Duke To Host Stetson Saturday
On Saturday night third ranked Duke who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference will host Stetson who is a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Stetson was the first opponent in the Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke -- a 67-49 victory by the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 29, 1980. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211782392&DB_OEM_ID=4200&_ga=2.25069882.1026091698.1543611043-1209848320.1543611043
Duke comes into the game with a record of 6-1 while Stetson comes into the game with a record of 1-7.
As for Duke’s previous game they routed Indiana to bounce back from their first loss of the season.
Zion Williamson scored 25 points, RJ Barrett added 22 and No. 3 Duke routed Indiana 90-69 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211782011&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Tre Jones added 15 points and a fourth Duke freshman -- Cameron Reddish -- finished with 13 to help the Blue Devils (6-1) bounce back from their lone loss and win one of the made-for-TV event's glamour matchups. This one featured a handful of potential NBA lottery picks -- the Duke freshmen and Indiana's Romeo Langford -- on the floor at the same time. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211782011&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Duke looked nothing like the group that lost to Gonzaga last week in the Maui Invitational final . The Blue Devils never trailed, shot 52 percent and turned a season-worst 20 turnovers by Indiana into 24 points. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211782011&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Langford scored 13 points on 3-of-15 shooting to lead the Hoosiers (5-2). But No. 2 scorer Juwan Morgan, who averages 17.5 points, was in foul trouble all night and finished with eight. Indiana trailed by 24 points at halftime and never got closer than 19 in the second half. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211782011&DB_OEM_ID=4200
As for Stetson’s previous game, Unlike Duke they lost their previous game as they were edged by South Florida.
Stetson's Abayomi Iyiola scored a career-high 26 points but the Hatters' best overall effort of the season fell just short as USF held on for a 75-71 win, Wednesday at Yeungling Center in Tampa, Fla. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Iyiola finished 10 of 15 from the field and 6 of 10 from the free throw line, adding 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots to his ledger. But the sophomore forward's dominant performance was cut short when he fouled out with 2:07 to play. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Stetson's Christiaan Jones also enjoyed a strong game, scoring 20 points, and he hit several big shot down the stretch to keep the Hatters close. Jones' 3-pointer from the corner put Stetson (1-7) within 70-67 with 4:55 to play, and dropped in another huge trey with 2:32 left as Stetson closed to within 73-71.
But in the end the Hatters couldn't overcome significant foul trouble and a decided disparity at the free throw line. Iyiola fouled out, and point guards Kenny Aninye and Jahlil Rawley were each saddled with foul trouble throughout the game, finishing with four apiece and missing large chunks of the second half. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
At the free throw line, USF was 21-of-33 while Stetson made eight free throws in only 14 trips to the line. That +13 advantage in USF's favor figured heavily in the final outcome. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Stetson trailed, 40-34, at halftime but stayed in the game and continued to pressure the Bulls (5-2) by shooting 56 percent in the second half. Though the Hatters never led in the final 20 minutes, they also never trailed by more than 10 – and that was only once, when David Collins hit a layup with 9:45 to play to make it 64-54. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
From that point forward, Stetson controlled play. Stetson got the lead down to three points on three different occasion before Jones' trey with less than three minutes to play made it a two-point game. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Leading 74-71, the Bulls missed an opportunity to ice the game when Alexis Yetna missed a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left. Stetson rebounded the second miss and USF fouled Jones, but he missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity and Yetna made one of two at the line with nine seconds to play on the other end, sealing the win. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Stetson shot 49.1 percent for the game, while limiting the Bulls to 43 percent shooting. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Yetna led the Bulls with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Quoting Head Coach Corey Williams
"That was our best performance of the year. The guys really battled, we just needed a few plays here and there but the guys played their hearts out. We can in and struck some fear into their hearts. We got better tonight. I told the guys that we can win every game we play and lose the last one and not go to the NCAA Tournament, which is our ultimate goal. These guys have to get better and they certainly did that tonight." “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
News & Notes
In addition to his career-high point total, Abayomi Iyiola also set a career bests for blocks (4) while tying marks for field goals made (10), free throws made (6) and steals (2)
Christiaan Jones enjoyed his second 20-point game of the season and third of his career. He also had a career-high 4 assists and tied a career mark with 2 steals
Marques Sumner had a season-high 6 assists
USF's 42.9 field-goal percentage was the lowest for any Stetson Division I opponent this season
Stetson's 8 blocked shots are a season high “according to https://gohatters.com/news/2018/11/28/mens-basketball-valiant-effort-comes-up-short-at-usf.aspx
Tip-off is set for 7:00pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN2.