For the first time in eight years, Duke won't have to leave campus to play in the NCAA tournament.
The third-seeded Blue Devils, the host of one of 16 tournament subregionals, take on Radford Friday at 5 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium.
The return home marks only the second time in more than a month that the Blue Devils will play in Koskinen, and they sorely needed their friendly confines. Playing five of its last six regular season games on the road, Duke (12-5-3) saw a rough end to its season, finishing 2-4 down the stretch. The most recent bump in that road included a first-round loss to Virginia in the ACC tournament.
"I think we got tired of being on the road," senior forward Kelly Hathorn said. "Especially in the ACC, being on the road is really tough. We've been working the entire season to get a home bid in the NCAA tournament, and I just think watching that selection show Monday night, seeing our names pop up as a seeded team, playing here Friday night-I think that was really all that we needed to get back into it and be ready to play Friday night."
Duke's players and coaches are excited about hosting the tournament pod and playing Friday's game under the lights of Koskinen, and rightfully so. The Blue Devils are 8-1-1 at home, with the only loss coming to top-seeded North Carolina Oct. 2.
"It's huge," head coach Robbie Church said. "It's huge for all of us.... It's the first time since we've been here the last eight seasons that we've had that opportunity to host, and I think it's very important this year, because the way our schedule fell at the end of the season. We were on the road a lot, so I think the excitement of everyone being at home-it's been a huge energy boost in practice all week."
Duke likely needed that boost after a subpar end to the year. After the Blue Devils started the season 11-2-1, they hit a slippery patch and have won just one game since Oct. 12.
But the Blue Devils are not disillusioned, because they know they can't be-they have a tough opponent ahead of them. Losing only once in 21 games, the Highlanders (14-1-6) have proven they know how to win in a relatively lackluster conference.
The Highlanders beat top-seeded Coastal Carolina in the Big South tournament final after losing to Coastal Carolina 1-0 earlier in the season. Duke opened its campaign with a 9-0 romp over Coastal Carolina Aug. 24.
Radford's place outside of the ACC, however, has not affected Duke's typical preparation.
"We're going to have to prepare ourselves, and we're going to have to play for 90 minutes against them," Church said. "But I think the main thing is just what we do.... We're excited. Everybody's excited. And I think we're hungry. I think you're going to see a very aggressive and hungry team that shows up on Friday afternoon."
"This really is the most exciting time of the year," Hathorn said. "This is what you play for."
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