Jeremy Roach talks what Duke basketball needs to do down stretch before March Madness

Duke star Jeremy Roach is a big reason why the Blue Devils are squarely in the NCAA March Madness picture despite not being in the top 25. 

Duke is now 20-8 on the season after the win Monday night over Louisville. Under first-year coach Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils could be getting hot at the right time.

Roach discussed what Duke needed to do down the stretch of the season to get ready for postseason play.

“I think it is staying true to our identity and staying true to ourselves,” Roach said on Sirius XM’s ACC Radio. “And just listen to the 15 guys in the locker room and coaching staff and I mean, everything will take care of yourself. We’re not trying to mimic what we did last year or I mean, we had a great run last year but I mean, we try to worry about ourselves. It’s a new team, new coaching staff. So I mean, basically doing whatever we have to do to get a win is our mentality right now. 

“Playing with a sense of urgency has to be at an all time high, so it’s getting guys locked in, knowing what they got to do mentally and physically to get ready for the game. Knowing your personnel is a big thing throughout the tournament because you’ll have to have many days to prepare. Even the ACC tournament, it’s just one game after another after another. So it’s really a quick turnaround, just trying to get those guys ready for that and try to get him in the right mindset for that to get ready to get these wins.”

Roach led the team in scoring in the win over the Cardinals. He had 14 points, one rebound and six assists.

But it was defense that led Duke on its recent hot streak. The Blue Devils won three in a row after two losses to No. 13 Miami and No. 6 Virginia.

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“I think the strength of our team is our defense. I mean, we’ve had a lot of games where we held teams under their season average. We’ve taken out (the team’s) best players when we play. I think our team defense, (it’s a huge identity for our team). We’re long, we’re athletic. I think that’s been a big thing … So it’s really paid off for sure.”