Trevor Keels returns for Duke basketball at Notre Dame. Guard missed three games
After missing Duke’s last three games, Trevor Keels is back for the Blue Devils.
The freshman guard, sidelined since suffering a calf injury to his right leg two weeks ago, was been cleared to return and played 25 minutes off the bench in No. 9 Duke’s 57-43 win over Notre Dame Monday night at Purcell Pavilion.
Keels was in uniform and going through pregame warmups for the first time since he was injured during the second half of Duke’s 79-78 overtime loss at Florida State on Jan. 18. Against Notre Dame, he made his first appearance since that night when he came off the bench at the 14:48 mark of the first half.
He finished with three points on 1 of 8 shooting but contributed four assists and had no turnovers.
“Actually I was surprised we’re Trevor was today,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He really helped us in the first half because we’re kind of playing wild offensively. And he settled it down.”
The 6-5, 221-pound Keels started Duke’s first 17 games this season, averaging 11.9 points per game for the Blue Devils (17-3, 7-2 ACC).
Duke sophomore guard Jeremy Roach, Keels’ former high school teammate at Paul VI in Fairfax, Va., returned to the Blue Devils’ starting lineup with Keels out over the last three games. Roach had started Duke’s first 17 games also before coming off the bench for three games.
Keels averaged 31.5 minutes of play per game prior to his injury. Junior forward Wendell Moore, a starter in all 20 games for Duke this season, and Roach helped absorb the minutes missing from Duke’s rotation with Keels out.
Roach played exceptionally well over the last three games. While playing 35.3 minutes per game, he collected 24 assists with just three turnovers.
Moore, averaging 33.8 minutes per game for the season, has played 38 minutes per game over Duke’s last three games.
The belief among Duke’s coaching staff is the Blue Devils need Keels back in the rotation for a number of reasons, but especially to lighten the load on its backcourt players.
“Having him back will help us, give us that depth on the perimeter,” Krzyzewski said.
Monday night’s game was Duke’s fourth in the last 10 days. The Blue Devils beat Syracuse 79-59, on Jan. 22 and Clemson, 71-69, last Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke won at Louisville, 74-65, on Saturday before toppling the Irish Monday night.
Duke plays at North Carolina on Saturday before another quick turnaround to face Virginia at home two nights later.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Trevor Keels returns for Duke basketball at Notre Dame. Guard missed three games."