Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke always has something other than sure wins in mind when he puts together a basketball schedule.
So today, Duke will step outside the ACC for the last time and look ahead to the postseason when it plays Temple in Durham (7 p.m., ESPN2 Ch. 32).
Krzyzewski always schedules an outside opponent late in the season to give the Blue Devils an idea of what they might face in the NCAA Tournament.
Temple, 21-5 and ranked No. 24 in both national polls, should fit Krzyzewski's criteria. Duke's strength of schedule is No. 35 in the nation this season, after ranking in the top 10 each of the previous seven seasons.
"I think we've played a really good schedule," Krzyzewski said. "I think that Bradley and Saint Louis were projected to be really good, but Saint Louis lost their two best players in the late summer. I think they're doing better now, but they're not who they were. And Bradley lost two kids.
"Those two games came at a time right after we lost Kyrie (Irving, a freshman point guard). Overall if you're 30th in schedule, it means you're probably a couple of games from being 12th. We played St. John's, a veteran team, and they beat us, and now (we) play Temple at this time. Those are things that most people don't do."
Duke (25-2) has a 34-game home winning streak, the longest active streak in major college basketball and the fourth-longest in school history.
The Owls' visit will give senior forward Kyle Singler of the Blue Devils another chance to get out of a shooting slump. He has made only 15 of his past 48 shots (31.2 percent).
Singler was a career 43.4-percent shooter at the start of the season, but his percentage has fallen each season. He shot 45.7 percent as a freshman, 44.1 percent as a sophomore and 41.5 percent as a junior. He is currently shooting 42.9 percent. Krzyzewski said he does not know if any one thing has affected Singler's shooting and that's the only part of the game in which Singler is not excelling.
"I think just sometimes you don't shoot as well," Krzyzewski said. "When you're not that good of a player and you don't shoot as well, you don't play as well. To me, what is remarkable about that kid is that every other aspect of his game is terrific.
"It has no impact on his defense. And he's one of the great defenders in the country.
"He still has the spirit. I think you have to work your way out of this shooting thing; just don't let it affect other aspects of the game."
bcole@wsjournal.com
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