After rising all the way up to the no. 2 spot in the polls, Duke will look to improve to 4-0 in ACC play as they hit the road to take on Georgia Tech.
There aren’t many certainties in college basketball these days, but Duke’s brilliance on the hardwood is one of them. The Blue Devils improved to 13-1 with an emphatic 95-62 win at Miami last week, and they are looking to cement themselves as the ACC’s top team this season.
There are some issues for Duke right now, however, and the biggest is the injury bug. Tre Jones just returned after missing several games with a foot injury, but freshman forward Wendell Moore Jr.is now out indefinitely after getting hand surgery.
The Blue Devils still have plenty of offensive firepower even without Moore, including center Vernon Carey Jr. who leads the team in scoring (18.4 points per game) and rebounding (9.0 rebounds a night). Jones has also stepped up his game this season, scoring 14.2 points a night and dishing out 7.2 assists per game, proving to be a true facilitator for the Duke offense.
Next up for the Blue Devils is a road trip down to Atlanta to take on struggling Georgia Tech. Entering play tonight, the Yellow Jackets have dropped five of their last eight games, but they are coming off a 13 point win at North Carolina. It is worth noting, however, that the Tar Heels are extremely injury-riddled and have been without star point guard Cole Anthony for weeks.
The big problem for Georgia Tech has been an absolutely anemic offense, scoring just 67.6 points per game. That figure ranks 303rd in the country, and it explains a lot of why the Yellow Jackets are just 7-7 on the season.
The one player that the Blue Devils have to keep an eye on in this matchup is Georgia Tech sophomore Michael Devoe. The 6-foot-5 sophomore leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring, pouring in 16.9 points per game and knocks down 43.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Unless Devoe has a career day, it will be hard for Georgia Tech to keep pace in this one. Duke’s offense averages 84.1 points per game, the fifth-best in the country, and considering the talent gap between the two teams it could be a long night for the home team.
How to watch Duke at Georgia Tech
- Date: Wednesday, Jan. 8
- Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Venue: McCamish Pavilion
- TV: ACC Network
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Odds: Duke -12 (The Action Network)
- Prediction: Duke
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