Duke basketball: 3 keys to a Blue Devil victory in Syracuse

Key to a Duke basketball victory at Syracuse: AJ Griffin’s shooting

Prior to Duke’s last victory in Charlottesville on Wednesday night, I stated that one of the keys to beating Virginia was AJ Griffin. He had an exhaustive first half, but he really started to find his own in the second half, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the final five minutes of regulation.

The Duke basketball freshman has enabled himself as one of the best road players in the country, and I expect him to be one of the biggest factors against Syracuse.

Rarely does anyone with AJ Griffin-type talents shy away from taking over games, but he does have a tendency to lose faith in his shot-making and overall game when he is off. When that happens, Griffin takes matters out of his own hands and distributes the basketball to the other members of his team.

While watching the ESPN broadcast, Jay Bilas quoted Coach K on the sidelines with Griffin, saying, “Shoot the ball. You’re one of the best shooters in the country.” Coach K’s trust lit a fire under him, and he would go on to have yet another great road trip.

I think we can all agree with Coach K here. I personally never feel skeptical when Griffin is looking for shots. Because as Coach K said, he’s one of the best shooters in the country. And he’s proved that night in and night out.

Look for AJ Griffin to have a high-powered offensive showcase against the Orange. His confidence is key.

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