ACC Looks to Earn Respect in ACC-Big Ten Challenge
By Matthew Levenberg | December 1, 2010
The Blue Devils travel to Harrisonburg, Va., tonight with two goals in mind: Extend their unbeaten start to a 7-0 mark and demonstrate improvement from their last outing against Charlotte.
Though the posters around the Rose Garden Arena advertised the matchup between No. 1 Duke and Oregon as “Singler Minded,” a better word would have been “single-minded.” For Kyle Singler, at least.
The Blue Devils started a four-game road trip this past week, looking to keep their early perfect record intact against Pittsburgh and Charlotte.
Matchups between top-five teams aren’t supposed to be this one-sided.
Mason Plumlee sensed his team was struggling. Midway through the second half, No. 1 Duke led Marquette by only two.
The No. 1 Blue Devils will face a formidable challenge Tuesday night in Kansas City, Mo.—they play the No. 4 team in the country, in front of what amounts to a home crowd, no less.
Guarding Duke’s perimeter play is challenging enough. With Monday night’s contest against Marquette as an indicator, the addition of strong post play could make the Blue Devils lethal.