Third-ranked Duke looks to preserve its lead atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, with freshman center Khaman Maluach expected to take on increased responsibilities down the stretch.
More offensive sources are bound to be helpful against upset-minded Stanford on Saturday at Durham, N.C.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer gave a blueprint on how the Blue Devils (21-3, 13-1 ACC) can help Maluach to increase his production.
“You have to look for him the way he runs in transition,” Scheyer said. “Pick-and-rolls, you have to look for him.”
Maluach’s 10 points in Wednesday night’s 78-57 bounce-back victory against visiting Cal marked his first double-figure output in seven games. Duke won after its 16-game winning streak ended with a 77-71 loss to Clemson last weekend.
The 7-foot-2 Maluach, bagged his second 3-point basket of the season in the first half of the game. That might have provided a boost of confidence that Scheyer and his staff would like to see.
“As a shooter,” Maluach said, “you expect every shot to go in.”
The Blue Devils are also counting on another big outing from freshman forward Cooper Flagg, who racked up 27 points against Cal.
If Duke cranks its offense up another notch, Stanford (16-9, 8-6) might have trouble keeping up unless it can generate more than it did earlier in the week.
The Cardinal are coming off Wednesday’s 60-52 loss at Georgia Tech, falling for the third time in four games. Team scoring leader Maxime Raynaud was held to eight points after entering the night at 20.4 points per game.
“We weren’t up to the challenge,” Stanford coach Kyle Smith said. “… Probably (Raynuad’s) roughest, toughest outing for us. I hope that’s a one-time (thing). He’s a good player. He’ll bounce back.”
Stanford swingman Jaylen Blakes was back in action after a three-game injury absence. He scored a team-high 12 points.
Blakes, a transfer from Duke, could end up being a focal point Saturday. With the Blue Devils, Blakes scored a total of 183 points during the past three seasons. He has 306 points for 14.5 per game for the Cardinal this season.
Stanford had a season-low point total against Georgia Tech and now must contend with the ACC’s No. 1 defense that allows just 60.4 points per game.
“We came back to our defense. Be us and play hard on defense and get stops and rebounds,” Maluach said of the victory over Cal. “We had a couple of mistakes, but it’s never going to be perfect all the time. I feel like we had a good team defense, we played together and we communicated to each other.”
Scheyer cautioned against jumping to conclusions that the Blue Devils have fixed everything. He praised the team’s effort Wednesday but remained concerned about details.
“It was a good response,” Scheyer said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game we ever played.”
Now Stanford will try to venture into a storied venue and pull an upset. It’s all part of the Cardinal’s first go-around in their new conference.
“It’s neat to see these arenas,” Smith said. “I think the ACC cares a lot. … We’ll get (another) taste (and) the next one will be a tough one.”
–Field Level Media
