No. 17 Duke has shown the ability to spread around its offense.
Iowa has a go-to player who can be a difference-maker.
The teams meet as part of the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night in New York.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys learning,” Duke guard Jeremy Roach said. “I think (it’s important) just taking it game after game, don’t look ahead, don’t look at what happened in the past, stay in the present and stay hungry.”
Duke (8-2) has received steady production from freshman forward Kyle Filipowski, who recorded his fifth double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes in Saturday’s win against Boston College.
Iowa (6-1) is meeting its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. Kris Murray set career highs with 31 points and 20 rebounds in an 81-65 defeat of Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
“The really impressive thing about the rebounding with Kris is that six offensive rebounds in the first half,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “A lot of guys can get 30 (points), but very few people are going to get 20 (rebounds). Most guys who are getting 30 aren’t rebounding.”
The Hawkeyes are likely going to need a broad sampling of points and rebounds from several players in order to deal with Duke.
Murray is averaging 21.0 points per game. Duke has had one player (Roach) reach the 20-point mark just once all season.
“Each game it’s somebody else stepping up. That’s the exciting part,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “We have a lot of different lineups.”
Iowa, in its lone loss to TCU on Nov. 26, made just 3 of 17 shots from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes have attempted 171 free throws, or 24.4 per game, and that tends to be a crucial part of their offense. Duke has averaged 18.5 free throw attempts per game.
McCaffery made a lineup adjustment last week and took guard Payton Sandfort out of the starting lineup, though since then he said he needs to make sure Sandfort is getting more minutes on the court.
“I think he was pressing a little bit in the starting lineup. He’ll be fine,” McCaffery said. “I thought it would help him. He came in firing and that’s what I wanted him to do.”
This will be Duke’s third Big Ten Conference opponent in a four-game span. The Blue Devils lost to Purdue and beat Ohio State.
The Blue Devils won twice since the loss to Purdue.
“I thought that said a lot about this team, and we can’t take our foot off the gas,” Scheyer said.
Playing in Madison Square Garden has been a staple on Duke schedules for many years. Scheyer knows that from his time as a Blue Devils player and assistant coach.
“It’s a special thing going up to the Garden,” he said. “I’ve been there, I don’t know, 15 or 20 times — whatever it is, never as a head coach, of course. It’s just one of those places, it has a special feeling. When you walk in the building, the bright lights, it’s a big moment. I’m just excited for our guys to be in there.”
–Field Level Media