DURHAM
A fourth NCAA Tournament championship banner has been hung in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the Duke men’s basketball team will start pursuit of a fifth today when it opens its season.
Princeton will be the opponent in the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Duke won the title last season with a dramatic 61-59 decision against Butler, but as sophomore forward Ryan Kelly noted, last season is long gone. This is a different team, it must replace three veteran starters, and it will be the target of every opponent.
“We haven’t proven anything,” Kelly said. “That’s only going to come with time and playing games.”
Both teams are usually powerhouses in their conferences, but Duke has beaten Princeton, of the Ivy League, 17 times in 18 games. It has never lost to Princeton in nine games in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Princeton will most likely play exactly the opposite of the way that Duke wants to play. Using an offense designed by former Coach Pete Carril, Princeton will favor a slow tempo and will patiently look for backdoor cuts for layups after precise passes. If the openings are not there, 3-point shots will fly.
Duke wants to run all game with quick Kyrie Irving, a freshman point guard, in the lineup, and to apply defensive pressure to force turnovers and create a high number of possessions. Sophomore guard Seth Curry said that Princeton could push Duke’s patience.
“Early in the season, you want to play against teams that you’re not used to,” Curry said. “You want to see different styles. Coach has some things that he wants to throw in there, different types of traps, to get the game to our tempo.”
Duke will enter its opener after a tough week of practice. Coach Mike Krzyzewski wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort in an 81-60 win against Cal Poly Pomona, the defending NCAA Division II champion, in the last of two exhibition games. Duke led 39-33 at halftime and made 2 of 7 3-point shots in the first half.
“The message was that we needed more energy and better defensive effort,” sophomore guard Andre Dawkins said. “We didn’t do what Coach wanted.”
Curry will play his first game since the last game of his freshman season at Liberty. He sat out last season under NCAA transfer rules.
He practiced all last season with the Blue Devils but, under NCAA rules, was not allowed to receive an NCAA championship ring. He was disappointed by that but is hoping to make up for it this season.
“I felt like I worked hard last year,” Curry said. “I’m trying to go out there now and get one on my own.”
bcole@wsjournal.com
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