Headed our way in Wednesday college basketball action from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, we have an interesting matchup between the William & Mary Tribe and the Blue Devils.
William & Mary comes into this game with a 2-1 record on the year. The Tribe won their first game versus Division III Bridgewater 96-44, and then dropped one to Louisville 91-58 before bouncing back against Presbyterian 89-59. Daniel Dixon led the way in that game for William & Mary with 20 points to help key the victory.
On the year so far, Dixon is the Tribe’s top scorer on 12.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG. Omar Prewitt and Nathan Knight are also averaging in double figures for William & Mary, with Prewitt bagging 11.0 PPG and 3.3 RPG and Knight sitting on 10.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG.
In stark contrast to its Duke, the Tribe (2-1) use a deep rotation, as 10 different players have averaged double-digit minutes through William & Mary’s first three contests. After a 30-plus-point drubbing at the hands of Louisville in its second game, the Tribe responded Saturday with a resounding 89-59 victory against Presbyterian.
Where the Tribe is lacking, however, is in the post. Although William & Mary has a number of big men, the Cardinals dominated the battle of the paint last week, outscoring the Tribe 46-22 down low and winning the rebound battle by seven.
For a shorthanded Blue Devil side, gang rebounding and an all-around team effort will be key come Wednesday evening and going forward.
As for Duke, they are sitting on a 4-1 record this year. The Blue Devils won their opener against Marist 94-49 and their second game against Grand Canyon 96-61, but then dropped the Kansas game 77-75. Duke responded with wins over Penn State 78-68 and Rhode Island 75-65. In that game, the Blue Devils had a 34-26 lead at halftime and stretched it with a 41-39 result in the second half.
Duke has several players averaging in double figures so far, including Luke Kennard (18.2 PPG; 6.0 RPG), Frank Jackson (15.6 PPG) and Grayson Allen (15.0 PPG; 6.0 RPG). Amile Jefferson leads the Blue Devils in rebounding (10.0 RPG; 13.0 PPG), while Matt Jones (12.2 PPG) is averaging in double digits as well.
William & Mary has been playing pretty well so far, with the exception of the Louisville game, which is understandable due to how much they were outmatched. Duke, meanwhile, has not quite lived up to their lofty preseason expectations but on the whole they still look pretty good.
Notables:
Endgame
Duke should come into this game a little healthier with Jeff Capel announcing that junior guard Grayson Allen is feeling much better and Chase Jeter and the rest of the team getting a few days off. With another set of games with quick turnarounds Duke should be able to use the bench in this game. It will be interesting to see if Duke is able to use freshman Javin DeLaurier and Jack White in this game also whether Duke will finally get to see Jayson Tatum or Marques Bolden. Duke should also look to correct some of the stagnation on the offensive end and the holes in transition and perimeter defense.
There is little chance that this game ends up being anywhere close, so I will take the Blue Devils and their balanced scoring attack to overwhelm the Tribe, 96-63.
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