During a final team meeting Friday night before the Duke men's basketball team kicked off its historic 100th season Saturday against Tennessee-Martin, the players watched as Missouri, coached by former Blue Devil Quin Snyder, lost to Davidson, a team the Blue Devils have faced annually since 1909.
As the No. 11 Blue Devils (1-0) prepare to face the Wildcats (1-0) tonight at 7 p.m. in the Charlotte Coliseum, they will not take the game lightly, especially given the Davidson's 84-81 win over Missouri.
"They really are a good team, and we know we have to go out there and play hard, because we are going to be sorry if we don't," Shelden Williams said.
The Wildcats have a strong outside game, led by junior guard Matt McKillop, who went 5-for-8 in three-point range against Missouri. As a team, Davidson was 10-for-18 from beyond the arc and shot 60 percent on the night.
Against Tennessee-Martin, Duke only shot 40 percent from the field, including a 31.7-percent shooting average through the first half.
In the season-opening win, J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing led the team with 20 points each. Although most of Duke's offensive production will come from Ewing, Redick, Williams and Shavlik Randolph, the fifth spot on Duke's starting lineup is still up in the air going into tonight's contest.
Freshman David McClure started against Tennessee-Martin Saturday night, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski said he is not focused on identifying a certain player to always fill this role.
"Whoever plays that fifth position, that's not what everyone on the bench should be competing for. They should be developing their roles so that I can put any of them in that fifth spot without going through psychological and emotional swings. If I wanted to start Sean [Dockery] against Davidson, it's not a big thing to Sean, nor is it a big thing to Dave."
Regardless of who starts, Krzyzewski will rely on his entire team against the Wildcats, including freshmen McClure and DeMarcus Nelson, who made their collegiate debuts against Tennessee-Martin. McClure had three assists and four steals while Nelson, nursing a thumb injury, came off the bench for 18 minutes and 10 points and nine rebounds.
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