Three things Duke basketball must do to bounce back against Bellarmine

The Duke basketball team must bounce back against Bellarmine on Friday night in Durham.

It’s not often that the Duke basketball program loses a non-conference home game, but such is life, and the Blue Devils will have a chance to bounce back from their defeat on Friday night.

Bellarmine (0-0) will be traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium for not only its first game of the 2020-21 season but also its first game as a Division I program.

The Knights had to postpone the start of their season after positive COVID-19 tests within the program and luckily will not be greeted by the Cameron Crazies upon arrival in Durham.

Duke has only had to play three times coming off a non-ACC loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2000.

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Following a loss to St. John’s in 2000, Duke responded to beat Clemson on the road by 14 points, and its next home game was a 16-point victory against North Carolina.

The Blue Devils didn’t have any experience playing at home this century following a home loss against a non-conference opponent until last season when Duke fell in stunning fashion to Stephen F. Austin.

However, Mike Krzyzewski‘s team struggled early following their shocking defeat and only defeated Winthrop by 13 points in Cameron.

How will Duke basketball respond after its loss?

Granted a loss to No. 8 Michigan State is nothing to scoff at, as it is the first point of adversity for this young Duke squad, which appears to be leaderless at the moment.

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Veterans did not play well, freshmen did not play well, Mike Krzyzewski did not coach well, and nothing went well for the Blue Devils against the Spartans. And now is their chance to respond.

In order to prove that it can be taken seriously as a contender once again, Duke must do these three things against Bellarmine to bounce back and pick up a victory…