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Lance Thomas leads Duke's rout of Duquesne 95-72

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski always seems to have a group of reserves who could start for most other teams. Lance Thomas became the latest member of that club to post some impressive numbers.

Thomas scored a career-high 21 points Friday to help the seventh-ranked Blue Devils rout Duquesne 95-72.

"I feel like (that performance) was a little long overdue," Thomas said. "On any given night, any of our guys can actually have a game like that. We have such a balanced team, such a deep team, that something like that can happen on any given night, and it says a lot about our team that we can do that."

Thomas might be the first big man off Duke's bench, but Krzyzewski described him as "another starter for our team." He had 12 of his points in the decisive first half and made all eight of his shots in helping the Blue Devils (7-0) shoot a season-high 54.7 percent.

Kyle Singler had 17 points, Nolan Smith added 11, and the only thing Thomas missed all day was a first-half free throw in surpassing his previous high of 15 set against Air Force in 2006. Duke — which hadn't shot better than 48.5 percent in any game so far — scored 31 points off 19 Duquesne turnovers.

"We like to run the fast break on a made basket. Unfortunately, there were a lot of makes on Duke's end today, so we got a lot of practice with it," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart quipped.

The Blue Devils never trailed, led by 10 midway through the first half, pushed it to 20 by the break and 30 shortly after halftime in cruising to their 64th straight non-conference win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has won its five home games by an average of 24 points.

"We got that huge lead (and) it was a result of Duke scoring, not a certain player scoring," Krzyzewski said. "That's when it's always the best, when you don't even know who scored. You just know that we scored."

The Blue Devils will have to wait a few weeks before they can go for No. 65. After a road trip through Big Ten country to face No. 10 Purdue and Michigan, they're off for final exams before hosting UNC Asheville on Dec. 17.

"You've got to be able to win somewhere away from Cameron," Smith said.

Damian Saunders finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Aaron Jackson — the Dukes' lone senior — had 14 points. Duquesne (4-1) was denied its first win over a ranked team since 1997.

The young Dukes entered with three freshmen and three sophomores in the eight-man rotation, and a perfect record that was perhaps deceptive — the previous four opponents were a combined 3-14. Duke wasted little time delivering a sobering reminder of just how far Duquesne still has to go.

"Towards the beginning, I think the pressure really got to them of playing Duke," Saunders said of his young teammates.

The Blue Devils effectively ended this one by halftime, taking control with a 23-6 run that pushed their lead into double figures to stay. They limited Duquesne to two field goals in roughly 9 minutes, and during one stretch came away with points on 10 of 11 trips downcourt — a big reason why Duke shot 60 percent in the first half.

Saunders had 10 of his points in the half, but was the only Duquesne player to score in the opening 10 minutes. The Dukes, who entered shooting nearly 38 percent from 3-point range, were just 3-for-21 from beyond the arc.

"I don't think there was a situation where we didn't give effort," Everhart said. "For the first time this year, we didn't shoot the ball well from 3, and we missed some pretty good looks, especially early in the game."

Duke runs by the Grizzlies 78-58

DURHAM, N.C. – Nobody could have blamed Duke for being tired — not after playing four games in eight days, and not with one of its leaders injured.

Enter Nolan Smith, who gave the weary Blue Devils a lift by showing why he's their starting point guard these days.

Smith scored 12 of his 14 points during the decisive first-half run that led No. 10 Duke to its third win in four days, 78-58 over Montana on Sunday.

Gerald Henderson also had 14 points, Kyle Singler finished with 13 and Jon Scheyer scored 12 for the short-handed Blue Devils (6-0), who played without co-captain Greg Paulus — a starter-turned-backup this season who was held out with a bruised right forearm.

But with Smith making his sixth straight start at the point, Duke went back to its familiar formula of hot shooting and high-pressure defense to fuel the game-breaking 30-9 first-half run that carried the team to its NCAA-best 63rd straight non-conference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I just want him to keep developing," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's got a tough position, and it wears on you mentally, not just physically, when you're responsible for running the team. ... Last year, he didn't have to do this as the primary guy, and all of a sudden, this is the fourth game in a week.

"He's going to have different people there, and Greg's not going to either play for him or with him. ... How do you get better mental toughness? You do it by not just practice, but by going through these situations."

Jordan Hasquet scored 15 points to lead the Grizzlies (2-2), who averaged 78.5 points in winning their last two before Duke pressured them into a season-high 20 turnovers and turned them into 31 points.

"We let their intensity speed us up," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said. "That was a big key going into the game, not to settle for mediocre (looks) because they trick you, they trick you into thinking you've got something, and you put it on the floor and they fly at you. We settled for mediocre and we also dribbled into some trouble, and they had layups and dunks and that certainly took some of our spirit from us."

Leading scorer Ryan Staudacher was scoreless — he entered averaging 16.3 points — on 0-for-3 shooting with all of his attempts from 3-point range. He couldn't even shake free enough to take his second shot until midway through the second half against an energetic Duke defense that could have been excused for feeling fatigued.

The Blue Devils had only one day to recover after beating Southern Illinois and Michigan on consecutive nights in New York to win the 2K Sports Classic, and that two-day swing followed their tougher-than-expected 82-79 victory over Rhode Island last Sunday.

Back home for the first time since then, they put this one away midway through the first half with the kind of burst they've come to expect on their home floor.

"We needed a wake-up call," Smith said. "It's been a long week for us, getting back from New York and a quick turnaround with this (afternoon) game. Everybody needed a little wake-up call. We had to come to play, because nobody's going to come into Cameron and lay down for us. ... As a team, we started talking more. Once again, defensively (the team) picked it up and started going again."

Duke made 13 of 15 shots during its dominant 8-minute stretch, coming away with points on 14 of 17 trips downcourt. At the other end of the floor, the Blue Devils held Montana to two field goals in that span while forcing seven turnovers.

Smith hit five straight shots during the burst, capping his hot streak with a fallaway 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 36-20 with 5½ minutes before halftime.

"I just got good looks and made the best of them," Smith said.

Henderson closed the run a minute later with two free throws to put Duke up 39-22. The Grizzlies didn't get closer than 13 in the second half in losing their fourth straight against a ranked team.

"We knew that they were a bit fatigued coming off of this road trip," Tinkle said. "But we thought if we could get it to single digits, then you never know."

Duke wins 2K classic with total team effort 71-56 over Michigan

NEW YORK – Kyle Singler showed up from the start this time, scoring 15 points and leading No. 10 Duke to a 71-56 victory over surprising Michigan on Friday night in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic.

Nolan Smith added 16 points and Gerald Henderson had 12 for the Blue Devils, who won their four games in the 2K Sports Classic by an average of 28.5 points. Duke has won seven straight in-season tournament games after sweeping through the Maui Invitational last season.

Manny Harris scored 25 points to lead Michigan (3-1), which will get another crack at the Blue Devils (5-0) when they visit Ann Arbor on Dec. 6. DeShawn Sims added 10 points off the bench.

Singler struggled early in the Blue Devils' semifinal win over Southern Illinois, scoring all 13 of his points in the second half.

The 6-foot-8 sophomore was on target early in this one, going 3-for-3 from the field in the first half and hitting key shots whenever Michigan threatened to tighten things up. He also had eight rebounds in earning the tournament MVP award.

The game figured to hinge on Michigan's ability to slow down Duke's high-flying offense, and early on coach John Beilein's patented 1-3-1 zone defense seemed to confuse the Blue Devils.

Then Smith and freshman Elliot Williams combined for eight straight points, giving Duke a 25-15 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half, forcing the Wolverines to eventually switch to a man-to-man defense that kept the game close for a while.

The Blue Devils pushed the advantage to 47-33 on a basket by Lance Thomas a few minutes into the second half. Harris tried vainly to keep the Wolverines in it, hitting a three-pointer and dunking on a break, but Jon Scheyer made three free throws moments later and Singler hit a pull-up three from the wing to push the lead back to 15.

Michigan never managed to get much closer than that, the veteran Blue Devils using deft passing and gritty inside play to keep the young Wolverines at bay.

Still, Beilein has plenty of reasons to be proud of his team. After struggling to a 10-22 finish in his first season, the Wolverines toppled No. 4 UCLA in the tournament semifinals and gave the Blue Devils a tussle before finally succumbing.

The performance Friday night was all the more impressive considering the setting.

Duke has won 14 straight in November and improved to 108-16 in the season's first month, including 94-10 under Mike Krzyzewski. His teams are 17-6 at Madison Square Garden, where another heavily pro-Duke crowd showed up in droves to see the title game of the tournament benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Duke routs Southern Illinois 83-58 behind big second half from Henderson and Singler

NEW YORK — Gerald Henderson scored all 20 of his points in the second half, helping No. 10 Duke find some offensive rhythm in an 83-58 victory over Southern Illinois on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic.

Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler each added 13 points for the Blue Devils (4-0), who advanced to play either No. 4 UCLA or Michigan on Friday night for the championship of the tournament benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

Carlton Fay had 17 points to lead Southern Illinois (2-1), which spent most of the game in foul trouble. Big man Nick Evans fouled out with 7:59 left and Tony Boyle was gone with just under 7 minutes to go.

The Salukis made things much more difficult than the final score might indicate. They pulled to 55-47 with about 9½ minutes left before Singler hit a three-pointer. A couple of minutes later, Duke's stellar sophomore was fouled on a breakaway dunk and crashed to the floor in a heap.

A referee came from the other end of the court to call an intentional foul on Boyle. After Singler made a pair of free throws, Henderson nailed a three from the wing to give Duke a 66-49 lead.

Henderson scored seven more in a span of just a couple of minutes, including a thunderous dunk that roused a late-arriving crowd and pushed the game out of reach.

Brian Zoubek added 10 points for the Blue Devils. Kevin Dillard had 10 for Southern Illinois.

The Salukis did their best to slow down the high-scoring Blue Devils, often pushing and grabbing them as they cut through the lane.

Somebody must have paid attention. The Blue Devils spent the final nine minutes of the half parading to the free-throw line, where they had just as many tries (19) as field-goal attempts.

Slow starts have become something of a trend for Duke, which fell behind by 12 early and trailed most of the way before squeaking by Rhode Island last Sunday. The Blue Devils went nearly seven minutes without a field goal in the first half of this one, finally going on a 13-3 run that helped them build a 29-23 lead at the break.

Nobody would have faulted Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery if the cacophony of airballs, errant passes and overzealous fouls that made the first half such a struggle to watch also made them a bit nostalgic for 1993.

Well, Krzyzewski at least.

That was the last meeting between these two teams, when Duke routed Southern Illinois 105-70 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. At the time, Lowery was a young point guard for the Salukis, who couldn't keep up with Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley and the Blue Devils fresh off a national title.

Duke vs Southern Illinois

                      The Duke Blue Devils 3-0 in the young season will take on 2-0 Southern Illinois on Thursday night at 7PM in Madison Square Garden in the 2K Coaches for Cancer Tournament.

                      The Salukis who are coming off an 18-15 season in which they finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference and were relegated to the N.I.T. after five consecutive NCAA appearances.They are led by 1995 alum Chris Lowery who is in his 5th season. The Salukis defeated California Pennslyvania 66-52 and Massachussetts 80-73 to advance to New York.

                    Southern Illinois returns one fulltime starter in 6-2 senior guard Bryan Mullins who in the two games is averaging 11.5 points and 10.5 assists. He will be aided in the backcourt by 6-0 Freshman Kevin Dillard who is averaging 11.5 points and 7.5 assists. The frontcourt is ably manned by 6-8 sophomore Carlton Fay who is averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. 6-8 senior Tony Boyle sho will start at one forward slot is averaging 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. The fifth starter is 6-3 senior Wesley Clemmins who chips in with 9.5 points.

                      Off the bench is 6-11 Nick Evans a freshman who averages 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds and 6-8 freshman Anthony Booker adds 3.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.

                 The Salukis in their first two games are averageing 73.0 points and giving up 62.5. They are shooting 44.4% from the field and 37.5% from behind the arc. They are giving up 43.2%. They are avearaging a remarkable 21.5 assists, while committing 14.5 turnovers. They are known as a great defensive team and are forcing 21 turnovers a game. They are out rebounding their opponents by 2 a game despite losing their two best big men from last year to graduation.

 Notes: The winner of this game will play the winner of the UCLA-Michigan game which follows this game. That game will be played at 7 pm on Friday night. Duke is 2-1 all time against Southern Illinois.

Singler, Scheyer lead Duke past Rhode Island 82-79

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke watched as Jimmy Baron turned the second half into his personal shootaround. Finally, the Blue Devils put their best player in his face — just in time to save their long home-court winning streak.

Kyle Singler hit two free throws with 19.4 seconds left, then stopped Rhode Island's top scorer down the stretch to lead No. 8 Duke past the Rams 82-79 on Sunday.

Jon Scheyer scored 23 points and was 13-of-13 from the free-throw line, and Singler finished with 21 points for the Blue Devils (3-0). They fell behind by 12 early and trailed for most of the way before scoring on their final seven possessions to rally for their NCAA-best 62nd straight non-conference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"It was one of those February games in November," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "The last 5 minutes, I thought we did everything right. ... And they didn't do anything wrong. They just missed a couple of shots."

Singler twice hit a pair of foul shots in the final minute to put the Blue Devils up by one. He swished two with 57 seconds left to give Duke its first lead since early in the second half, and he knocked down two more to make it 80-79 before Rhode Island called timeout with 10.6 seconds left.

"We wanted to get it to Jimmy," coach Jim Baron said.

The Rams worked the ball to Baron, and with Singler guarding him tightly, his fallaway jumper glanced off the rim, clipped a Rhode Island player and went out of bounds with 4.9 seconds on the clock.

"You know he's going to shoot the ball, but you don't know if he's going to pump-fake you or bump into you for a shot, so he's a very tough person to guard," Singler said. "I just wanted to stay on my feet, know that he's probably going to pull up for 3. If he's not, just try to get a hand in his face, and I was able to get as close as possible to him."

Scheyer made two free throws with 3.7 seconds left, and Baron's half-court heave bounced off the glass as time expired to seal it.

Baron scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half and matched a career high with eight 3-pointers for Rhode Island (1-1).

"(Duke) put every guy possible on him," the Rhode Island coach said of his son. "They were switching, changing defenses on him. He just stepped up and kept us ahead."

Delroy James added a career-high 21 points and Keith Cothran added 10 points.

Nolan Smith and Lance Thomas finished with 10 points apiece for Duke, which won its first two games by an average of 37 points. Maybe the Blue Devils should have expected a tighter contest from the Rams — both previous meetings between the schools came in the NCAA tournament and each was decided by one point.

The Rams made 7-of-9 3-pointers in the second half and finished shooting nearly 55 percent, but were denied their first victory against a ranked team since 1998 and their first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference team since 1987.

Still, for more than 39 minutes, Rhode Island was a serious threat to become the first non-ACC team to win at Cameron since St. John's did it in February 2000. The Blue Devils have won 192 of their past 195 non-conference home games.

"A lot of people who come into Cameron Indoor already lose before they even play basketball," James said.

Not these Rams, who led for nearly the entire way — until the final minute, of course — and accomplished the rare feat of dominating the Blue Devils on their home court. They took control early during a first half in which they made 13 of their first 21 shots while forcing Duke into exactly the kind of slump usually reserved for its guests at Cameron.

Poor shot selection led to Duke's 4-for-19 start from the field, and Krzyzewski's team went nearly 10 minutes between field goals.

Rhode Island took its largest lead with 3½ minutes before the break when Stevie Mejia's three-point play made it 34-22. The Blue Devils finished strong, closing the half with 11 straight points, and Scheyer's driving layup with 1.5 seconds left made it 34-33 at halftime.

"I don't think our guys expected the level of play," Krzyzewski said. "Don't get me wrong. We respected Rhode Island. But they played at a really high level tonight. I thought it knocked us back."

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Duke routs Ga. Southern 97-54

DURHAM, N.C. (AP)—Finally, a blowout that Kyle Singler and No. 8 Duke could enjoy.

Singler scored 19 points for the second straight game and the Blue Devils rolled into the 2K Sports Classic semifinals by routing Georgia Southern 97-54 on Tuesday night.

Nolan Smith added 13 points, and Gerald Henderson and Greg Paulus each finished with 11 for the Blue Devils (2-0), who weren’t satisfied in the slightest with their 31-point rout of Presbyterian 24 hours earlier.

“We won the game, it was kind of more negative stuff,” Henderson said. “We felt like we could be having more fun out there.”

So, after getting back to their trademark brand of basketball, they did.

The Blue Devils cranked up the pressure on their hostile home floor, turning 17 Eagles turnovers into 24 points and sparking two overwhelming runs to claim their 61st straight nonconference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“That’s going to be a staple of ours, where our defense kind of fuels our offense,” Singler said.

Now they will play host to Rhode Island this weekend before heading to Madison Square Garden—where last season’s team suffered its first loss—to meet the Massachusetts-Southern Illinois winner.

Willie Powers scored 17 points and Julian Allen had 10 to lead Georgia Southern (1-1). The Eagles went at least 5 minutes between field goals twice in the first half, and they shot just 28 percent while allowing Duke to shoot 48.5 percent.

“Our team is obviously not ready to play a game of this caliber,” Georgia Southern coach Jeff Price said. “We just weren’t ready for a game of this magnitude against a really, really good team.”

The Blue Devils opened with a 16-4 run and took command late in the first half by running off 15 straight points over a 2-minute stretch. That pushed their lead past 20 points for good, and it grew to 30 just 12 seconds into the second half on Smith’s 3-pointer.

“Our guys just hustled, and they made some great hustle plays, and all of a sudden, it was like a pinball machine—boom, boom, boom,” Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Double bonuses. The lights were going on, and, ‘Holy mackerel, we’re up by a lot of points.”’

They won this one mostly without their three blue-chip freshmen. Miles Plumlee, Elliot Williams and Olek Czyz spent the entire first half on the bench after they were a combined 3-for-9 with five turnovers against Presbyterian.

Krzyzewski said he leaned on his veterans for much of the way because he wanted them “to show the leadership of how we wanted to play for 40 minutes.”

Then again, nobody at Duke was terribly content with that win, because the Blue Devils had 21 turnovers in that one and were too sloppy on both ends of the court for Coach K’s liking. They were sharper this time, giving it away only 11 times.

“We’re going to commit some turnovers, because we play fast and there are a lot of possessions,” Krzyzewski said. “Stats are so superficial that if you have 11 turnovers in this game, it’s like having five in a slow game. I’m pretty good about where we’re at as far as handling the ball.”

Singler keyed the game-opening spurt with seven quick points, and David McClure closed it at the 13 1/2 -minute mark by grabbing the rebound of Paulus’ missed 3 and slamming it home. Then, Jon Scheyer and Smith hit 3s during the 15-0 run, and Singler capped it with a fast-break dunk with 42 seconds left to put Duke up 50-22.

“You just want to try to hang in there,” Price said. “It just got away from us. It’s a hard place to play, a tough atmosphere for a young team. … That was obviously the part of the game that totally broke it open.”

Still, the Blue Devils weren’t perfect, and most of their lapses took place at the free-throw line, where they were 25-for-49—and that doesn’t count the three misses by Henderson that were wiped out by Georgia Southern lane violations.

“I hope I’m not starting to get a hitch like Shaq,” said Henderson, a career 66 percent free-throw shooter

Duke over Presbyterian 80-49

DURHAM, N.C. (AP)—Only at Duke could there be so much dissatisfaction with a 30-point victory.

The eighth-ranked Blue Devils opened a season of high expectations Monday night with an 80-49 rout of Presbyterian in the 2K Sports Classic, but there weren’t many people from Duke who were content with it.

Not Kyle Singler, who scored 12 of his 19 points during the decisive first half but uncharacteristically missed seven shots. Not Nolan Smith, who scored 15 points but admitted the Blue Devils “were just off.”

And certainly not Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, who improved to 27-2 in home openers at the school despite his team’s 21 turnovers. During last season’s 28-6 finish, only twice did they turn it over more often.

“It’s almost like we’re trying a little bit too hard on the offensive end at times,” Krzyzewski said.

Still, the Blue Devils (1-0) did enough to win in the first half by overwhelming the cold-shooting Blue Hose with two dominating spurts, then cruised to their 60th straight nonconference win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Lance Thomas and Jon Scheyer added 12 points apiece for Duke. The Blue Devils will face Georgia Southern—which beat Houston 65-63—on Tuesday night with a semifinal berth at Madison Square Garden on the line.

“Tonight, (it) just wasn’t there. That’s on us,” Singler said. “Our standards weren’t met tonight, and we’ve just got to come back tomorrow with a different attitude, a different mind-set. I know we will.”

After rolling to two exhibition victories against Division II schools by an average of 58.5 points, the Blue Devils were met with only slightly more resistance from a Presbyterian program entering its second season in Division I.

Duke—which hasn’t lost the first game at its notoriously noisy arena since 1982, and won its ninth straight season opener overall—denied the Blue Hose (0-1) their first road victory in 24 tries at this level.

“Some people thought it was crazy for even wanting to play Duke in your opening” game, Presbyterian coach Gregg Nibert said. “But it’s a dream for our program … They’re awesome. (Krzyzewski is) awesome. Their players are awesome.”

Still, Coach K saw plenty of room for improvement, even as Duke controlled both ends of the court. The Blue Devils held the Blue Hose to 1-of-11 shooting during one early stretch before reeling off 19 straight points—coming away with points on seven straight trips downcourt—to take a 20-point lead. At one point late in the half, the Blue Hose had more than twice as many turnovers (11) as field goals (five), and they finished with 28 giveaways and shot 30 percent.

“I would say (Krzyzewski) was happy with our defense,” Singler said. “But that might be it.”

The Blue Devils, who returned nine of the top 11 scorers from an offense that ranked fourth nationally last season by averaging 83.2 points, had nine players log at least 13 minutes while Krzyzewski searched for a combination that clicked and met his perennially high standard of performance.

“We can play better offensively, and that’s the only way that you get to be really good,” Krzyzewski said. “We want to be really good.”

Duke took the lead for good during the defense-dominated 13-2 run during which the Blue Devils allowed one basket during a 7 1/2 -minute stretch, a spurt capped by Greg Paulus’ 3-pointer from the left wing that made it 13-4 with 12 1/2 minutes before halftime.

Then, they gave themselves plenty of breathing room when Smith and Scheyer keyed the 19-0 run, a burst capped by Gerald Henderson’s free throw with 3:51 left that made it 36-11. By that point, Scheyer had 12 points by himself, prompting those clever Cameron Crazies to chant, “Scheyer’s winning.”

“When they drive the middle, it’s like opening the Red Sea,” Nibert said. “They are awesome either dunking or kicking out. We really wanted to force the ball (to the) baseline, and at times we did.”

Al’Lonzo Coleman finished with 13 points to lead Presbyterian, and his layup 17 seconds in gave the Blue Hose their only lead. Freshman Bo King also had 13 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Presbyterian will play Houston on Tuesday in a consolation game.

Duke opens up against Presbyterian

             Duke opens their 2008-09 season tomorrow night against Presbyterian University from Clinton,S.C. The Blue Hose are coming off their maiden season in Division one, a year in which they finished 5-25 and played all but 5 games on the road. They are led by Coach Greg Nibert who is in his 20th year at Presbyterian and he has 332 wins and is the all time win leader at Presbyterian. They are beginning their first year in the Big South Conference.

           The Blue hose return four starters from last years team. They are led by their 6-7 sophomore center Al'Lonzo Coleman who averaged 11.2 points and 5.0 rebounds last year. 6-3 senior guard Bryan Bostic follows at 10.0 points and 4 rebounds. 6-3 sophomore guard Josh Johnson averaged 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds and the last returning starter is 6-4 forward Travis Sligh who averaged 5.3 points. This team has a total of 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. They have a 7 footer in freshman Steven Gatkouth and a pair of 6-9 freshmen in Kyle Jazwiecki and Jake Troyli.

          The Blue hose struggled in their first year of Division one as they averaged only 59.6 points a game while giving up 66.2. They only shot 42.3% from the field and gave up 49.3%. They were out rebounded by four a game. They committed 15 turnovers a game while only forcing 11.6.

Notes:This is Duke's first ever meeting with Presbyterian. Duke has won their last 8 openers by an average of 33.0 points per game. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:02 pm and will be televised on ESPNU. Presbyterian lost their exhibition game 70-60 to Augusta St. They are ranked 286 in the Sagarin rankings.