Duke basketball plays at Arizona this week. What we know, and don’t, about Blue Devils

Four games into what’s set up to be a special season for Duke basketball, the No. 12 Blue Devils experienced three easy wins and a gut-punch of a loss.

March, and the games that really matter, remain nearly four months away.

Yet with games at No. 17 Arizona on Friday night and against No. 1 Kansas looming Tuesday in Las Vegas, it’s time for a quick assessment of where Duke is now.

Coach Jon Scheyer built this Duke squad to handle any situation, to be able to play aggressive, suffocating defense and score in a variety of ways from different sources.

Some of those things are true most of the time. Others need work. Here’s what we know and don’t know about the Blue Devils (3-1) two weeks into the regular season.

Cooper Flagg has the skills

Ok, the 6-9 freshman star received, and continues to receive, loads of hype because NBA scouts can’t wait for their teams to draft him in June. Other than two killer turnovers late in Duke’s 77-72 loss to Kentucky last Tuesday, Flagg has shown what all the fuss is about.

He leads Duke in scoring (16.3) and rebounding (9.5) averages and also has more assists (16), blocked shots (seven) and steals (eight) than any other Blue Devils player.

That is an all-court player, capable of making positive plays from anywhere, who stuffs the stat sheet with regularity.

But…what don’t we know here

We don’t know if Flagg’s 3-point shooting and ball protection will improve.

He’s made just 4 of 18 3-pointers (22%), notable because there’s every sign he’ll be asked to continue shooting them. Only Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel, with 26 attempts each, have shot more 3-pointers for Duke.

As referenced previously from the Kentucky game, Flagg is turning the ball a bit too often. His 10 turnovers also lead the Blue Devils. Losing the ball three times in the final two minutes against Kentucky marred an otherwise strong 26-point, 12-rebound performance.

To beat teams like Arizona and Kansas, Duke needs Flagg to take better care of the ball and hit at least a few more 3-pointers. He doesn’t have to hit something ridiculous like 40% of his 3-pointers, but getting his season percentage closer to 35 would make a big difference.

As for his ball-handling, he’s going to be asked to have the ball in his hands at crucial points of every game he’s in a Duke uniform. He’s as disappointed as anyone how the Kentucky game ended. His competitiveness will drive him to have better outcomes and the Blue Devils certainly need that.

Eight players comprise Duke’s rotation

The starting five has been the same for each game, with Flagg joined by the 6-7 Knueppel, the 6-5 Proctor plus 6-5 sophomore Caleb Foster and 7-2 freshman center Khaman Maluch.

The first three players off the bench each night have been 6-9 junior forward Maliq Brown plus two 6-6 graduate transfer forwards in Sion James and Mason Gillis.

It’s possible any of those three reserves could find their way into the starting lineup at some point, but it really doesn’t matter. Those are the top eight players in Scheyer’s eyes at this point.

But…what don’t we know here

Is anyone else in place to push their way into the top eight as the season progresses?

Freshmen Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba are next on the list of reserves who could help Duke in key situations this season.

The 6-6 Evans is competing with Knueppel, James and Gillis for playing time so he’s a bit behind. But his 14 points, with four 3-pointers, in Duke’s 86-35 wipeout of Wofford last Saturday shows his potential.

The 6-11, 250-pound Ngongba could add key depth inside behind Maluach, Brown and, to a lesser extent, Flagg.

Ngongba is limited physically because he’s coming off serious foot injuries that cut his high school career short. He’s not ready to play, say, 20 minutes a game, but if Duke can get 10 minutes a night out of him when needed he’s capable, that would help if Maluach or Flagg get into foul trouble like they did against Kentucky.

Both are question marks at this point, though.

Knueppel could lead Duke in scoring

The 6-7 freshman forward is an aggressive driver and effective shooter who plays with an edge that makes him tough to stop.

He’s averaging 14.8 points per game, less than two points behind Flagg’s average, and has proven to be a solid 3-point shooter (10 for 26, 38.5%). Duke needs him to be its top 3-point shooter and that’s very likely to happen.

With Flagg sometimes in distribution mode on offense when defenses collapse around him, Knueppel could get enough extra scoring chances to outscore his classmate and roommate this season. It’s not out of the question.

But....what we don’t know here

Can Knueppel score in bunches and with regularity against Duke’s toughest opponents? His 5 of 20 shooting day against Kentucky disappointed and was a key reason the Blue Devils lost.

Because Flagg will get so much attention from opposing defenses, Duke needs one or two more reliable scoring options to beat the kinds of teams it needs to in order to win big this season.

Knueppel needs to fill that role. Proctor and Foster are capable as well but neither has shown consistency.

As talented as Flagg is, he can’t do it alone. The Kentucky game made that obvious.

Duke’s defense is elite

Opponents have hit just 33.6% of their shots against Duke this season, including 25.7% of their 3-pointers. That’s stellar. The Blue Devils have a defensive efficiency rate, allowing 0.9 points per possession, that’s No. 2 nationally, according to Ken Pom.

Shot-blocking from Flagg, Maluach and Brown make teams think twice about putting a shot up in the lane. Duke’s pressure out front can lead to live ball turnovers and easy offense on the other end for the Blue Devils.

Against some of the lesser teams on Duke’s schedule, this aspect alone should give the Blue Devils a huge advantage

But....what we don’t know here

Arizona and Kansas will certainly challenge those impressive Duke defensive numbers and Kentucky did enough things right against Duke’s defense late to reverse that game’s outcome.

Against the Wildcats, Duke’s players let their missed shots turn into mistakes on the defensive end when they didn’t get back on defense and Kentucky took advantage.

It’s part of a team learning as a new season progresses. In the first big test against an opponent that challenged them, the Blue Devils fell short.

Duke gets two more chances in its next two games plus has another one looming on Dec. 4 when No. 4 Auburn comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils have the size and athleticism to defend well against any team. They still have to prove they can do it, though, after Kentucky hit its first five 3-point attempts on the way to making 40% of them against Duke.

The Wildcats shot 39.7% against Duke, but their 43% shooting in the second half was enough to erase Duke’s nine-point halftime lead.