Next Man Up- Duke Prepares for Battle Without Key Player

The presumed ACC Defensive Player of the Year, who makes the engine go on the opposing end, and ability to guard 1-5 Maliq Brown suffered a dislocated shoulder in the number 3 Duke Blue Devils road victory at Virginia Monday night. The injury occurred late in the first half after Maliq was guarding out on the left side of the perimeter, when his arm extended and seconds later Brown grimaced in pain.

Coach Jon Scheyer said Tuesday evening that he was expected to get more imaging done on the shoulder before making a longterm assessment on Maliq's availability going forward.

Duke heads to Madison Square Garden on Saturday with a non conference showcase game against Illinois.

What we can expect:

Mc Donalds All American Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngonba will be next up to contribute more minutes in Browns absense. From a defensive standpoint, the Blue Devils will have to guard by committee. Duke remains the only team in the country to rank top-5 in offensive and defensive efficiency.

Keep an eye on Purdue transfer Mason Gillis who has contributed on both ends of the floor and is known as the "Glue Guy".

Duke has ran zone defense on 3 occurrences this season when allowing points in bunches on the interior. During these phases, Khaman Maluach had instances of picking up quick, testing the interior depth. Khaman will be asked to be more of a defensive anchor who Scheyer will rely on for a enforcer, protecting the basket.

Next up for Duke is a showcase at the Garden, with tipoff starting at 8pm on Fox.