Three things to know about Duke vs. Elon

The No. 5 Duke Blue Devils will play Elon at the Greensboro Coliseum Wednesday, for their final nonconference game of the season. Duke (11-1) is that much closer to being complete after Harry Giles’ college debut against Tennessee State Monday; he played four minutes. Duke is second in the ACC behind Florida State.

1. Jayson Tatum can snatch your life

The freshman, four games into his college career after a late start following a preseason foot sprain, helped his team pull away from a pesky TSU team near the 14-minute mark of the second half, when the teams were tied for the seventh time. His play on defense and three passes led to three consecutive 3-pointers that gave Duke a much-needed, nine-point lead. Those were his only three assists of the night. Five minutes later, they were cruising and up by 20. He’s so far averaging 5.8 defensive rebounds a game.

2. Duke may have been a bit tired

The Blue Devils missed 13 free throws in the game before Elon. Amile Jefferson was 1-of-8 from the line, and Coach K said that’s where he saw fatigue set in for the graduate student who still has papers to write. Duke is coming off of exams and will enter Christmas break after Elon.

3. Elon snapped a skid

The Phoenix reversed a three-game losing streak with a 68-53 win over St. Peter’s Sunday. They had four players finish in double figures and used an 18-5 run in the second half to get the job done.

Jessika Morgan

This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Three things to know about Duke vs. Elon."