Knowing The Blue Devils

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?

JW: What player or players should the Hokies keep an eye out on when Duke has the ball and when Duke is on defense?

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?

JW: Do you think Duke will come out with more of a fire and intensity with
Allen being out?

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.