ACC teams like to run and win with high-powered offenses. Big Ten teams prefer to grind it out and win with superior post play.
Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie knows all about the differences between the ACC and Big Ten and what happens when teams from the two power conferences clash in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
After all, she coached Michigan State in the Big Ten before coming to Duke and was named the league's coach of the year in 2005. McCallie will revisit some of her coaching roots Thursday when the No. 12 Blue Devils play Iowa at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"The ACC is a much quicker, up-tempo, athletic, first-step style," McCallie said. "The Big Ten is probably a slower, more deliberate game.... I have a great deal of respect for the Big Ten conference."
In the matchup between deliberate and explosive playing styles, the Blue Devils (4-1) have more to prove than they usually do so early in December. Last year, the first under McCallie, Duke struggled to keep up with the ACC's high-scoring offensive powers, and the problem has spanned seasons. While they scored 77 points in their season-opening win over then-No. 14 Oklahoma State, the Blue Devils only posted 51 points in a stunning loss to Hartford and 59 in a squeaker win over Western Kentucky.
Some of the offensive problems against the Hilltoppers, though, stemmed from the lack of a true point guard. Starting point guard Jasmine Thomas missed that game with a left MCL sprain, and she will be out for two weeks. Her backup, Chelsea Hopkins, left the game early in the second half with a lateral meniscus injury. She will undergo surgery Thursday and will be further evaluated afterward.
To fill the void, Duke will likely have to rely on senior guard Abby Waner, a natural shooting guard that stepped into the point guard slot at times last year. McCallie will ask Waner to push the tempo of the game, but also anchor the team's perimeter defense. Waner has accumulated a team-high 14 steals this season, and her presence in the backcourt could help the Blue Devils overpower the Hawkeyes (4-3).
"I am excited about our team playing an aggressive, up-tempo style and playing our game," McCallie said.
Another challenge for Duke will rest in the frontcourt, where Big Ten teams are typically strong. Iowa's backcourt is relatively weak in comparison, but the post players make up for what's lost on the perimeter. Led by seniors Megan Skouby and Wendy Ausdemore at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-2, respectively, Iowa forms a sizeable force in the paint that forwards Chante Black, Joy Cheek and Carrem Gay will have to counter.
The Blue Devils will rely on their matchup zone, anchored by the forwards, for the adroit Duke backcourt to dicate the tempo in ACC fashion.
In her only game against Big Ten competition at Duke, though, McCallie's team put up points and still lost. Last year, the Blue Devils traveled to Penn State and dropped an 86-84 heartbreaker to the Nittany Lions.
The difference between that game and this year's contest, besides Duke's increased experience, could be the venue. The Blue Devils have not lost at home this season, and most of their problems have arisen on the road.
With tonight's game, Duke kicks off a three-game homestand that continues Sunday against another Big Ten foe, Michigan, and ends with a Dec. 16 marquee matchup with No. 4 Stanford. The Blue Devils want to start the stretch in style-and to do so, they might have to combine the best of both conferences with a high-powered offense and a stingy half-court defense.
"We worked hard on the road with various challenges and certainly adversity," McCallie said. "But we love playing in Cameron. We love the incredible fans."
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