked Kentucky and the other over the Army Black Knights. Their last time out the Blue Devils, after a week of hype surrounding the game vs the Wildcats, struggled to pull away from the Black Knights. Army was efficient on offense, tenacious defensively and quicker to loose balls for 2/3 of the game. Duke began to distance themselves from the Black Knights as Cam Reddish and R.J. Barrett began a barrage of 2 point shots. Duke won the game by 22 but there teachable moments for the young Devils.
While I expect Duke to win this game there should be a fair amount of game pressure based solely on style of play. This was indeed a great game to schedule for a young team with question marks in terms of perimeter shooting and also in terms of youth. The more this team can see in the early going the less they will depend on sideline help from Coaches. If they are able to recognize defenses and seamlessly switch their mindset it will aid this team going forward into ACC play and into March.
