Pre-game preview: Duke
Tonight’s game pits the defending national champion against a serious national championship contender.
UConn is a decisive underdog.
No. 2 Duke is undefeated. The Blue Devils (9-0) are attempting to become the first team in program history to win their first 10 games by double digit margins. Freshman Jahlil Okafor is one of the best players in the country.
So the outcome is predictable, right?
Well, few people outside the UConn basketball family gave the Huskies any chance in the 1999 national championship game. They went out and shocked the world.
Tonight’s circumstances are different. Still, the Huskies would make some major headlines if they could pull off an upset. Game time is 8 p.m. at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
Here’s a pre-game preview:
Probable starters:
UConn, 6-0 sr. guard Ryan Boatright (18.9 pts, 5.6 rebs, 4.1 assists), 6-4 r-s soph. guard Rodney Purvis (7.2 pts), 6-7 fr. forward Daniel Hamilton (12.1 pts, 6.3 rebs), 6-9 so. forward Kentan Facey (6.0 pts, 6.3 rebs), 7-0 so. center Amida Brimah (13.7 pts, 4.9 rebs, 2.9 blocks)
Duke, 6-1 fr. guard Tyus Jones (9.8 pts, 5.6 assists), 6-2 sr. guard Quinn Cook (14.3 pts), 6-6 fr. forward Justise Winslow (12 pts, 4.4 rebs), 6-9 jr. forward Amile Jefferson (9.3 pts, 7.9 rebs), 6-11 fr. center Jahlil Okafor (18 pts, 9 rebs)
Noteworthy:
-- This 10th meeting between two teams, with Duke leading the series 5-4 and winning the last meeting 68-59 in 2009 in NIT Season Tip-off at Madison Square Garden in New York. UConn has won four of the last five.
-- Coach Kevin Ollie sees similarities between the two programs.
“These programs have been built with toughness and built with hard work and character. I think they kind of mirror themselves in those aspects.”
-- The Blue Devils have played a tough non-conference schedule beating MichiganState (81-71), Stanford (70-59) and Wisconsin (80-70).
-- Duke is ranked second in nation in field goal percentage at 53.7. The Blue Devils own a plus nine rebounding margin. They’ve never trailed by more than four points all season. Their top reserve is junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon (7.8 pts).
-- Key match-up: Brimah vs. Okafor.
Both players are coming off impressive performances.
Okafor set a Duke freshman record with 20 rebounds and also had 25 points in Monday’s win over Elon. Brimah had career highs in points (40) and rebounds (12) in Sunday’s rout of CoppinState.
“He’s really good, young and light on his feet,” Rodney Purvis said of Okafor. “He’s just a really tough cover so we’re going to do our best to guard him. I feel like Amida has got everything it takes to shut him down.”
Brimah needs to stay out of foul trouble to be a factor. Okafor, who has a team-high 21 turnovers, can be mistake-prone at times.
-- Director of basketball administration Kevin Freeman played on the 1999 national championship, so he knows all about the Duke-UConn rivalry.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Freeman said. “It’s going to be fun for the fans and fun for us overall.”
-- Hot: Brimah has converted 18 straight field goals over two games. Cold: The Huskies have committed 31 turnovers in last two games.
“We’ve got to limit our mistakes with the basketball…,” Ollie said. “They run off of live turnovers. They’re incredibly athletic. .. They’re not going to take their foot off the accelerator. They’re going to always push the ball.”
-- The Huskies have played only one ranked team so far this season, losing to No. 7 Texas (55-54). They went 10-4 against top 25 teams last season.
-- Duke 20-1 all-time in the building, including 79-78 win over UConn in 1990 NCAA Elite Eight. The Huskies are 11-8.
-- The Blue Devils have four McDonald’s All-Americans – Okafor, Winslow, Jones and Grayson Allen -- in their top ranked freshmen class.
-- Injury update: Reserve Omar Calhoun (knee) is a game time decision. He practiced with the Huskies on Wednesday. He has yet to play a game this season.
-- UConn and Duke are ranked first and second, respectively, in NCAA tournament winning percentage since 1985. The Huskies are 54-15 and Blue Devils 80-25.
-- For updates throughout the game, follow me on Twitter @GavinKeefe
Check back later for a post-game breakdown.
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