Elon-Duke Preview After a lengthy break, Duke will ease back into action before another major test this week The second-ranked Blue Devils should have little trouble remaining unbeaten and extending two impressive home streaks when they meet Elon on Monday night. Duke (8-0) will play for the first time since winning 80-70 at then-No. 2 Wisconsin on Dec. 3. The Blue Devils will be expecting to extend the nations longest home win streak to 38 and push their run at home over non-conference foes to 114. Duke boasts the second-best field-goal percentage in the country at 53.9, though coach Mike Krzyzewski has been impressed with the Blue Devils limiting opponents to 40.0 percent. Were much better defensively, he said. Were a very good defensive team right now but thats what theyve practiced, theyre really worked hard at it. The Blue Devils are looking to open with nine straight wins by 10 or more points for the first time since 2002-03. They will use this contest as preparation for Thursdays matchup with defending national champion Connecticut. Duke has three freshmen averaging double figures in points, led by Jahlil Okafor at 17.1. Okafor is second in the ACC with a 64.6 shooting percentage while Justise Winslow averages 12.0 points and Tyus Jones is at 10.5, as Krzyzewski has successfully melded together the newcomers. Were really together, we have really good heart, we can play defense well, we take care of the ball well and we share it, were unselfish, Krzyzewski said. Were a good basketball team and theyre a great group of guys. The coach was quick to point out that senior guard Quinn Cook, averaging a career-best 15.3 points, has been a big key in creating a smooth adjustment for the freshmen. I will say Quinn being out there helps them, Krzyzewski said. Quinn has been such a good leader. Duke has taken the three matchups against Elon (5-4) with Krzyzewski as coach by an average of 38.7 points, shooting higher on 3-pointers (52.5 percent) than overall (46.9). The Blue Devils cruised to an 86-48 rout Dec. 31. The Phoenix have dropped all 20 matchups with ranked teams since becoming a Division I program. They are 1-25 against current ACC teams in Division I play. Elon had a three-game win streak snapped with Tuesdays 78-73 loss at Missouri. The Phoenix nearly rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit. Im really happy with the way our team responded after halftime, coach Matt Matheny told the schools official website. It wasnt like we were gangbusters, but we played on our toes in the second half. We had some gutsy individual performances, and I thought we really hung together as a team and put ourselves in a position to be successful, but we came up short. Luke Eddy came off the bench for a career-high 27 points. The guard has averaged 15.4 points and 60.7 percent shooting in seven games as a reserve after starting the first two games. Elon leads Colonial Athletic teams by limiting opponents to 27.6 percent on 3-pointers.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 07:22:22 +0000
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