Duke basketball's veteran guards have something to prove against #17 Arizona

#12 Duke is looking to bounce back in a big way from its Champions Classic loss to Kentucky last Tuesday with a victory tonight on the road versus the #17 Arizona Wildcats.

The Blue Devils fell to the Wildcats last season when Arizona came to Cameron Indoor Stadium, and a win tonight can propel Duke's season forward in a big way, especially since the Blue Devils follow this game with a date with #1 Kansas in Las Vegas on November 26th.

In the 77-72 loss to Kentucky last week, the Blue Devils crumbled on the offensive side of the ball in the second half, letting a 9-point halftime lead leak away. Duke scored 46 points in the first half and followed that up with 26 in the second while making just 1 of its 12 three point attempts.

The only consistent scoring option Duke had in the second half against Kentucky was Cooper Flagg. Kon Knueppel really struggled, Khaman Maluach had to sit for a good deal of the second half dealing with cramps, and Duke's veteran guard duo of Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster were nonexistent.

After scoring ten first half points, Proctor took just two shots in the second half for two total points. Foster had an off night himself, finishing the game with 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 from three point range.

As the only two returners from the Blue Devils Elite 8 squad from a year ago, the keys to the backcourt were given to the duo with expectations for both Proctor and Foster to put out breakout seasons this year.

Both guards have had good seasons up to this point, but the disappearance of them offensively in Duke's first ranked contest of the season raised questions if Proctor and Foster can truly lead a championship-level team.

Tonight, both guards have a chance to prove they can on the road against a ranked opponent.

After Duke's loss to Kentucky, the Blue Devils followed that up with a throttling of Wofford, 86-35. Proctor and Foster certainly looked like they had chips on their shoulders after falling short against Kentucky, and seemingly knew some of that fell on them.

Proctor finished the game against Wofford with a game-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from three. Foster ended with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 shooting from three to go along with 2 steals.

Both guards played with a new energy and endless motors, and it almost felt like it took a difficult loss to let this duo know the team runs through them.

The Blue Devils face a team in Arizona who set Duke up for success much more than Kentucky did.

Arizona hasn't been great defensively, specifically from the three point line. It's a perfect opportunity for Proctor and Foster to push the fast break and get shots up. Proctor is so good off the ball and getting to his spot and being ready to shoot, and Foster has incredible finesse around the rim in transition.

Taking some of the offensive load off of Flagg will be crucial against an Arizona team that can score in bunches. The way Proctor and Foster perform tonight will show a lot as to how elite Duke can be as the season rolls along.