Duke vs. Georgia Southern prediction and game preview for when the Blue Devils host the Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 15
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
Network: ESPN2
The magic number for No. 7 Duke is six. That’s the number of consecutive wins the Blue Devils (8-1) have collected since losing to Kentucky a month ago.
Mike Krzyzewski’s team has won by an average of 17.5 points during that time and has averaged the 15th-most points per game this season at 86.
Cameron Indoor is a tough place for anyone to play in, but for Georgia Southern (3-4), it’s going to be like climing Mt. Everst. The Eagles lost three of their first four games, and after picking up back-to-back wins two weeks ago, they lost again on the road against Savannah State.
This one could get ugly.
Look, we all know what to expect here. The Blue Devils are just far and wide more talented at every spot on the court. Grayson Allen has knocked down shots against everyone but Kentucky. He’s averaging 21.8 points on 50 percent shooting. Brandon Ingram has been finding himself within the offense, and Matt Jones is a hitting on 46.3 percent of his threes. And down low will be Amile Jefferson’s clubhouse. He’s averaging 11.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Duke just has the all-around advantage.
Uh, are we counting on the Blue Devils forgetting how to get to their own arena? Seriously, though, Duke blocks a lot of shots (50 total) and the Eagles’ top-three scorers are all guards: Tookie Brown (14.4 ppg), Ike Smith (12.6 ppg) and Mike Hughes (10.7 ppg). Georgia Southern will have to attack from the outside because it only has three players taller than 6-foot-5 and sophomore Coye Simmons is the only non-freshman of that bunch. It’ll take a team effort to keep Jefferson off the boards, and the Eagles will have to hit mroe than 35.6 percent of their threes (season average) to knock off Duke.
If this game is close, Krzyzewski might actually have a breakdown at Duke’s next practice. The Blue Devils are bigger, faster, stronger and just better all around. Jefferson will have a field day in the paint and chase a double-double. Allen will get his usual double figures, but this feels like the game where Ingram really steps up and shows why he’s projected as an NBA lottery pick.
Robert Judin: Duke 93, Georgia Southern 67
Jordan Cornette: Duke 84, Georgia Southern 68
Line: Duke -28.5