After hanging on for two narrow victories in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke heads north for the holidays hoping to have an easier time at another iconic venue—Madison Square Garden.
“If you’re not excited for that, something’s wrong with you,” junior point guard Quinn Cook said. “I think we’ll be ready.”
The No. 6 Blue Devils are set to take on Alabama at Madison Square Garden Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The other semifinal pits No. 4 Arizona against Drexel.
Duke (5-1) has had considerable success at the Garden, going 22-7 under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. With a nationally-hyped matchup against Kansas already under their belt, the Blue Devils should have an advantage over the Tide in terms of playing in a high-pressure environment.
Madison Square Garden has hosted some of college basketball’s most memorable players and performances. It will be interesting to see how standout freshman Jabari Parker—who leads Duke in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and highlight-reel plays—performs on this stage.
Parker notched 26 points against Vermont and has topped 20 points in each of his six collegiate games. The Chicago native is averaging 23.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game on the season.
The Blue Devils will be looking to improve upon a subpar performance Sunday against Vermont, where they barely escaped with a 91-90 victory. After the win, the coaching staff was not at all satisfied with the team’s effort.
“We didn’t respect the game,” Krzyewski said after his team's one-point win Sunday. “We can’t say [that we gave our best] tonight, and that’s upsetting.”
Against Alabama (3-1), Duke will look to shore up its communication on the defensive end of the floor. The Blue Devils have allowed more than 75 points per game this year, including 90 points to at home to a Vermont squad that came in averaging just 63 points per game. The Crimson Tide will enter Wednesday's contest averaging 81.5 points per contest and has already cracked triple digits once.
“Nothing will work if you don’t talk on defense,” Krzyzewski said. “You have got to talk. Nothing works well if you don’t work well.”
Alabama features a balanced lineup with four players averaging double-digit points. The team's leading scorer at 18 points per game is Trevor Releford, an accomplished senior guard who led the team in most offensive categories last year. Junior guard Algie Key has been a huge weapon off the bench the Tide, averaging 10.3 points per game and shooting nearly 80 percent from the field.
“They’re tough,” Cook said. “They have great guards and a great coach.… They’re tough, but I think we’ll be ready.”
Rebounding also promises to be a key factor in Wednesday’s matchup. Duke has struggled particularly on the defensive glass this year, where it has yielded its opponents an average of 11.7 offensive rebounds per game. By contrast, rebounding has been an area of strength for Alabama. The Crimson Tide attack the glass with ferocity, and are outrebounding opponents by 7.8 boards per game. But Alabama does not have one consistent rebounding threat—Rodney Cooper, a 6-foot-6 guard, is the team's leading rebounder at just 6.8 per game.
Cook said he is expecting a renewed sense of urgency from the Blue Devils following Sunday’s close call. He cited the team's senior leaders—particularly forward Josh Hairston—for preparing this team to play under the national spotlight and not overlooking a tough Alabama squad.
“Hopefully these two games are a wake-up call to let us know that on this Division-I level, anybody can play," Cook said. "You have to fight. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. You have to fight and stay together.”
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