The Blue Devils are 4-0, No.1 in the nation and have defeated No. 4 Maryland easily at College Park.
And the scary part is, head coach John Danowski said he does not even fully understand his team yet.
"My gut tells me I'm not going to know a lot about this team until we're down by two goals, maybe in the third quarter," Danowski said. "As the season goes and we grow together, we're going to learn a lot more about each other."
With a trip to California this weekend, Danowski certainly expects the team to grow together as they take on Loyola (1-2) Saturday at 9:30 p.m. in San Diego as part of the annual First Four showdown.
"It's a business trip certainly," Danowski said. "[But] it is a chance to relax and get together as a team for a weekend."
With the team already having gone through so much off the field, it can be hard to predict how its chemistry will translate to success on the field.
So far, however, Duke has had increasing success on the defensive end, as the goals allowed per game have decreased with each opponent.
In their season opener, the Blue Devils gave up 11 goals, which tied the highest amount they had given up in the eight games last year and in 2005-the year Duke lost in the national championship game to Johns Hopkins. Danowski, however, attributed the high number of goals to the unique circumstances surrounding that game.
Starting the very next day, the Blue Devils' defense improved dramatically. They gave up nine goals to then-No. 12 Denver, and the following weekend, Duke stunned Maryland by allowing only seven goals despite the Terrapins unique inverted offense. The stinginess on defense continued against St. Joseph's, which only managed four goals.
But Danowski still sees a lot of room for improvement.
"We'd like to have better technique on the ball," Danowski said. "Everybody's trying to get upfield too fast as opposed to staying in the base by the goal and just checking sticks when the ball gets near the goal, just checking to see that the goalie has possession of the ball. We need to get better at some of those things."
Duke will get the chance to improve against a Loyola team that Danowski said is much better than its record. So far, the Greyhounds have lost to nationally ranked Notre Dame by two, Towson by one, and have beaten Penn State by one.
"Early in the year, so many games can go either way," Danowski said. "They're going to be well-prepared, they're going to be emotional, and it's going to be a heck of a game."
The teams have played each other every year in the First Four challenge, and for the past two years the games have gone down to the wire, with the Blue Devils winning 9-7 last year and 6-5 in 2005.
No matter what the score, the Blue Devils will use the trip as a strong bonding experience that will benefit them for the whole season.
"We're getting used to playing with each other," senior Tony McDevitt said. "As the year goes on, you should get better."
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