Defending D-II champs come for exhibition

Duke will continue its tradition of playing top-tier Division II programs in preseason exhibition matchups.

Bellarmine, the defending Division-II national champions, will provide the first test for a young Blue Devil squad when it enters Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday at 7 p.m. The Knights return four of their top five scorers in Jeremy Kendle, Chris Dowe, Braydon Hobbs and Luke Sprague.

Hobbs and Kendle were tabbed as first team All-Americans by The Sporting News, which also ranked the Knights No. 1 in their preseason poll. Kendle was Great Lakes Valley Conference player of the year last season, averaging 16.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Bellarmine is not shying away from competition either, scheduling a three-game exhibition schedule that includes No. 8 Louisville and No. 15 Xavier as well as Duke.

The Blue Devils, meanwhile, will use their first intercollegiate competition of the season to try to redefine their identity following the departure of seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith off of last year’s Sweet 16 team. The Blue Devils will lean heavily on their experience in the post, with co-captains Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly expected to start and junior Mason Plumlee likely fulfilling the role as first man off the bench.

All eyes will likely be on the backcourt, though, as heralded freshman Austin Rivers makes his debut against intercollegiate competition. Rivers was recently named ACC preseason rookie of the year after receiving all but two votes for the award and was named to the Wayman Tisdale Award watch list for the award given annually to the country’s top freshman.