The Blue Devils waste no time in kicking off the new year, playing Pennsylvania at 5 p.m. EST at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Quakers (6-7) are coming off a five-point loss to Davidson in their only post-Christmas matchup, and N0. 7 Duke (11-1) came out of the winter break firing on all cylinders, beating Western Michigan 110-70 Friday.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Follow @dukebasketball for live Twitter in-game updates and analysis.
Projected starters
Pennsylvania: G Zack Rosen, G Tyler Bernadini, G Miles Cartwright, F Henry Brooks, F Fran Dougherty.
Duke: G Tyler Thornton, G Austin Rivers, G Seth Curry, F Ryan Kelly, F Mason Plumlee
1. Live by the three, die by the three
Zack Rosen and Tyler Bernardini carry the Quakers offense, scoring a combined 35.4 points per game and shooting 43.3 percent from beyond the arc. But Pennsylvania ranks 229th in free throw rate, highlighting an inability to get to the basket if those 3-pointers aren't falling. Austin Rivers and the rest of the Duke backcourt will also look to get to the rim against a team that ranks among the worst in the nation at keeping opposing guards out of the paint and away from the charity stripe.
2. One-sided interior battle
Quakers Henry Brooks and Fran Dougherty, plus backup Mike Howlett, each cedes at least two inches to the Plumlees and Ryan Kelly on the interior. The Penn trio averages under a combined 12 points and 10 rebounds per game, so Duke should be able to score second-chance points throughout the game.
3. Who wins the Duke point guard battle?
Tyler Thornton has started the last two games for the Blue Devils, but freshman Quinn Cook has played more minutes in those two contests and leads the team with a 3.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also played 23 minutes without a turnover in the team's last game against Western Michigan.
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