Marvin Bagley III might well be the most physically gifted player in college basketball, but at the moment you'd be hard-pressed to make a case for him as the most valuable player on his own team.

Strangely, Duke is becoming more consistent without Bagley. That doesn't mean Duke fans shouldn't be worried about their star freshman logging DNPs, but they must be a little confused by the team they're seeing transform into a stalwart.

The fifth-ranked Blue Devils bludgeoned fading Louisville on Wednesday night, 82-56. Bagley sat in street clothes and cheered on his teammates to another dominating victory. He hasn't seen the floor since the last time Duke lost, an 82-78 defeat at UNC on Feb. 8. It was in that game, with about seven minutes left in the first half, that Bagley tweaked his right knee, according to Duke trainer Jose Fonseca.

Blue Devils fans, only a year removed from the what-could-have-been experiment of another one-and-done big with knee issues (Harry Giles), are fighting off bad flashbacks. If it's a "mild" knee injury, then what's so mild about missing four games? Will he be back before the ACC tournament? Should we read anything deeper into this development?

The good news: Bagley is active. He was getting shots up in a mostly empty Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

Mike Krzyzewski said on Monday's ACC teleconference with the media that Bagley's prognosis is still day-by-day. This is, in essence, an indefinite injury.

"We're going to make sure that he's completely good before we get into March," Krzyzewski said Monday. "And that may mean he plays. We will give, just like we have for these past three games, we wait until game day when we have our shoot-around. And then we know where he's at at that time, and that's what we'll continue to do. And we'll be very forthright in what we're doing. We're not trying to hide anything."

Encouraging words, but here's what Krzyzewski said Wednesday night, via ESPN's David Hale: "It's a day to day thing. Marvin has a problem or else he would play. He's getting better. The thing is, it's not a structural problem. But if we weren't concerned about him having more injury, he'd play. He's not ready. He's getting closer. I don't know when it'll happen. I'm not going to push him."

The ACC's leading scorer (21.2) and rebounder (11.4) is taking a cautious road to recovery because there's no downside to doing it. With potentially tens of millions of dollars at stake for Bagley, Krzyzewski is obviously not going to needlessly risk the kid's future. Bagley's knee situation has become a big story line in the sport, though, and it's something that may wind up being a significant part of his NBA evaluation once team doctors look at Bagley in the pre-draft process come this spring.

But let's get back to what Duke has become without Bagley on the floor. It's downright shocking, considering Bagley is a capable defender. Without him, Duke is adapting almost exclusively to zone principles, as opposed to sporadically deploying the tactic and using it for second-half rallies earlier in the season. Duke allowed 80 or more points in 10 of its first 24 games. Among the teams who hit 80: Portland State, Boston College, South Dakota and St. John's.

But now, the past four without Bagley, Duke's giving up 58.5 points per contest. Competition should be noted (Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Louisville), but two of those teams are NCAA Tournament-bound. Holding foes to 58.5 is a massive leap for a team that's shot up from ranking in the 70s in defensive efficiency at KenPom in January to No. 27 as of Thursday morning. Duke ranks No. 3 overall at KenPom.com.

Louisville was Duke's best defensive game all season.

No Bagley, no big deal. Duke's won the past four without him by an average of 17 points. Duke's kept its past three ACC opponents under 60 points. That hasn't happened since 1981, when Krzyzewski was in his first season with the Blue Devils. Astounding, and certainly something that is soothing concerns over Bagley's sabbatical.

For as well as the defense has played, Grayson Allen's has been the biggest winner. Causation might not be correlation, but it's hard to ignore the raw numbers. When Bagley does not play, Allen is averaging 26.4 points and shooting 46 percent form 3. When his freshman teammate is active, Allen's at 13.3 points and far less efficient.

Allen has returned to his sophomore form. USATSI

By defaulting to true alpha status, Allen has tapped into his sophomore season self. He was an All-American that year and he's looking rejuvenated and confident. We're seeing a different player. Allen's needed to be more involved by necessity, yet it's hard to shake the feeling that Bagley getting hurt was a blessing in disguise for Duke's Final Four hopes.

Against Louisville, Allen had 28 points and made six 3s. Wednesday, he looked just as he's looked in the other three games without Bagley: a senior All-American type who's taking smart shots and leading freshmen to play like veterans. The way Duke's zone has worked has been the biggest reason for Duke's extension to dominance, but Allen's role inflation has been the most important factor. Allen's been playing in third gear most of the season, but his time out of the spotlight might be gone for good.

Bagley's injury will linger over this team, but Allen remembering how to be a great player was the best plot twist Duke could have asked for as it revs up for the ACC tournament in two weeks.