Although Duke and N.C. Central have played each other on numerous occasions over the past few years, tonight's game will be the first one that actually counts.
After playing exhibitions against each other in three consecutive seasons, the No. 13 Blue Devils and Eagles will finally square off in a regular-season game at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The matchup is the season opener for both teams, and it is also the earliest Duke has played a regular-season game in its history.
"It's fun to see some other faces out there," guard Gerald Henderson said. "It's been a long preseason, and we've put in a lot of work, a lot of running, a lot of practicing and a lot of repetition."
Under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have won seven straight home openers and have only lost one in Krzyzewski's career-back in his second year at the helm, one season before his first great recruiting class of Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie, David Henderson and Jay Bilas.
Combined with the fact that Duke has beaten N.C. Central 95-58, 102-42 and 92-63 in the past three years, it would be easy to write off this game as an assured victory for the Blue Devils.
Several other traditional powerhouse teams across the country, however, have shown that early-season success is not a guarantee.
No. 8 Michigan State and No. 20 Kentucky can certainly attest to that. The Spartans fell to Division-II Grand Valley State 85-82 in a double-overtime exhibition Nov. 2. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were shocked by Gardner-Webb, an unranked mid-major, 84-68 Wednesday in the second game of the season. Both losses came at home for the ranked squads.
In addition, Ohio State, which fell in the 2007 National Championship game to Florida, lost to Division-II Findlay 70-68 in Columbus Tuesday.
"Coach brought [those games] up with us today--we can't underestimate anyone," Henderson said. "We've got to play Duke basketball whenever we're on the court."
So far, however, Duke has avoided the major upset. The team will continue to use the early season games as a chance to let the players develop and to define their roles out on the court.
"It's up to us as players to create separation between ourselves, and we're doing that in practice every day," Henderson said. "The games really tell stuff like that. You can see what guys are really going to go out there and perform."
The freshmen, especially, will be put in the spotlight. Kyle Singler, Taylor King and Nolan Smith will all be playing their first collegiate games. Singler will try to carry momentum from his strong preseason, when he averaged 25 points and 7.5 rebounds.
For N.C. Central, the game with Duke will be the team's first-ever as a Division-I school. The Eagles, which finished 13-15 in their last year as a Division-II squad, will also face off against ACC teams Wake Forest and N.C. State later this season. The rest of their schedule is not much easier, with games against Rutgers and two-time defending national champion Florida.
Head coach Henry Dickerson's squad will face a tough challenge offensively this year. N.C. Central lost four of its starters from last season's squad and returns no one who averaged at least 10 points per game. In all, the Eagles bring back only four players from the previous season's roster.
N.C. Central, however, will attempt to offset its offensive weaknesses with an aggressive zone defense and traps out near midcourt in an effort to force turnovers. Henderson noted that the Eagles' playing style in many ways reflects Duke's attack, as they like to push the ball out on rebounds and stretch out to force turnovers.
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