UConn Basketball: How the Huskies Can Limit Jahlil Okafor's Impact vs. Duke

After falling out of the national conversation thanks to a three-game losing streak, the Connecticut Huskies have a chance to jump right back in it with a victory over No. 2 Duke on Thursday night. 

As we have witnessed during the first month of nonconference play, Duke is the one team that actually has a legitimate chance to defeat mighty Kentucky. Although they don't have five Monstars on the court at all times, the Blue Devils have a very influential player down low in Jahlil Okafor. 

In Duke's 75-62 at home over Elon Monday, Okafor scored 25 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. If you can believe it, another big man had a better game than Okafor in the last week. It just so happens that player is on UConn's roster, and his play is the key to containing one of college basketball's newest stars Thursday night. 

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Amida Brimah went off against Coppin State Sunday, as he scored 40 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. If that didn't impress you enough, the sophomore from Ghana shot 13-of-13 from the field and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line. 

Big men aren't supposed to be that perfect in the shooting department, but Brimah was able to pull off that feat with ease. Before we get carried away with the praise for Brimah, he was playing Coppin State, whose only win this season is against Division II's Goldey-Beacom. 

Brimah will obviously be facing stiffer competition at the Izod Center Thursday, but the major confidence boost he received against Coppin State will do wonders for his matchup against the lauded Okafor. 

If you take guard Ryan Boatright's word for it, Brimah is ready to face the challenge Okafor presents.

But whether Brimah is actually ready to limit Okafor's impact on the game remains to be seen. As a freshman last season, the 7-footer never made a consistent contribution down low for the Huskies. 

He showed spurts of potential against Louisville in the American Athletic Conference tournament final with 14 points and seven rebounds. He also impressed against Central Florida, Rutgers and Temple in conference play. 

Other than those four games last season and Sunday's outburst against lowly Coppin State, Brimah has not proved he can be a reliable threat in the frontcourt. 

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Thursday presents a perfect opportunity for Brimah to silence the critics. But if he wants to hold Okafor to his first single-digit point total this season, the Huskies must come together as a team. 

Accompanying Brimah on the court will be guard Rodney Purvis, who played twice against Duke during the 2012-13 season with North Carolina State. Although Duke has a brand new set of toys to play with, the system instituted by Mike Krzyzewski is still similar to the one Purvis saw in previous years. 

With that in mind, Purvis could provide the Huskies with a mental edge heading into the game thanks to his familiarity with Duke. 

Purvis also has a bit of a point to prove himself since he has failed to get off to a strong start this season. Other than a 19-point performance against Dayton, Purvis hasn't played a major role in determining the final score of any game. 

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If Purvis is able to connect well with Boatright in the backcourt and get the transition game going, Duke could be in some serious trouble. Okafor is extremely athletic, but if the Huskies dictate the pace, he will eventually run into some difficulty on the court. If the game is a fast-paced one, Okafor also won't receive a chance to establish his dominance in the paint. 

If the Huskies fail to make the game a track meet, it will be because of the presence of Okafor down low. By snagging offensive rebounds and forcing UConn into bad shots, Okafor can easily control the tempo of the nonconference showdown. 

When he pulls down offensive rebounds, Okafor can create scoring chances for the Blue Devils in a few different ways. He can easily go right back up and finish, but he also has the luxury of dishing the ball out to Justise Winslow, Quinn Cook and others behind the three-point line. 

If the big man can create second-chance opportunities on offense that result in big shots by one of his teammates, the game will be over quickly. 

Because of the threatening scorers Duke has on the wings, UConn will not be allowed to double Okafor on every possession. Just ask Stanford how well that game plan worked. 

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In Duke's early-season win over Stanford, the Cardinal opted to double Okafor to begin the game, which opened up space for Amile Jefferson on the other side of the paint. With other players lurking to capitalize on the potential double-team, head coach Kevin Ollie will have to ask Brimah to take care of Okafor by himself. 

One way Brimah can take Okafor out of the game entirely is to force him into foul trouble. Against Wisconsin, Okafor picked up two early fouls in the first half. Despite his lack of rhythm during the first 20 minutes at the Kohl Center, Okafor still finished with 13 points and six rebounds. 

Taking Okafor out of the game for 40 minutes is a nearly impossible task. But if UConn can limit his opportunities in both halves, there is potential for a terrific finish at the Izod Center. 

For the Huskies to earn their biggest win of the season to date, they must control the tempo, limit Duke's second-chance opportunities and have Brimah play out of his mind for the second consecutive game. 

If the game plan comes together perfectly, we could begin to forget UConn's three brutal nonconference losses. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.