Duke assumes underdog role versus Oregon

NCAA tournament West Region

When: 9:55 p.m.

Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.

TV/Radio: TBS, WDNC-620, WDNC-96.5

Projected starting lineups

Duke (25-10)

G Matt Jones, 10.5 ppg, 2.3 apg

G Luke Kennard, 11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg

G Grayson Allen, 21.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg

G Brandon Ingram, 17.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg

C Marshall Plumlee, 8.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg

Oregon (30-6)

G Casey Benson, 5.9 ppg, 3.0 apg

G Tyler Dorsey, 13.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg

F Elgin Cook, 14.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg

F Dillon Brooks, 16.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg

F Chris Boucher, 12.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg

Three things to watch

1. The Oregon press

When the Ducks fell behind by seven points with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left in their Round of 32 game against St. Joseph’s, they turned to a press to change the tempo of the game. The press is something Oregon has used to get to teams without a true point guard, and Duke fits that profile. The Blue Devils also struggled against Yale’s press, which did not feature Oregon-level athletes.

2. Duke’s choice of defense

Oregon loves to spread the floor and drive, so Duke may have to go to a zone defense to take away driving lanes. The Ducks have been effective against zones, too, scoring 0.958 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports. Duke gives up an average of 0.875 points per possession, but that jumps to 0.920 when the Blue Devils go zone.

3. Matt Jones’s ankle

Jones did not play well against Yale – zero points on 0-for-4 shooting, one rebound and five fouls in 20 minutes. Jones also fouled out against UNC Wilmington and just generally didn’t look like he was moving as well as he can. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Thursday that Jones’s previously sprained left ankle is still bothering him. The Blue Devils don’t have many options to replace a slow-moving Jones, and the on-court leadership drops substantially with him on the bench.

Laura Keeley

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Duke assumes underdog role versus Oregon."