The Duke Blue Devils are having a good week.
The team is coming off a championship game win at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas on Saturday and the Blue Devils moved up to No. 2 in the latest Associated Press poll.
Duke will look to continue their excellent run to start the season as they host the No. 4-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The Blue Devils are 6-0 this season and have looked like the best team in the nation with wins over then No. 3 Kentucky 75-68 on Nov. 13 and then-No. 2 Louisville 76-71 in the title game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The team also defeated Minnesota and Virginia Commonwealth in the tournament.
"This has been a good team thus far," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said this week, according to the Associated Press. "In fact, a very good team. We've ended up playing the toughest schedule in the country. The competition has helped us improve but also learn more about one another."
Guard Quinn Cook was excellent against Louisville on Saturday, scoring 15 points and dishing six assists in the win. The sophomore was named the MVP of the tournament and is averaging 10.7 points and 5.5 assists this season.
"Respect is not something you can give. It's earned," Krzyzewski said following the game to the AP. "I think since the Georgia State game, Quinn has earned the respect of everyone. What he did in the Kentucky game, everyone talks about a kid getting confidence. It's when a team has confidence in its point guard that you take off. This team has great confidence in Quinn and he has earned it."
Senior Mason Plumlee has provided leadership and toughness for the team, averaging a team-high 19.7 points and 10.0 rebounds. He scored 18 points in the win over Kentucky and posted two-straight double-doubles against Minnesota and VCU last week at the tournament.
Seth Curry is second on the team in scoring, averaging 17 points per game. The senior guard scored a season-high 25 against Minnesota and is shooting over 46 percent from the field this year.
Duke is ranked 41st in scoring this season and are shooting 47 percent as a team from the field. The Blue Devils are 2-0 at home and won't play another true road game until Jan. 12 against in-state rival NC State.
Last season Duke went 27-7 and finished in second place in the ACC behind North Carolina with a 13-3 record. The team reached the semifinals of the ACC tournament and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost in the first round in an upset 75-70 loss to No. 15 Lehigh. Duke won the NCAA championship over Butler in 2010.
Ohio State and Duke played last season, with the Buckeyes blowing out the Blue Devils 85-63.
"Sometimes you just get your butt kicked," Krzyzewski said after the blowout. "We were getting our butt kicked. I've had my butt kicked before. We've kicked some butt. Tonight my butt's sore."
The Buckeyes will hope for a similar result on Wednesday, but they know beating Duke will be no easy feat, especially at home.
"I wouldn't say that game was easy," guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. said. "I just think it was a defining moment for our team. Coach (Matta) talks all the time about five guys being connected. It doesn't matter what team we would have played that game. I don't think anybody could have beaten us we were so connected. No one cared about anything other than winning that basketball game. Everybody had a job to do and everybody was focused on their job only."
Head coach Thad Matta has his team focused for Duke, but he also has an ace up his sleeve for the game.
Former Duke point guard and Krzyzewski-disciple Greg Paulus serves as a video coordinator for the team and wrote out a nice diagram for the Buckeyes of all the tough spots on the court to hit shots.
"He's got it all mapped out," Matta said, trying to hold back a grin, according to the Associated Press. "There's a big chart with pins stuck in it."
The Buckeyes had their first game cancelled against Marquette, but have since won four straight games, including a 91-45 dismantling of the UMKC Kangaroos on Friday. The team has won games against Albany, Rhode Island and Washington by a margin of at least 11 points and hasn't; allowed an opponent to score over 66 yet this year.
Forward Deshaun Thomas has been one of the most impressive players on the Buckeyes this season, leading the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 24 points per game and 7.3 rebounds.
He scored a season-high 31 points against Washington on two Sunday's ago and added 21 against UMKC. Thomas has yet to score less than 19 points in any game and is shooting 54 percent from the field this season.
Junior Aaron Craft has been nearly as good this season, ranking second in scoring and first in assists on the team, averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 assists per game. Craft scored 20 points against Albany, but has failed to crack that total in three game since. In all four games this season he has notched at least four assists, including six against UMKC on Friday.
Last season Ohio State went 31-8 and finished tied for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan and Michigan State with a 13-5 record. The team went lost to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament championship game and was invited to the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed.
The Buckeyes defeated Loyola in the first round, then followed with victories over Gonzaga, Cincinnati and Syracuse before losing to Kansas 64-62 in the national semifinal.
According to the Associated Press, "The Blue Devils have won their last 96 games against non-conference teams at home."
WATCH the Duke Blue Devils vs. Ohio State Buckeyes LIVE STREAM by clicking HERE.
(**Sports World Report does not endorse the live streaming of the games of the sites it has linked to. It has no control over the content of the website and thus does not warrant that it is error or virus free or free of other harmful components.)
