DURHAM — Duke vs. Davidson
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte
TV/Radio: ESPN2/WKIX-102.9 FM
Anything else? Seth Curry, recently named a Duke captain, returns home
Projected starting lineups:
No. 1 Duke (12-0)
G Quinn Cook, So., 10.8 ppg, 5.9 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 17.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 12.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 19.5 ppg, 11.6 rpg
Davidson (7-5)
G J.P. Kuhlman, Sr., 7.9 ppg, 3.8 apg
G Nik Cochran, Sr., 9.0 ppg, 3.2 apg
G Chris Czerapowicz, Sr., 8.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F Jake Cohen, Fr., 12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg
F De’Mon Brooks, Jr., 15.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Player to watch:
Seth Curry, Duke
A constant storyline this season revolves around the health of Seth Curry. A right shin injury suffered over the summer continues to hamper him, and it’s an issue that he and the Duke staff will manage throughout the season. Curry had the best offensive game of his Duke career against Santa Clara, scoring 31 points in 36 minutes.
“Now you’ve got to give him rest and hope that he will be able to come back,” Mike Krzyzewski said after the Santa Clara win.
Observations:
***While he doesn’t have the prowess of Santa Clara guard Kevin Foster, De’Mon Brooks is the reigning Southern Conference player of the year. The forward averages 15.2 points per game for the Wildcats, and he has posted double figures in all but one game this year. His season high of 24 points came in Davidson’s opener against Emory.
***The Wildcats’ best win to date is against West Virginia (7-5), ranked No. 99 in RPI
***Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has repeatedly said this year that the Blue Devils will not be a deep team. That was certainly the case against Santa Clara, when Mason Plumlee played 39 minutes and Seth Curry and Quinn Cook logged 36 apiece. Only two bench players saw more than one minute of action: Tyler Thornton (19) and Josh Hairston (11).
***Defensive rebounding, which continues to be a work in progress, was improved against Santa Clara. Duke pulled down 26 defensive rebounds, yielding seven offensive rebounds to the Spartans, and out-rebounded Santa Clara 40-28 overall. Ryan Kelly is now averaging over five rebounds a game. After the Elon game, Mason Plumlee said that it was important that someone else—anyone else—average at least five boards per game.
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