Duke Basketball: Mismatches Blue Devils Are Dreading in 2015-16

Now that Duke's 2015-16 schedule has been completed, it's time to start breaking down how the Blue Devils' road to defending their national title will go.

Instead of focusing on the teams Duke will be playing, for this piece we have zeroed in on some of the more notable opposing players it'll have to deal with this season. More importantly, they are the players whose skill sets will lead to mismatches that Duke could potentially struggle with.

Duke's roster for this season provides it with more versatility than a year ago thanks to a six-man recruiting class and the availability of Rice transfer Sean Obi after he sat out 2014-15. But even with the ability to mix and match players to handle whom the opponents will have on the court, there will still be a few foes that will give Duke headaches.

Here's our look at the individual mismatches the Blue Devils will dread most this upcoming season.

Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia

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Scheduled meeting: Feb. 13 at Duke

Duke was able to get the better of two-time ACC regular-season champion Virginia last season, and on the road to boot. But it still had a lot of trouble containing Malcolm Brogdon, who went for 17 points and six rebounds and the year before had a then-career best 23 points against the Blue Devils in the 2014 ACC title game.

Despite having been able to figure out Virginia's complicated defense last January, Duke did so at the expense of letting Brogdon get his points. And with a much younger backcourt set to be out there for the Blue Devils in 2015-16, the 6'5" Brogdon is the kind of player who will look to take advantage of that inexperience.

Brogdon will be a headache to deal with on both ends, as he's the Cavaliers' most explosive offensive weapon and also is one of their key defenders.

Damion Lee, Louisville

Scheduled meetings: Feb. 8 at Duke; Feb. 20 at Louisville

Louisville is one of the four teams that Duke will face twice during ACC play this year, which means two opportunities to take on an almost entirely new team from the one Duke bested at home last season. And of that new group, Damion Lee is the one expected to be the toughest to tangle with.

A graduate transfer from Drexel, the 6'6" guard averaged 21.4 points per game for a bad team that couldn't provide him any help. Lee didn't care, though, as he often took over games even when opponents would plan to overload him and forget the rest of the Dragons.

Lee had five 30-point games in 2014-15, including two against the Northeastern team that ended up winning Drexel's Colonial Athletic Association.

The most points any player had against Duke last year were the 27 that Syracuse's Michael Gbinije had on 10-of-14 shooting in February. Lee has a chance to easily top that if Duke isn't able to contain him.

Angel Rodriguez, Miami (Florida)

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Scheduled meeting: Jan. 25 at Miami

Duke fans would probably like to forget the lowest point of last season, a two-game losing streak that began with a loss at North Carolina State and then continued with a blowout home loss to Miami. That same Miami team ended up missing the NCAA tournament and went out of the NIT because of inconsistent play, but the Hurricanes were lights-out on that January evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

And Angel Rodriguez was hotter than anyone else. He had a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range and keying a 56-point second half when Miami shot 66.7 percent from the field. He also had five assists and five steals, and he looked like the best player on the court despite Duke starting three eventual first-round NBA draft picks.

Rodriguez failed to reach double digits in five of the next six games, however, so he saved one of his best efforts for the Blue Devils. And expect the 5'11" senior to do the same when Duke heads to South Florida in the middle of its only three-game road trip of the season.

Jakob Poeltl, Utah

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Scheduled meeting: Dec. 19 in New York City

While Jahlil Okafor wasn't known that much for his defense, he was able to hold his own against most big men that Duke faced during his lone season in college. But Utah center Jakob Poeltl didn't shy away from Okafor, and with his aggressive play on the offensive glass, he helped the Utes stay close throughout their 63-57 Sweet 16 loss to the Blue Devils in March.

The 7-footer had five offensive boards among his eight rebounds, along with 10 points and three blocks. Now a sophomore, Poeltl figures to have benefited from the time he spent this summer at the Nike Basketball Academy in California, where he played alongside some of the top college players in the country while getting instruction from pros such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis.

With Okafor gone, Duke's frontcourt figures to be a rotation that includes sophomore Sean Obi as well as freshmen Chase Jeter and Brandon Ingram. Obi hasn't played in a year, and Jeter and Ingram will likely be in there more for offense than defense, leaving Poeltl open to make a major impact inside when Utah and Duke meet in December at Madison Square Garden.

Tyler Ulis, Kentucky

Scheduled meeting: Nov. 17 in Chicago (Champions Classic)

The first early test Duke's new group of youngsters will face is a big one, as the Blue Devils have drawn Kentucky this year in the four-team Champions Classic that also features Kansas and Michigan State.

And while the Wildcats have undergone a similar roster renovation with seven players from last year's nearly perfect team turning pro, there's still a pesky little guy in the backcourt who figures to give Duke's young guards a lesson in taking care of the ball.

Sophomore guard Tyler Ulis only had 37 steals last year, but so many of them seemed to come in critical moments and lead directly to scores. Those steals came in less than 24 minutes per game, and he also led the team in assists and posted a stellar 3.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

When Ulis is in there, he'll likely be all over Duke's point guard and also trying to use his small frame to step into passing lanes and disrupt the Blue Devils' offensive flow.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.