Duke had eight straight days of practice and a lopsided home win over undersized Colorado State to recover from its crushing defeat in Columbus, Ohio. But the true test to see if the Blue Devils have overcome their first loss of the season will come not in Durham, but at Duke’s home-away-from-home—Madison Square Garden.
The No. 7 Blue Devils (8-1) will return to New York City for the first time since head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s record-setting 903rd career win to face Washington Saturday at noon. The Huskies (4-3) will be playing their second straight game in New York City after falling to then-No. 11 Marquette in a heartbreaking 79-77 loss in the Jimmy V. Classic Tuesday.
To hold off the team that has contended for the Pac-12 title each of the past three years, though, Duke will have to maintain the drive it showed in a 23-point victory over the Rams.
“The week before exams we can go braindead, you know… I thought our guys were pretty good,” Krzyzewski said after beating the Rams Wednesday. “We have to carry that through to Saturday because we’re playing against the most athletic team we’ve played against [this season] in Washington.”
The Huskies, much like the Buckeyes, have scoring depth that could trouble the Blue Devils. Six different players average more than 7.5 points per game, led by 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Terrence Ross’ 16.6 points per contest.
Ross, who strongly considered Duke during his recruitment, has blossomed in his second season as a part of head coach Lorenzo Romar’s system, more than doubling his average points, rebounds, assists and blocks per game from a year ago. Much like Ohio State’s William Buford and Deshaun Thomas, Ross and teammate C.J. Wilcox’s height and length from the wing could pose problems for a Duke backcourt that has struggled defensively at times this season.
Freshman guard Tony Wroten, who at 6-foot-5 plays a similar style as Ross and Wilcox, could provide the Huskies a boost of the bench. In just 24 minutes per game, Wroten is averaging 13 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists this year.
How, and if. the Blue Devils continue to shuffle their lineup could prove paramount in how they defend against Washington’s trio of talented scoring guards. Krzyzewski inserted defensive specialist Tyler Thornton into the starting lineup against Colorado State, and the sophomore responded with four assists and no turnovers.
The move relegated Andre Dawkins to the bench, but after attempting only one field goal against the Buckeyes, the junior exploded for 15 points in just 12 minutes against the Rams. Dawkins left early in the second half with back spasms, and his status for Saturday is not yet known.
The lineup changes are all a part of an improvement process for Krzyzewski, something he expects to continue against a challenging matchup in the Huskies.
“We keep looking for ways of getting better. A 23-point loss to Ohio State leads to a lot of things,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re still very much a developing team. We’ve had a difficult schedule, it will continue through Washington and that’s how you learn about yourself. You have to keep adjusting.”
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