The Blue Devils are preparing for a clash of unbeatens, but despite it is not Wisconsin that is on their minds—yet.
No. 4 Duke will take on Army at Cameron Indoor Stadium at noon Sunday in a matchup of two undefeated teams. Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski played for the Black Knights—then called the Cadets—and head coach Bob Knight from 1966-69 and took the helm on the Army sideline from 1975-80 before coming to Durham. Sunday's tilt will be the sixth time he has faced his alma mater.
"Army's undefeated. Obviously I played there, I coached there. I have unbelievable respect for those kids and what they've done and what they're building," Krzyzewski said following Wednesday's win against Furman. "They're getting back to being a winning program. It's almost 35 years [since that happened]. They're on a mission, and that'll be a really good, hard game for us at an unusual time, at noon."
The Blue Devils (6-0) have been dominant so far this season, winning every game by 10 or more points, with their margin of victory sitting at 33.17 points per contest. Even against Temple Nov. 21, when center Jahlil Okafor's shots were not falling as easily, Duke put its defense on display, shutting down the Owls by holding them to just 37.3 percent shooting from the floor and 8.3 percent from long range.
With Okafor garnering so much of the attention, other role players like Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson have been able to step up and produce at a high level for the Blue Devils early on. Jefferson is coming off his first double-double of the season, as he posted 16 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's win against Furman.
The Black Knights (5-0) play a high-tempo style, always looking to push the ball up the floor. Army ranks 20th in the nation in possessions per game at 76.2 and ranks 30th in the nation in scoring, posting 81.2 points per game behind the play of Kyle Wilson and Tanner Plomb. The duo combines for 37.8 points per contest, with both shooting 39 percent or better from long range.
With Duke ranked fourth in scoring at 90.0, the Black Knights will provide the Blue Devils with another offensive test and should be a treat for the fans on hand.
"They really like to get it up the floor when it's a make or a miss," Duke assistant coach Nate James said. "They have tremendous shooters in Wilson and Plomb."
To go along with the high-scoring Black Knight attack, the Blue Devils will have to worry about playing their first afternoon contest of the regular season. Duke is using the early start time as another way to grow as a young team.
"It's definitely different," James said. "That always poses another obstacle for our guys because it's out of the norm. I think with a young team, you help them mature and you help them by placing them in a situation where they have to adjust."
Part of Sunday's challenge will not stem from Army's style of play, the early tip or even the Blue Devils' execution of their game-plan. The issue for Duke will be to not get ahead of itself.
With a Wednesday matchup at No. 2 Wisconsin looming, part of the preparation process for Sunday's matchup has required the Blue Devils to do their best to tune out the outside hype for the coming top-5 clash.
"We have to focus on the task at hand and not really worry about Wisconsin," James said. "I don't think you ignore it, because then you let human nature take over. Especially for a young kid, every time you turn on the TV you see the previews for the Wisconsin game."
Although every matchup will not come with the hype of the Wisconsin game, James and the coaching staff have been adamant about how much each game truly means to the Blue Devils.
Sunday's contest will provide a quality opportunity for Duke to work out any kinks prior to its battle with the Badgers, and the Blue Devils are ready to focus on handing the Black Knights their first loss before they try and do the same to Wisconsin.
"We just tell them, 'We're trying to build, we're trying to move in the right direction as a team and figure some things out," James said. "We can do that if—bits-and-pieces, day-by-day—[we] focus on each practice and each game. Obviously, we achieve that game by coming out tomorrow and playing well."
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