In its home opener, the third-ranked men's basketball team (1-0) will take on Davidson (0-0) tonight at 6:30 p.m in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Shooting guard Mark Donnelly headlines a Wildcat squad that has four starters returning from last season and was picked No. 1 in the Southern Conference in a preseason coaches' poll. Donnelly averaged 13 points per game and earned first-team all-conference honors in the 1996-97 season.
Joining Donnelly on the perimeter is point guard Ali Ton. The junior ballhandler led the conference and was ranked ninth in the nation in assists last year, with 6.8 per game.
Sophomore forward Landry Kosmalski returns to Davidson's frontcourt. The 1997 SC Freshman of the Year, Kosmalski led the Wildcats in points and rebounds.
Junior center Chadd Holmes and junior forward David Burns round out the Wildcats' starting lineup. Looming large in the paint at 6-foot-9, Holmes recorded 10.2 points per game last year. Burns came on strong off the bench late last season, averaging 11.4 points in the Wildcats' last 11 games.
In last year's meeting, Duke crushed Davidson, 85-58.
The Blue Devils could be without their backup point guard for the second straight game. Freshman Will Avery was apparently suspended from the team for academic reasons in Duke's season opener at Army on Sunday. Although Avery practiced this week, his status is uncertain for tonight's game.
Despite this setback, the Blue Devils are eager to play their first regular-season game in front of their home crowd at Cameron.
"I actually can't wait," freshman Elton Brand said. "The anticipation's building up for the first actual home game. The first game, I just played all right, but now I have a chance to redeem myself and really play hard and really play well."
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