Friendship Games unaffected by Georgetown brawl

SHANGHAI, CHINA — As the in-game fight between Georgetown's basketball team and China's Bayi Rockets attracts international attention, Duke will continue its tour of the country unchanged by the incident.

The Blue Devils are scheduled to leave for Beijing at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. There has been no talk of altering plans in light of the recent altercation, in which the game between the Hoyas and Rockets ended prematurely in a tie Thursday night after both benches cleared. Duke will face China's junior-national team for the third time Monday in the MasterCard Center at 8 p.m. local time.

Both Georgetown and Bayi are staying in the Portman Ritz-Carlton, the Blue Devils' hotel. The New York Times reported that when the Hoyas and the Rockets were seen in the hotel's lobby Friday afternoon, there were no visible signs of tension between the two teams.

Some Georgetown fans were unhappy with the officiating in the game, as the foul differential was 28-11 in favor of the Rockets. In Duke's first two games, China has shot 72 free throws to Duke's 25.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been visibly frustrated by the officiating during the first two contests of the Friendship Games. When asked whether or not he knew whether NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is considering playing in China during the NBA lockout at the beginning of the press conference after Thursday's game, Krzyzewski joked that he had talked to Bryant the night before and was told that he was coming to become a referee.