Coming off a disappointing performance on Tuesday night in Chicago, Duke is looking to quickly bounce back and work out its issues on Friday at home against SIU-Edwardsville.
The Blue Devils dropped to Michigan State this week, falling 79-73 in a disjointed performance. The offense struggled for the majority of the night, generating very little in the halfcourt against a stingy Spartans defense.
Working out the offensive kinks will be paramount for Jon Scheyer this evening as Duke faces another stiff test next week against a really good Illinois team in Cameron.
Scheyer called out his team's connectiveness in the aftermath of the Michigan State loss. There was too much one-on-one and not enough ball movement. Guys weren't on the same page. The flaws were jarring, and it showed just how far Duke has to go to be the team it was expected to be.
The good news is that it's just November. There is plenty of time to figure things out, and the loss to Michigan State will probably end up having been a positive in the long run. This team needed a wake-up call, and it got one.
Now let's see how they respond.
Betting odds for No. 2 Duke vs. SIU-Edwardsville on Friday night
Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 8am ET on Friday.
Spread: Duke -44.5
Over/Under: 148.5
Moneyline: N/A
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Final Prediction:
This is a mismatch, and Duke will have a sizeable advantage on the interior. SIUE's tallest rotational player is 6-foot-9 Gestin Liberis, and he only averages 11 minutes per game. Patrick Ngongba and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje should feast on the interior, and the lane should be wide open for Dame Sarr and others to do some damage off the bounce.
I wouldn't be surprised if, at least early, Scheyer looks to run some sets around the perimeter and avoid dumping it down to Ngongba or JoJo in the post for easy buckets. The guards really need to get going, and while John Blackwell got hot near the end of the Michigan State game, the Blue Devils have to get more out of the backcourt going forward.
This feels like a spot to put the ball in freshman Deron Rippey Jr.'s hands and let him go to work. He needs the experience, and he clearly has the highest ceiling out of Duke's primary ball handlers.
This will be a glorified practice game for Duke. The Blue Devils will win big heading into next week's massive showdown against Illinois.
Pick: Duke 101, SIU-Edwardsville: 50
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