It's likely the men's basketball team is rather anxious to return to the court following Saturday's 81-73 loss at the hands of Michigan.
The Blue Devils, though, are going to have to wait a while. Duke (9-1) doesn't play again until Sunday and won't receive another challenge until after the New Year.
Then again, Michigan wasn't supposed to be much of a challenge either. But it's likely the Blue Devils shouldn't have too big a problem with Mercer and Portland State, Duke's two upcoming opponents. The Blue Devils host Mercer at 2 p.m. in Cameron on Sunday and Portland St. on Dec. 30. The Portland St. game, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest.
After this pair of non-conference contests, Duke (1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) jumps full bore into conference play. The Blue Devils travel to Cole Field House on Jan. 3 to tackle current No. 19 Maryland (5-3, 0-1) at 8 p.m.
The Terrapins, led by Laron Profit and Rodney Elliott on the outside and Obinna Ekezie in the middle, have played an up and down season thus far, highlighted by a win over No. 3 Kansas, 86-83, eight days ago and 13-point loss to Clemson on Dec. 4.
On Jan. 7, the Blue Devils host N.C. State (5-2, 1-0) at 9 p.m. in Cameron. The Wolfpack, recovering from the loss of Damon Thornton, earned its first ACC win by knocking off Georgia Tech. Clint Harrison leads N.C. State in scoring at just over 14 points per game.
Following their game with the Wolfpack, the Blue Devils hit the road for two games to close out winter break. Duke battles No. 16 Florida State (7-1) on Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and 25th-ranked Wake Forest on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.
The Seminoles have been the surprise of the ACC thus far. They beat UConn by seven on Nov. 26 and were ahead of Kansas at the half by eight before eventually losing 73-58. Florida State opens its ACC season on Saturday, when it hosts North Carolina.
Wake Forest is still adjusting to the loss of Tim Duncan. Though the Demon Deacons are 6-1, they had to come back to edge Davidson, whom Duke destroyed by 35 points, 61-56.
Then again, Michigan lost to unknown Bradley exactly a week ago. As Duke learned on Saturday, previous games matter little.
All four ACC games will be televised by ESPN and the voice of Bob Harris can be heard locally on 620 AM.
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