Duke Basketball: Picking Blue Devils' Best Crunch-Time Lineup

It's important for college basketball teams to get the best sets of players on the court for late-game situations, but sometimes you just have to go with what's available. That's the scenario Duke has found itself in this season, as injuries and a lack of trusted backups have left the defending national champions without many options on the personnel front.

Still, when it comes to crunch time, the Blue Devils have to ensure they've got their five best on the floor.

Here's a look at Duke's best lineup to use during those important final minutes of games as it pushes toward the finish of the regular season and into the postseason. 

G Grayson Allen

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Duke's leading scorer and assist man is also the man who brings the most energy to the court, and unless he's hurt or has fouled out, he has to be on the court at the end of games. The sophomore has scored 20 or more points 11 times this season, and the Blue Devils are unbeaten when that happens. But it's not just about his production.

Grayson Allen just exudes the kind of fire and intensity you want at the end of games, showing how far he's come from a year ago, when as a freshman he couldn't harness that intensity and was rarely trusted in key situations. The exception was during the Final Four, when his play was key to wins over Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Whether it's sticking to his man on defense or forcing the issue on the offensive end, Allen needs to be out there to close out games.

G Luke Kennard

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Luke Kennard has been in and out of Duke's starting lineup during his freshman season, sharing the third guard spot with fellow first-year player Derryck Thornton. He's come off the bench the last two games, but that hasn't diminished his value to the team.

Third on the team in scoring, at 12.5 points per game, Kennard had 26 points in Saturday's win over North Carolina State that saw him go 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range. That was the most long balls he's made in a college game, and it made him 17-of-49 in ACC play. But he's trusted to take big shots late in games as much as any other player.

What might make Kennard worthy of a spot on the floor late in games more than anything else, though, is his accuracy at the foul line. He's shooting 92.2 percent on free throws, 90.6 percent in the conference, and has not missed more than one in any game this year.

G Matt Jones

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The most experienced of Duke's four guards, Matt Jones has been called on to take a handful of big late shots this season. Unfortunately, that includes misses in losses to Clemson and Notre Dame in January that were part of the Blue Devils' worst stretch in the 2015-16 season.

But even with Jones shooting worse overall (40.3 percent) than any other regular player in Duke's rotation, the junior's experience and maturity trump his overall efficiency.

Jones was a key player during the Blue Devils' national title run last season, allowing Justise Winslow to play at the 4, where he was a better fit. This year, he's serving as the on-court mentor for the other guards, who collectively have played only a few more minutes than he has in his career.

F Brandon Ingram

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Duke's frontcourt options are as thin as they come this season, ever since senior Amile Jefferson injured his foot. But had that not happened, Brandon Ingram would still be one of the players Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sends out at the end because of his overall skill set and effort.

The 6'9” freshman has turned himself into an all-around dominant force this season. He's arguably the hardest worker on defense, and on offense, things just come naturally to him. This has translated into strong numbers (16.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks per game), and he's also someone who knows how to create a mismatch.

Too long for guards to deal with, too fast for frontcourt players to track down, Brandon Ingram is in there to make opposing defenses overthink and to make opposing offenses to stress about how to deal with him.

C Marshall Plumlee

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Three Plumlee brothers have played at Duke, and two of them have carved out NBA careers. The third, Marshall Plumlee, is regarded as the least-skilled of the family, yet this year he's proving he's possibly as important as any member of that trio and among Blue Devils frontcourt players over the last few seasons.

As the only senior left in the rotation since Amile Jefferson was hurt, Plumlee has to lead by example while holding down a position no one else can play. Brandon Ingram can be briefly replaced by Matt Jones when Duke goes smaller, but Plumlee only sits early on when Chase Jeter, Sean Obi or Antonio Vrankovic can be trusted to bridge the gap until a TV timeout.

None of that happens late in games, though, when Plumlee is playing as long as he's allowed to. At 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, he's not lighting up the stat sheet, but he's making a difference.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.