Tuesday NCAA: Duke (7-0) at Purdue (5-1)
How big is Tuesday night’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge home game with No. 4 Duke for the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers? Most around the program say it’s the biggest non-conference home game at Mackey Arena since a 1967 game with Lew Alcindor and UCLA.
Point guard Nolan Smith of Duke is expecting some tough conditions. His club is a 2-point underdog at WagerWeb.com.
“We’ve heard that the Purdue fans are definitely ready for us,” Smith said. “We’ve heard that the fans are really excited to have Duke come in there. We’ve got to step up to the plate. The whole world, I think, is waiting for this game.”
The Blue Devils are 2-0 in true ACC/Big Ten Challenge road games all-time and will meet a ranked opponent for the first time this season. But the Boilermakers are 4-1 all-time against Duke, most recently defeating the then-No. 2 Blue Devils 78-68 in the final of the 2003 Great Alaska Shootout. Purdue is 0-8 vs. Top 5 teams since that victory, and the Boilers have gone 2-5 in the Challenge.
Duke is 9-0 all-time in the event. The Blue Devils have won six straight games against Big Ten opponents, including beating Michigan this year. This will be the Blue Devils’ first nonconference game in an opponent’s on-campus arena since a win at Indiana in 2005
The Blue Devils are outrebounding opponents by 10 per game and outscoring them by 22.8 (although none were ranked teams), while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 32.3 percent on 3-pointers. They have had 14 steals in each of their past two wins, and average an incredible 10.9 per game.
Kyle Singler, last year’s 6-foot-8, 210-pound ACC Freshman of the Year is now a 230-pound forward who leads Duke in points (16.7), rebounds (6.9) and assists (3.3).
Purdue has three players averaging in double figures, led by sophomore E’Twaun Moore’s 16.7. The Boilermakers are shooting 45.1 percent from the field and limiting opponents to 35.3, but are being outrebounded by more than four per game. They are coming off a loss to Oklahoma in the NIT Season Tip-Off where they had a season-high 19 turnovers.
NCAA Betting at WagerWeb.com
