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GAME DAY PREVIEW Game time: 9:00pm ET Illinois (0-0) at Duke (0-0) | |||||
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GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Ticker) -- No. 1 Duke, eyeing a
rematch with Temple on Saturday, better keep its eyes clearly
focused on tonight's game. The Blue Devils face a stern test
when they meet No. 8 Illinois in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at
Greensboro Coliseum. Duke (5-0) is coming off a 91-48 romp over Army on Saturday. Carlos Boozer scored all his 22 points in the first half when the Blue Devils built a 67-26 halftime advantage against coach Mike Krzyzewski's alma mater. The Blue Devils have been dominant in four of their five wins. They have outscored their opponents by a combined 129 points. But Duke was tested severely by Temple last Friday before pulling out a 63-61 victory in the championship game of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden. The teams meet again in Philadelphia's First Union Center on Saturday. Boozer scored 26 points, including Duke's final nine points against Temple. The 6-9 sophomore sank a 3-pointer to give Duke a 61-60 lead with 2:07 to play. Boozer is averaging 19.0 points and 6.2 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Duke has split four games with Illinois, including a 72-69 victory last November 30 as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in the United Center. The Blue Devils are 46-20 all-time against teams from the Big Ten. Illinois (3-1) opened the season with three straight wins before a 79-76 defeat against No. 2 Arizona last Wednesday in the final of the Maui Invitational. The Fighting Illini sank four 3-pointers in the final 3 1/2 minutes to trim Arizona's lead to 77-76 with 15 seconds to play. After Jason Gardner made two free throws with 12 seconds left, Illinois had a chance to tie the game. But Luke Walton blocked a 3-pointer by Cory Bradford with 1.6 seconds and smothered a last-ditch inbounds pass with one-tenth of a second left. Illinois rebounded from the loss with an 86-67 win over Texas Southern on Sunday. Sean Harrington scored a career-high 17 points off the bench to lead five players in double figures. The Illini are 1-18 all-time against No. 1 teams. But they have faced the top-ranked school just three time since a 57-55 win over Michigan State on January 11, 1979.
| ALSO SEE Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
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