Division II champs to provide Duke basketball team with first test

With the Duke basketball regular season just a little more than a week away, the Blue Devils are taking the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium this weekend for their first exhibition matchup against Northwest Missouri State.

Saturday night’s exhibition is the first of two for the Duke basketball team, who will also face off against Fort Valley State on Oct. 30 in preparation for the season opener at Madison Square Garden against the Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 5. Fans not in attendance can catch the game on ACC Network Extra with tipoff coming at 7 p.m. EST.

Squaring off at Cameron against the reigning Divison II National Champion is a yearly tradition for Mike Krzyzewski’s squad that began in 2007 against Barton College. It will also be the second time in three years that Duke welcomes the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State. Although this level of competition does not excite everyone, Blue Devil fans should still be watching to get a glimpse of the 2019-20 squad for the first time against other competition.

For one, tomorrow night will provide fans with a first look at this season’s possible starting lineup. Expect Tre Jones, Wendell Moore Jr., Matthew Hurt, and Vernon Carey Jr. to be virtual locks as preseason starters.

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The fifth starter should be a close decision between shooting guards Alex O’Connell and Cassius Stanley. Age and experience may give the nod to O’Connell; however, Stanley may have done enough to earn the fifth spot with his 12 points and game-high eight rebounds for the Blue Team in last week’s Countdown to Craziness scrimmage.

The Bearcats enter Saturday’s contest coming off a season where they allowed just over 61 points per game, good enough for 3rd in all of Division II. If that isn’t impressive enough, consider that they remained perfect through the entire season, finishing 38-0, in addition to capturing the National Championship. Returning Sophomore point guard and last season’s Most Outstanding Player of the Elite Eight, Trevor Hudgins, will be looking to show out on an even bigger stage.

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Duke has won all of its previous exhibition contests against reigning Division II National Champions by at least 15 points. History serves as an accurate indicator of how these matchups usually play out. As a result of the anticipated margin, expect the starters to spend more minutes than usual on the bench, at least during the 2nd half.

In last season’s 132-48 rout over Ferris State, freshman sensations RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson played only 27 and 22 minutes, respectively. For reference, Barrett averaged 35 minutes per game during the regular season and Williamson averaged 30.

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Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions regarding the 2019-20 Duke basketball season.