Game Preview: Duke vs San Diego State - Maui Invitational

The 3 - 0 Duke Blue Devils travel to the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina Monday to take on the 2-0 San Diego State Aztecs in the Maui Invitational.

The Aztecs, coached by Brian Duthcer (2nd season) come in having beaten Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 16 and Texas Southern by a whopping 39 points. Senior guard Devin Watson leads the Aztecs on the offensive ends with 17 points per game and 5.5 assists and is coming off of a game against Texas Southern where he dished 8 assists. The leading rebounder for Aztecs is redshirt sophomore Jalen McDaniels who averages 9 per contest to go with 14.5 points and 3 assists.

San Diego State will be an interesting test for Duke, with strong older guards in the starting lineup who are not prone to making mistakes Duke will have to earn and capitalize on every offensive possession they are afforded. The young core for Duke will have to value the ball and limit turnovers as well as utilize good judgment in terms of shot selection. The aforementioned leading Aztec rebounder, redshirt sophomore Jalen McDaniels, a long lanky 6'10 forward who can be a matchup nightmare with his ability to rebound and immediately trigger the break. McDaniel possesses the ability to play inside out and it will be interesting to see how the Blue Devils choose to defend him. The Aztecs can run several looks at the Blue Devils to test their defensive abilities they have the ability play inside - out and I can easily see them trying to post up Blue Devils forwards to make them defend on an island. Each starter for the Aztecs averages in double figures and they are a very good drive and dish team. Duke will have to several things defensively in order to win this game: Keep the bigs out of foul trouble, close out on 3 point shooters with discipline and contain the savvy guards of the Aztecs. Currently the Aztecs are shooting 44% from beyond the arc.