With last year's surprising upset still fresh in their minds, the No. 11 Blue Devils (6-1) feel like they are more prepared to handle the Hoyas' offense this time around.
Last January, the top-ranked Blue Devils travelled to MCI Center with a perfect 17-0 record in tow. But Duke was defeated 87-84 by Georgetown, despite J.J. Redick's career-high-tying 41 points.
Although the No. 18 Hoyas (4-2) have had a tumultuous start to the 2006-07 campaign and are coming off a loss to unranked Oregon, they still boast an athletic frontcourt that includes Jeff Green-who torched the Blue Devils with 18 points and seven assists last season.
In that game, the Hoyas' Princeton-style offense took advantage of Duke's pressure defense, exposing the Blue Devils' to a litany of backdoor cuts and layups.
"We overextended ourselves on the defensive end," said point guard Greg Paulus, who had 14 points and four assists in last year's loss. "We need to stay in position to make plays this time."
Having already faced Air Force-another team that runs the same offense-in the semifinals of the CBE Classic, however, the Blue Devils believe they are ready to handle Georgetown this time around.
"[They] get a lot of backdoors, and that's where we got taken advantage of last year," said Dave McClure, who redshirted last season. "I think last year we were a little too set on denying the pass which left us vulnerable to the backdoor, where they got a lot of buckets."
This year, Duke has gotten off to a solid start defensively but has struggled to find an offensive rhythm. The team's offensive struggles were evident in Tuesday night's 54-51 win over Indiana. The Blue Devils had multiple extended field-goal droughts and scored only one point in the game's final five minutes.
"You try not to think about that," Paulus said. "If we were focused on our offense and how we weren't putting the ball in the basket, I think our defense would have suffered. So, it was good mental toughness by us to maintain the focus defensively and really get after them and force turnovers."
Duke's defense has been strong all season, holding all but two opponents to shooting percentages below 40 and creating transition chances that have masked the Blue Devils' lack of an established scorer and struggles in half-court sets.
With the departure of Redick, co-captain DeMarcus Nelson has stepped up as the team's leading scorer but has struggled late in games. In both the team's win over the Hoosiers and loss to No. 8 Marquette, the junior got off to a very fast start only to fade after halftime-averaging just four points in the second half in the two contests.
Fellow co-captains Paulus and Josh McRoberts, who were expected to carry much of the offensive load along with Nelson, have had rough starts to their sophomore campaigns. McRoberts has struggled at times scoring from the low-post and while recovering from a preseason foot injury, Paulus has averaged 3.7 turnovers while playing just 24 minutes per contest.
"As long we keep playing defense, our offense will come along," McClure said. "We're going to have time to test the waters, make changes if necessary. I think pretty soon we're going to start connecting and once we do, it will be good."
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