Duke Basketball: Burning Questions for Blue Devils During Long Break

Duke is in the midst of its second extended break from game action this month, off for 11 days between its win over Connecticut and the next contest Dec. 29 against Toledo. This follows a 12-day hiatus earlier in December, as the Blue Devils are only scheduled to play five games this month.

The time away for the holidays will be good for the players to relax and recharge their batteries, while coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff can reassess what's happened so far and what's coming up when ACC play begins in January.

It's also a time to reflect on many burning questions that will need answering when Duke returns to action in a week.

Could the Time off Slow Progress?

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After beating Wisconsin on Dec. 3, Duke was off for 12 days before hosting Elon. The Blue Devils won that game, 75-62, but didn't look particularly crisp, committing 17 turnovers and making just 3-of-16 three-point attempts.

Freshman Jahlil Okafor had a monster game with 25 points and 20 rebounds on his 19th birthday, but others struggled. Freshman Tyus Jones didn't make a field goal, and Quinn Cook was only 3-of-9 from the field.

Three days later, Duke got a major test from Connecticut at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, finding itself tied early in the second half before pulling away for a 66-56 victory.

An argument could be made that the rust was the reason for the break—final exams—as for the time off itself. But with another stretch here, and with players being gone for part of it visiting with families, another sluggish start could be seen against Toledo and Dec. 31 against Wofford.

Neither opponent is a slouch: Toledo (7-4) should contend for a division title in the Mid-American Conference, and Wofford (9-2) already won at North Carolina State and faces West Virginia on Monday night.

Will Jahlil Okafor's Free-Throw Shooting Become a Liability?

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In the win over Connecticut, Okafor made only six of 11 free throws from the line. That actually improved his season efficiency, which sits at 51 percent, making 24 of 47 foul shots.

The limited sample size is strange for a big man after 10 games, since he gets so many touches in the paint, but the 6'11" Okafor is often able to elude contact for many of his baskets with quick reflexes. When he is fouled, though, he's not coming through, and opponents may start to try to capitalize on this.

Okafor has had 22 free-throw attempts in the past two games and has made 11 of them. If he continues to struggle at the line, not only will teams start fouling him more frequently, but he could find himself subbed out of the game in clutch situations.

Can Anyone from the Bench Step Up?

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The Blue Devils got only 30 minutes of playing time from their bench against Connecticut, with Rasheed Sulaimon playing 17 of them. The four reserves were 0-of-5 from the field with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal, the first time Duke has failed to have any bench scoring since March 2011.

This isn't the first time this season Duke's backups have failed to make much of a contribution. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller noted that, in wins over Michigan State, Stanford and Wisconsin the starters provided 85.2 percent of the scoring.

"Duke looks like a pretty deep team if you focus solely on the season averages, but a lot of that scoring came in 'garbage time' against the likes of Presbyterian, Fairfield and Furman," Miller wrote.

As it stands, Duke's starters are averaging between 23.8 (Amile Jefferson) and 32 (Quinn Cook) minutes per game, but in the bigger games that's much higher. Cook played 39 minutes against Connecticut, with Jones going for 38 minutes.

Will the Freshmen Hit a Wall?

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Duke's three freshman starters—center Okafor, small forward Justise Winslow and point guard Jones—have all been superb, playing far better than a trio of fresh-to-the-college-game players. Their play in elite tournaments, both on the AAU circuit and internationally, have well prepared them for the tougher level of competition.

Whether it helped them develop the kind of stamina and staying power needed to make it through the grind of the next three months, though, remains to be seen.

Jones is playing 28.7 minutes per game, followed by 28.2 for Okafor and 26.2 for Winslow (and the trio combined for 100 minutes against Connecticut). Duke plays 20 more regular-season games over a 69-day span, followed by potentially three ACC tournament games in as many days and then the every-other-day pattern of the NCAA tournament.

At some point, these first-year players could start to wear down, another reason having the bench better developed will help for the long run.

Will Turnovers Be an Issue?

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For the season, Duke has committed 111 turnovers, and no single player is giving it away more than 2.3 times per game. But in the past two contests, against Elon and Duke, the Blue Devils turned it over 36 times.

Duke's turnover percentage is 13.9 percent, which is 22nd in Division I, but these past two games have also seen the Blue Devils have more turnovers than assists for the first time all season. Bad passing and more one-on-one plays could end up leading to more turnovers if this doesn't get fixed.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.