Duke Basketball: Why Blue Devils Will Face Real Upset Threat vs. Lehigh

The Duke Blue Devils come into Friday's NCAA Tournament matchup against Lehigh without a solid defense, a consistent offense, and it seems, Ryan Kelly. 

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski issued that the forward will dress for the game against Lehigh, but he will more than likely not play. 

This puts a great wealth of importance on other Blue Devils, even perimeter ones like Andre Dawkins.

The Boston Herald's Jack Daly reports that Dawkins has been a no-show lately, further exacerbating the loss of Kelly. 

"

Since scoring 22 points against Florida State by hitting five 3-pointers in the first half, Andre Dawkins has gone MIA in the Blue Devils’ last five games. The junior has scored three total points in his last 63 minutes over those five games, missing 13 of 14 shots and 11 of his 12 3-pointers.

"

Duke exemplifies a team that works best as a whole, working in tandem with one another. When they are clicking, there is hardly a better team around. 

However, the lack of experience and depth has served to highlight how beatable this team can be.

We head into the Lehigh game with the worst set of issues. 

Duke will be missing one of the biggest role players and a workhorse that can help stave off dry spells while inflicting some of the same on the opposition. 

Kelly is a huge loss if he does not feature at all in this game, and it makes every last Duke player that much more crucial. 

Fans know that this team's inconsistency does not allow for much confidence in them cruising in a game against the hungry Lehigh Mountain Hawks. 

Duke is used to blowing out teams in the first round, but not this time.

With a horribly inept defense and streaky shooting, Lehigh will make a game of this. 

This is usually the time for Blue Devils fans to guarantee a victory, but no such guarantee will come.

The Blue Devils have a great deal more issues than they are used to walking into Friday's game. 

Follow @gabezal