Duke vs. Kansas: Why Tyshawn Taylor Will Dominate Dukies

The No. 6 Duke Blue Devils are chalk full of talent, but they don’t have a player like Tyshawn Taylor.

The star 6'3" guard has been outstanding in the first four games of the season for the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks. He is averaging just under 16 points a game while hitting a blistering 60 percent of his three-pointers.

After a rocky junior season that watched him get suspended for the last month of the season, the senior has grown up.

The Dukies don’t have anybody that can effectively defend him. Austin Rivers, Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry will likely be in charge of staying in front of the lightning-quick Jayhawk. Too bad they don’t have the lateral quickness and foot speed to keep up.

With his quick decision-making skills, great first step and ability to switch directions on a dime, Taylor is going to make a living in the paint on Wednesday night.

Duke is going to force Taylor to give up the ball at times in the paint, but with the bevy of proven scorers surrounding the perimeter (Thomas Robinson, Eljah Johnson, Travis Releford), Kansas is going to beat Duke at their own game: the three-pointer. 

Expect them to build on the impressive 44 percent clip from Tuesday’s win over UCLA with the aid of the Taylor dribble-drive.

Taylor knows how important this game is for his team, and you have to love a quote like this:

This is one of the games when you come to Kansas, you sign up for. This is one of those games we'll probably always remember.

With that kind of perspective, Taylor is going to be treating this game like it’s the NCAA tournament.

Expect Kansas to deny Duke’s bid at winning the Maui Invitational for a fifth time, with Taylor exploding for 30.