Duke Preview

Duke comes into Saturday’s meeting with the Hurricanes having lost just twice in ACC play. However, the 27 point thrashing the Devils suffered at Littlejohn Coliseum the other night will probably force the Canes to play almost flawless basketball to win. But Duke is not as talented nor as athletic as North Carolina, and they can be beat, even at Cameron.

Last year at the Bank United Center, Brian Asbury was able to create several open shots off of the mismatch with the smaller Gerald Henderson, and Dwayne Collins had a huge day inside. The departed Anthony King had several key defensive plays inside, and Miami in general dominated in the post. Duke got hot late in the game, largely due to the now departed Taylor King (King has transferred to Villanova) to make it a game, but the Canes won, giving Coach Haith his biggest win to date.

This year Duke has two outstanding offensive players: Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer. The rest of the team is hit or miss and quite honestly over rated and relies too heavily on outside shooting. The Devils are very poor inside: Tyler Hansbrough’s obliteration of Duke’s post players in the last five minutes of last March’s game despite being triple teamed spoke loudly across the nation. In the next two weeks, Clemson, Belmont and West Virginia would all have their way with the Blue Devils in the paint and once again Coach K’s bunch failed to meet the lofty, inflated expectations the media had developed for them.

Greg Paulus one of the most hated players in America has faded as a force in this his senior season replaced in large part by Nolan Smith at point guard. Kyle Singler can shoot from outside but will not post anybody up. Singler like Jon Scheyer is also suspect defensively. Duke can defend in transition but if the Canes can slow the game down to a half court trickle, the Devils cannot man up for thirty five seconds.

The officials will also play a role: Duke, as has become customary has once again been the beneficiary of favorable refereeing this season. For example in a game last month against a much taller and more physical Florida State team, Duke shot TWENTY SEVEN more free throws. Duke also got a number of favorable calls late against Wake Forest keeping them in a game that they eventually lost.

The Canes have a chance Saturday. But they must play smart and limit the turnovers in the transition which Lance Hurdle has become known for. Jack McClinton also has to recognize that he does not have to carry the Hurricanes alone. Dwayne Collins must get on track early and not fall into foul trouble. With all of that, Miami must still get lucky, like a cold shooting night from Duke. It’s possible, and a win would be a huge boost to the Canes NCAA hopes.