On New Years Eve the Virginia Tech Hokies will welcome a 12-1 Duke basketball team into Cassell Coliseum.
Bleacher Report referred to this game as a “upset in the making” – meaning the Hokies could possibly knock off the Duke Blue Devils with or without Grayson Allen. Well, Allen won’t be playing for Duke when they come to Blacksburg to face a hot Hokies squad.
On December 22 it was reported that the Duke basketball program suspended junior guard Allen “indefinitely”, now we don’t know what Duke’s meaning of “indefinitely” means but we do know he will not be suiting up for the team when they face Virginia Tech.
What does the loss of Allen mean though for the Hokies’ chance to pull off the upset over a highly favored Duke squad? “It increases their chances,” says Chris Brown of balldurham.com. Allen tripped Elon guard Steven Santa Ana in the Blue Devils’ 72-61 win, but it didn’t catch anyone by surprise as it was the third such incident from the All-American guard dating back to last season.
With Allen off of the floor for the Blue Devils’, they will miss out on his 16 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists he averages per game.
“The Blue Devils are still trying to figure out their identity and develop chemistry as players get healthy, and losing an All-American player like Allen definitely sets them back,” said Brown.
This will also be the first true road game for Duke and Blacksburg is not an easy place to play in front of a sold-out crowd. The Blue Devils’ last visit with the eventual 2015 national champions needed overtime to avoid the upset.
Prior to the game between Duke and Virginia Tech, we got to do a brief question and answer with Ball Durham about their keys to the game for Duke and what the Hokies need to do to force a upset.
JW: What will the loss of Allen mean for the Hokies chance to win the game?
Ball Durham: I think without Grayson Allen Duke will still win, but it greatly increases the Hokies’ chances. The Blue Devils are still trying to figure out their identity and develop chemistry as players get healthy, and losing an All-American player like Allen definitely sets them back. This will also be the first true road game for Duke and Blacksburg is not an easy place to play in front of a sold-out crowd. The Blue Devils’ last visit with the eventual 2015 national champions needed overtime to avoid the upset.
JW: What player or players should the Hokies keep an eye out on when Duke has the ball and when Duke is on defense?
Ball Durham: Sophomore guard Luke Kennard has surprised many with his improvement in the offseason. He leads the team in scoring and become a surprise national player of the year candidate, possibly playing his way into a first round NBA draft pick. On defense, everything revolves around senior guard Matt Jones. He normally matches up against the opponent’s top player, can defend most guards and forwards, and leads the Blue Devils in steals.
JW: Coach K, a legend in his own right – but what can Buzz Williams do to
outcoach not just Coach K but the Duke’s staff to have his Hokies pull off
the upset?
Ball Durham: The primary strength of this year’s team is offense with so many weapons
to hurt you. As stated earlier losing Allen hurts that, so Buzz Williams
will have to find a way for Virginia Tech to excel defensively and keep the
Blue Devils from scoring or excel on offense to keep pace with Duke’s
points. The Blue Devils have also recently struggled with slow starts in
the first half and letting teams hang around before pulling away in the
second so the VT players and coaches should make sure the game stays close
to pull off the upset.
JW: Do you think Duke will come out with more of a fire and intensity with
Allen being out?
Ball Durham: I believe that Duke will come out with more fire and intensity to make a
statement that they are still a contender without Allen, but it all depends
on how the chemistry develops in practice. This matchup was originally
predicted to be Duke’s first loss of the season at full strength before injuries hit.
They still want to prove they are the top ACC team and can make a run in
March without their preseason player of the year candidate
Lastly, Chris from Ball Durham is predicting the Blue Devils to come out on top with a 73-66 win over the Hokies. You can see what our entire Q&A with Ball Durham here.
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