This week, most Dukies will return to their homes to relax, open presents and gorge themselves on cookies.
But not the men's basketball team. Its winter break is not much of a break at all, as the No. 14 Blue Devils will play eight games during this span, including three Atlantic Coast Conference matchups against Georgia Tech, No. 10 Clemson and No. 2 Wake Forest.
Defending ACC champion Wake Forest will come into Durham led by All-America center Tim Duncan.
"We won't face anybody like Tim Duncan all year," senior Jeff Capel said. "He is no doubt the best player in college basketball. He's a presence that you can't guard against. You can't simulate the type of presence he brings to a basketball team."
Although Duncan alone is a force to contend with, he is just one of a plethora of talented inside players who will make it difficult for Duke to penetrate. Forward Ricky Peral and center Loren Woods, a high school classmate of Duke freshman Chris Carrawell, will also try to stymie the Blue Devils.
Like Wake, Georgia Tech also possesses a powerful frontcourt. Veteran forwards Eddie Elisma, Michael Maddox and All-ACC performer Matt Harpring loom large in the paint for the Yellow Jackets. All three are versatile players who can excel on the perimeter as well.
One area Tech is lacking in, though, is depth in the backcourt. All of the Rambling Wreck's point guards are freshmen. This youth could lead to their downfall, as experienced Duke guards Capel, Trajan Langdon and Steve Wojciechowski will push Tech's rookies to the limit.
While Clemson does not have one player who stands out above the rest, its team play has propelled it to surprising upsets over powerhouses such as No. 3 Kentucky, whom it upended 79-71 on Nov. 15.
Duke will travel to face the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum for the match, and Clemson traditionally excels on its home court. The Blue Devils believe that if they don't want the Tigers to sneak up on them, they can't afford to let their guard down.
In order to defeat Tech, Clemson and Wake, Duke intends to continue using its stifling team defense to slow down its opponents and create points for itself.
"We've been a pretty good defensive team all along so we just have to keep that up," Wojciechowski said. "We have to fight and scrap for every possession."
With a one month break after their ACC opener against Florida State, the Blue Devils are hoping to build off that win and start off the ACC season on the right foot with early season victories.
"Because of how competitive the league is going to be this year, each game is going to be equally important," Capel said. "You don't want to dig yourself a deep hole and get too far behind in the race for first place. We feel that we can contend for first place this year... we feel that we can compete and we can play with anybody. We just have to go out there and play our game and play hard."
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