Duke hoop stars Brandon Ingram and Grayson Allen share their thoughts on the upcoming game with Yale.

Q. Grayson, do you anticipate a real change of pace from Yale than you got from Wilmington?

GRAYSON ALLEN: I think the game will be a little bit different. Wilmington really likes to put pressure on you for 40 minutes and really speeds up the pace of the game, a lot of shots are getting up. Guys are running up and down the court, where Yale is different. But still a really good team. They're not the pressing team that Wilmington is, but they are a very solid defensive team, one of the best rebounding teams in the country. And then offensively, they're sharp and they have a great scorer in Mason and a great big guy inside with Sears. They're going to be a really tough match-up.

Q. Grayson, do you have any takeaways from the first game against Yale in November?

It's tough to really look at that game at all just because both teams are so different now. It's really like two different seasons from then to us playing them now. So we can't look much into that game.

They're a completely different team since then, and we've grown as well, too. That game was almost like two different teams playing, and so we have to look at what we've done recently.

Q. Brandon, you had come off three kind of tough games before you played Yale the first time. That was kind of the start of 25 of 27 consecutive double-digit scoring games. What was it about Yale that you saw that kind of projected you into the season you've had?
BRANDON INGRAM: I think just me starting off slow through the season, and I think I've been working very hard, as well, this year to get to the point where I'm at right now. Just working very hard. And just seeing the problem that Grayson had in his freshman year, him coming off the bench and just showing sparks, that there's potential, just knowing how to get back in the gym, working hard, and just getting ready to play the next battle.

Q. Brandon, I hear players talk all the time about how the NCAA is a different level, it's a different intensity, it's a different feel out there. You certainly didn't seem to have any problem with it. I wonder just mentally how you prepared yourself for that first game.

Just listening to my teammates. We have guys that have been here before and just listening to the leaders on our team, just developing confidence over the season, and knowing that I can play with these guys and just adjusting to the physicality of the game.

Q. Brandon, what makes you such a tough player to defend?

Back to the basics, just my teammates around me. They drive and kick the ball to me. I'm able to shoot the ball and able to get around slower defenders. I use my length a lot, and I try to use my quickness around slower defenders.

Q. Brandon, Yale had a great game rebounding against a very physical and large Baylor team. What have you guys been planning to do to try and combat Yale's rebounding edge on both offense and defense?

That's definitely a point of emphasis for us, being that rebounding is a weak point for our team, just having a sense of urgency going into that game, just knowing that we have to offensive rebound and defensive rebound.

Q. Grayson, you talked about two different teams from November to now. You matched up against Makai back in November. He had 31 points yesterday. Have you seen anything in him and his growth over the season that you've seen personally?

Well, I think with how their team is now, he's doing a great job of handling the bulk of point guard responsibilities, creating for other guys. But at the same time, he's doing a great job of pulling up and finding his own shot within their offense. You know, yesterday he hit a lot of tough shots, tough pull-ups, and that's the kind of player he is. He makes tough shots and he's really crafty with the ball, whereas it's going to be tough to keep him in front one-on-one. For us it's going to have to be a team effort against him.

Q. Grayson, how would you compare the difference for you personally a year ago when you were much more of a role player to now where you are expected to produce and one of the leaders on this team?

It's different, just the atmosphere around you personally is different. Last year I wasn't up here answering questions. I'm back in the locker room. And when the game time comes around, I'm not starting out running onto the floor. I get some time on the bench to collect myself.

This year there's a lot of pressure. We have guys that -- we only have one guy on our team that's ever started a tournament game before yesterday, so it's a learning process. But for us we can't be timid, can't be tight. We just have to come out here and play free like we have all season, just be confident.

Q. Coach K was hired 36 years ago today. Can you talk about playing for him, what it's like for you guys as individuals knowing you're part of that?
GRAYSON ALLEN: It's a huge honor to be coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time, regardless of the sport. He's a tremendous leader and teacher on and off the court. For us to be a part of that, we have to -- really there are some days where you just kind of realize and take it all in that you're a part of a great legacy by a man who's been a great coach. And so for us, we need to take full advantage of that while we're here.

We're all ears, listening to everything he has to say, every suggestion. And he leads by example so much because of his competitive fire shown every day. We see how hard he's working for us, and so we want to do the same for him.

INGRAM: For me it's a tremendous honor. I know for myself and my teammates, he develops a lot of opportunities for us, just having the depth of guys that we have and just being able to fight and be tough under his coaching and just listening to him. I think everything he says is golden.

Q. Brandon, Marshall had a great game yesterday, obviously, 23 points, a career high. Is there any discussion in the locker room about maybe playing for him since this is his senior year and his last chance?

Most definitely. I think he's the anchor of our team right now, and just us feeding off his emotion going into games is -- we see how hard he plays every game, and we try to match his intensity.

Q. Grayson, you guys have played a fair amount of Saturday-Monday games the last couple years. How does that prepare you for kind of the one-day turnarounds of the tournament?

With the short recovery time, it's something we have to really focus on, what we're doing in between games. Because we do have a very short bench, and we don't go very deep as a team, and a lot of guys are playing almost the entire game. So for us, it's important to get our bodies right. It starts immediately after the game, and not only our bodies, but to get mentally focused. We have to move on from playing a tough Wilmington team to now scouting a very tough Yale team. So for us, we have to be mentally focused on this day in between that we get, and get ready for them.

Q. The Yale game earlier in the year was kind of the first time you guys had featured the zone, that you went to that 1-3-1 kind of match up. How comfortable are you guys seeing that zone now that the year has gone on, and are we going to see more of the zone or the man-to-man, or is it two different match-ups?

ALLEN - We're very comfortable in our zone. We do have a bunch of different defenses that we can use. For us, down the stretch, we've been primarily a man team and that's what we would like to play. I think at the end of the day, that just comes to stopping your man. I think we have a very young team, and as we've grown older, we've learned more about our principles and applying them in the game, where to be on help side, so our man defense has gotten a lot better, and that's our primary thing, but we also have our zones in our back pocket.