Duke will come out of its December break today to play another early season basketball game, but its return to the court will be brief.
UNC Greensboro will be the opponent at 7 p.m. in Durham at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has been off for the last eight days because of final exams. The Blue Devils last played on Dec. 10, when they defeated Washington in New York, and will go into another extended break starting Tuesday. Duke won't play again until Dec. 30 while taking its Christmas break.
While Duke is making a cameo appearance, North Carolina will continue a busy week at home by playing Nicholls State in Chapel Hill at the Smith Center at 7.
The game will be UNC's second of three games in five days. It will also be the fourth game of a nine-game homestand that will extend into January and into the start of ACC play.
Miles Plumlee, a Duke forward, said that returning to the court will help the Blue Devils shake off any rust caused by the exam break.
"You always have to move on to the next game, and we're focused on the goal at the end of the year," Plumlee said. "We're always taking steps toward that. Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) is always happy when we play together (as a team), but we've got to learn to trust each other more, because when we play together that's when we're at our best."
Duke is 9-1 and UNCG is 2-9. Wes Miller, a former North Carolina guard, is UNCG's interim coach after Mike Dement agreed with school athletics officials on Dec. 13 to step down as coach.
The Spartans are 0-1 under Miller, after losing his debut last Friday in a 71-62 setback to East Carolina in Greensboro.
UNC, 9-2, will attempt to extend its Smith Center winning streak to 23 games. It shouldn't have many problems against Nicholls State, a Southland Conference member that is 4-7.
Nicholls State lost to Texas by 53 points, to Tulane by 46, to LSU by 26 and to Auburn by 21.
The Tar Heels ended a seven-day layoff for final exams Saturday and beat Appalachian State 97-82, but Tyler Zeller said that more progress is needed with ACC play not far away.
"We have to be more crisp," Zeller said. "There were times when we played very, very hard, and times when we played poorly.
"It's something where we have to get in a rhythm and keep that up for 40 minutes."
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