Putting Losses Behind Them
Duke has had more than two weeks to get over its first loss of the season.
The ninth-ranked Blue Devils finally have a chance to move on from that defeat when they host Cornell on Sunday.
Oddsmakers from Bodog have made Duke -30.5 point spread favorites (View College Basketball odds) for today’s game (Game Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 64% of bets for this game have been placed on Duke -30.5 (View College Basketball bet percentages).
Duke (10-1) has been idle for 16 days since falling 65-64 in overtime to then-No. 11 Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20, giving the Blue Devils more than enough to time think about the loss as they continue their non-conference schedule.
After Sunday’s contest, the Blue Devils play at Temple on Wednesday before opening ACC play at home versus Virginia on Jan. 13.
Although they don’t face a daunting task Sunday, the Blue Devils have plenty to improve upon from their last outing.
Duke was held to a season-low 64 points – well below its 86.8 season average – in facing its third ranked team of the season.
The Blue Devils, who have wins over then-No. 11 Marquette and then-No. 20 Wisconsin, shot a season-low 37.7 percent against Pittsburgh and matched a season high with 20 turnovers.
"We just didn’t have the energy that we have displayed most of the season," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Duke, which is shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range on the season, shot a season-low 21.1 percent (4-for-19) from beyond the arc.
"We can’t be just a three-point-shooting team," said sophomore guard Jon Scheyer, a 45-percent 3-point shooter who went 0-for-4 versus Pitt. "We’re not going to win tough games doing that, so a big focus for us has been driving the ball and getting other looks besides threes."
Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler – Duke’s two top scorers – each finished with 17 points against the Panthers. Both are averaging 13.4 points per contest.
Duke will now look to extend the nation’s longest non-conference, home winning streak to 58 games as it tries to improve to 4-0 all-time versus Cornell. This will be the first meeting between the teams since the Blue Devils won 94-59 at home on Dec. 29, 1988.
Cornell (6-4) will seek its third straight victory as it plays its fifth in a row on the road Sunday, after winning 86-84 in overtime at Quinnipiac on Monday.
Sophomore leading scorer Ryan Wittman – the Ivy League rookie of the year in 2006-07 – had 22 points and went 5-for-9 from 3-point range for Cornell, the preseason favorite to win its conference.
Wittman, who’s among the nation’s top 3-point shooters at 51.5 percent, has 45 points while shooting 15-for-27 from the field – including 10-for-19 from 3-point range – in his last two games.
The Big Red are 3-57 versus ranked opponents and have lost their last 12 games to Top 25 teams dating to a 74-54 win over then-No. 19 California during the 1992-93 season.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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