Duke Basketball: 5 Keys to Blue Devils' ACC Tournament Run

North Carolina remains the popular favorite headed into the ACC tournament. If we have learned one thing about college basketball over the decades, it's to never count the Duke Blue Devils out of anything. 

This may be one of the more exciting conference tournaments, precisely because we have no idea what to expect from the field. 

Duke enters in a rare turn as a true underdog. 

Their marvelous season finish was tarnished by a final-game drubbing from rivals and ACC super team, the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

The last game of the season signaled that Duke has a great deal of work to do in the smallest window possible. Just when we thought Duke could handle a team like North Carolina, all the hardships of inconsistency and defensive lapses came flooding back to the forefront. 

Duke came away from the regular season looking battered and beaten, but we have to remember that this is the same team that shocked the nation once against the Tar Heels, and they can do it again. 

Here is exactly what needs to be done for Duke, and not some other team, to hoist the title of ACC champion into the Big Dance of the NCAA Tournament. 

5. X-Factors

Duke has its superstar, but this tournament will come down to depth and role players, and Duke has some very good ones.  

Duke can get mighty stagnant on offense and can run into horrific cold streaks. Guys like Quinn Cook and Andre Dawkins will be relied upon to get the ball in the bucket. 

Rivers may dominate the ball for the majority of the game, but those rest periods will see Quinn Cook getting some minutes. 

He may be the future of the Duke backcourt, but the Blue Devils need him to shine now. 

4. Defense

Duke is not magically going to hit some switch and turn into a lockdown defense that makes other teams tremble before facing them. 

We all know that Duke is susceptible on the defensive end of the floor, and so do the teams that will face the championship hopefuls. 

The key is to recommit on that end and make sure that the mess that ended their season does not replicate itself in the next week. 

Miles Plumlee chimed in on what he thought of their effort. Via USA Today: "We didn't come out and fight them like we should have. We let them get easy baskets and let our offense affect our defense."

Duke may not have the polish, but they can certainly impose their will and stay in front of the ball. All those things are a matter of grit and passion, and Duke needs to show both on that end. 

3. Attention to Details

Duke can dominate the boards, but they put far too much of the duties in the hands of Miles and Mason Plumlee. 

In their loss to North Carolina, Duke saw the two grab the bulk of the Blue Devils' boards. The rest of the cast has to get in on the rebounding effort, which is more a testament to heart than anything else. 

They also need to limit turnovers. As we already noted, this team is no dynamic defensive force. The last thing they need is to allow transition buckets. 

Duke is a great team, but they are not perfect, which makes an attention to detail far more important this season. 

2. Austin Rivers

Duke puts a great deal of their offensive hopes in the hands of wunderkind Austin Rivers. The feast-or-famine player will again be the main man in the ACC tournament. 

There is no greater sign of how things could go down than the last two games in which Duke met North Carolina. In their win a few weeks back, Rivers had 29 points and went 6-10 from three-point land. In their loss, Rivers had 15 points but was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. 

Duke needs a huge and consistent effort from Rivers for them to capture ACC glory. 

1. Play from Ahead

I love Duke's hunger and their ability to play from behind and pull off some amazing wins. We don't question the Blue Devils' ability to regroup and perform under duress. 

They can rally, but I am tired of them needing to do so. 

Duke is a good team that needs to play with the lead far more, because constantly coming from behind can be exhausting at this time of year. 

And there is no guarantee that Austin Rivers will be there with a hot hand to save them. 

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