Preview: Duke vs. St. John's

At Durham, noon, ESPN

After its 74-61 win over Maryland on Wednesday, Duke (17-3) steps out of conference to face a Big East foe. If St. John's (9-10) manages to win today, it will be an even bigger surprise than last year's result. St. John's upset Duke 93-78 at Madison Square Garden last season, taking advantage of the Blue Devils' struggles from the perimeter (Duke made only one of its first 21 3-point attempts). This year, St. John's had lost six of seven before Wednesday's win over West Virginia.

The Red Storm have played much of the season without their coach, Steve Lavin, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Lavin had surgery in the fall and briefly returned to the bench in early November. The return turned out to be premature, and Lavin took leave at the end of November. He said after Wednesday's game that he hasn't ruled out coming back this season.

If the Blue Devils struggle with their outside shooting again today, they can always turn to Mason Plumlee. The junior forward had one of his strongest games of the season against the Terrapins, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Duke made only 18.8 percent of its 3-pointers against Maryland, but Plumlee helped ensure the poor shooting didn't doom the Blue Devils.