ASU, Duke meet in devilish affair

The Arizona State Sun Devils have never played the Duke Blue Devils in basketball.

That will change tonight as the undefeated Sun Devils take on the 7th-ranked Blue Devils in one semifinal of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden in New York.

ASU will have their hands full with Duke, who are also 4-0 on the young season, and have topped the century mark in each of their last two games. Eight days ago, Mike Krzyzewski’s team hammered Charlotte 101-59 and then on Saturday, beat up on Radford 104-67. The Blue Devils are ranked 4th in the nation, averaging 93.8 points per game.

The Sun Devils’ strength early on this season has been their shooting. Herb Sendek’s team is shooting 53.6% from the field and 49.4% from three-point range in their first 4 games, 5th-best in the nation in both categories.

While ASU is new to playing Duke, Sendek is very familiar with taking the court against Coach K and the Blue Devils. Of course, Sendek coached in the ACC at North Carolina State for ten years, compiling a 3-21 record against Duke.

Krzyzewski’s success against Sendek hasn’t made him think any less of ASU’s coach. Krzyzewski told The Herald Sun earlier this week that “Sendek is one of the best coaches in the country.”

Duke is led by Kyle Singler, a 6-8, 230-pound junior forward, who was named to the AP preseason All-America team. Singler averages 18.3 points per game. Senior guard Jon Scheyer chips in with over 16.5 points per game, and junior guard Nolan Smith, who didn’t play in Duke’s first two games, scored 24 vs. Charlotte and 20 vs. Radford. He’s shooting 60% from three-point range early on this season.

The Sun Devils and Blue Devils will play the second semifinal game of the night. LSU and 13th-ranked Connecticut will get underway at 5:00 p.m. Phoenix time. The winners from tonight’s games will play for the championship Friday at 3:00 p.m., while the losers from tonight’s contests will play in the consolation game Friday at 12:30 p.m.

2009 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Bracket

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