Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is not only a great evaluator of talent, but he can spot a sleeping giant of a program as well.
So, the fact that his No. 3 Blue Devils (7-0) will face No. 2 Ohio State on Tuesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is really no surprise to the all-time winner in menís Division I basketball.
He made the prediction that the Buckeyes could become a power when he ran across Ohio State coach Thad Matta on the recruiting trail in the summer of 2004, shortly after Jim OíBrien was fired for violating NCAA rules.
ěAfter I got this job, I was recruiting and Coach K stopped me and said, ëHey, I really believe youíve got one of the top jobs in the country,íî Matta said. ěHe said, ëIíve looked at Ohio State the past 25 years and I think you can win there.íî
The Buckeyes did, reaching the 2007 national title game before losing to Florida and recording a 34-3 record last season while reaching the Sweet 16 for a second straight year.
Ohio State lost three seniors from that team but it hasnít showed. The Buckeyes are 6-0, though the only ranked team they have faced was then-No. 7 Florida on Nov. 15, a team they defeated, 81-74.
Meanwhile, Duke is coming off wins over No. 15 Michigan (82-65) and No. 14 Kansas (68-61) en route to the Maui Invitational title last week.
ěWhen youíre in a dogfight like that and come out on top, you learn something about yourself,î Blue Devils guard Tyler Thornton said. ěWe learned we can play tough. We feel like we can play with anybody in the country.î
The Buckeyes have relied on 2011 national freshman of the year Jared Sullinger (18.8 points per game, 10.7 rebounds), William Buford (17.7 ppg) and Aaron Craft (9.2 ppg, 33 assists, 21 steals) while developing chemistry with a young team.
ěYou canít give (Sullinger) easy ones,î Duke forward Mason Plumlee said. ěYouíve got to stay between him and the basket. Youíve got to be physical. Heís a good free-throw shooter, so you canít foul him; you canít bail him out with fouls.
ěYou just got to keep him off the glass.î
Duke spreads its scoring around. In fact, five players ó Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Austin Rivers, Mason Plumlee and Andre Dawkins ó average double figures.
ěDuke is a good defensive team, a great basketball team overall,î Sullinger said. ěCoach K. is a great coach and he always has his teams ready for games like this.î
No one knows that better than first-year Ohio State video coordinator Greg Paulus, who played for Duke from 2006-09.
ěItís fun watching (Duke) on film because they play so hard, they share the ball,î he said. ěAs a college basketball fan, they play the right way.î
More than 19,000 fans will pack Value City Arena for this one, and students have camped outside the building for several days with a fervor usually reserved for football games.
ěWith the Florida game, we thought it was loud,î Sullinger said. ěImagine all the hype coming into this game. Itís going to be a very loud gym.î
The Associated Press
11/28/11 18:57