Duke Forward Amile Jefferson Expected to Miss Game at Florida State

Duke Basketball will unfortunately be without redshirt senior captain Amile Jefferson in their matchup on the road against a Top 10 Florida State team.

The Blue Devils face more bad injury news after announcing redshirt senior forward Amile Jefferson is officially out at Florida State. Jefferson has been one of the top players in the country for Duke Basketball and will miss one of their biggest games of the season.

Next: Duke Ranked in Top 10 Ahead of Tough Week in ACC

The extent of Amile Jefferson’s injury is still unknown and he is expected to sit out as a precautionary measure. Last season the 6-9 forward suffered a season-ending fracture on the same foot and Duke will be cautious in bringing him back. Jefferson is one of the few players in the country averaging a double-double of 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds and was an unexpected addition to the national player of the year race after missing most of last season. The Blue Devils, who are also without head coach Mike Krzyzewski as he recovers from surgery, have a limited amount of time to make up for the loss of Jefferson.

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The Blue Devils have struggled to adjust to changes in the lineup, such as the huge upset to Virginia Tech with Grayson Allen suspended and the second half of the Boston College game. The second half of the game against BC showed how bad things can get without Amile Jefferson. After leading by 19 at halftime and as many as 25, the Eagles outscored the Blue Devils 48-40 in the second half and outrebounded Duke 36-27 for the game. The team missed Jefferson’s contributions offensively and defensively which allowed Boston College to pull within single digits late in the game.

Duke will look to Harry Giles and Marques Bolden to step up and play bigger roles for the team in the post. Both players will need to make vast improvements to compete against the height of the Seminoles. Interim head coach will also be able to reintegrate sophomore Chase Jeter, who missed time with an injury but was dressed to play against the Eagles Saturday.

The Duke Blue Devils head to Tallahassee to take on a Top 10 FSU team tomorrow night at 8:00 pm. This will be a huge game for Duke with ACC and NCAA implications, and hopefully the team is able to overcome the loss of Jefferson and earn a victory over the Seminoles.

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Amile Jefferson Expected to Miss Game Florida State Game

By Chris Brown | Jan 9, 2017

Duke Basketball will unfortunately be without redshirt senior captain Amile Jefferson in their matchup on the road against a Top 10 Florida State team.