Duke vs. Indiana Prediction, Game Preview

The Duke Blue Devils will be back home in Durham, N.C. to take on the Indiana Hoosiers in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Below is the Duke vs. Indiana prediction and game preview.

Duke vs. Indiana Game Preview

Game Broadcast

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 2
Game Time: 9:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
Network: ESPN

Why You Need To Care

The Blue Devils (6-1) are at home. That’s a really big deal because they haven’t lost at Cameron Indoor Stadium since January 13 against Miami.

Their only loss this season was on a neutral floor against Kentucky, but Duke has been dominating opponents whenever it’s in Durham. Mike Krzyzewski has watched his team win by an average of 27 points in its four home games so far. The most recent one was an 85-52 beatdown of Utah State.

Indiana has a rich, historic tradition like Duke, but the Hoosiers haven’t had as much success as of late. They’ve made the NCAA tournament just three times in Tom Crean’s first seven years as head coach, and they’ve only finished ranked in the AP Top 25 twice.

So far this season, Indiana (5-2) has been taken down by Wake Forest and UNLV. Both losses occurred on neutral floors. Now the Hoosiers will have to step inside the house of the “Cameron Crazies” for their first true road game of the season.

Why Duke Will Win

The Blue Devils do a lot of things very well, and they certainly know how to get the referees to blow their whistles. Duke has taken the 10th-most free throw attempts this season (205), and it’s hit 69.8 percent of them. The Blue Devils will have to knock those down to avoid leaving the door open for Indiana. Duke also attacks the ball on defense. They’ve recorded 39 blocks and 58 steals, which has them ranked in the top 25 in both categories. They swarm the ball handler on defense.

Why Indiana Will Win

Crean’s Hoosiers sure know how to put that biscuit in the basket. They’re averaging 88.3 points per game and are shooting the second-highest field goal percentage in the nation with 54.7 percent of their shots falling. Indiana has to hold its ground down low though. It can’t let Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee control the glass. If the Hoosiers box out on defense and find the open man on the other end, they’ll be in it.

Players Who Matter

Jefferson has to be monitored very closely. He’s the the best rebounder Krzyzeski has on the team. In fact, he’s the only Blue Devil averaging a double-double (11.7 ppg and 10.6 rpg). Since Kentucky held Grayson Allen to just six points, the sophomore guard has exploded for 24.5 points per game in the last four games. He’ll need to continue that hot shooting in this one, too.

The Hoosiers need Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon to lead the charge against the Blue Devils. The Indiana backcourt is combining for 32 points, 10.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. Freshman center Thomas Bryant will also have his hands full with Plumlee, so he’ll need to just focus on his matchup and do his best to keep Duke off the boards.

What’s Going To Happen?

Indiana just allows its opponents to shoot too high of a percentage to expect to stop Allen on Duke’s home floor. It’s tough enough to win in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but stopping the Blue Devils’ leading scorer in there just doesn’t seem probable. Allen will go off for 20 points and Jefferson will crash the glass. Duke wins this one, but Indiana will make it a challenge.