#21 Duke Blue Devils (6-3, 0-1 ACC) vs. Hofstra Pride (6-3, 0-0 CAA)

Overall First Meeting

TV/Video Stream ESPN2
Play-by-Play Doug Sherman
Analyst Fran Fraschilla
Director Caleb Waters
Producer Will Black

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 84

Hofstra is coming off a 71-68 loss at Saint Louis on Saturday. The Pride led by as many as five points in the second half and held a one-point advantage with less than a minute remaining, but the home team scored the final four points for the win.

Hofstra’s 6-3 guard Tyler Thomas, who registered 29 points in the Pride’s last contest at Saint Louis and 40 points earlier this season versus High Point (Nov. 22), is the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 23.6 points per game, and is the national leader in 3-point field goals per game (4.33).

Senior guard Tyler Thomas leads the Pride in scoring at 23.6 points per contest, he also averages 3.1 assists and 4.9 boards. Hofstra’s leading rebounding is guard Darlinstone Dubar, who at 6’6 averages 6.4 rebounds per game and is second on the team in points at 17.2. Junior guard Jaquan Carlos rounds out the double figure scorers at 11.2 per game, Carlos leads the team in assists at 6.8 per contest.

The Pride are 29th in the NCAA in 3-point shooting with 2 members of their starting backcourt shooting 40% or better from beyond the arc. Hofstra average 11.2 made threes a game with its good for 7th in Division I, they are also 6th in free throw shooting percentage at just under 80% from the line.

Duke is once again home on Tuesday to host Hofstra looking for back to back wins. Duke is coming off an 80-56 win against Charlotte, led by freshman guard Jared McCain’s career high 21 point outing.

Through nine games, Duke has been one of the best teams in the country at limiting turnovers, ranking fifth in the nation with just 8.9 per game. According to KenPom, the Blue Devils currently have the sixth-lowest turnover percentage nationally, coming in at just 12.9%. Duke is one of five power-conference teams inside the top-10, joined by Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Northwestern and Kentucky.

Among ACC leaders, Kyle Filipowski ranks seventh in scoring (17.3 ppg), fourth in rebounding
(8.9 rpg) and eighth in blocked shots (1.8 bpg). Injured guard Tyrese Proctor averages 10.3 points and 4.5 assists per game to lead the Blue Devils. As of this post Proctor isn’t expected to play Tuesday night. Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell round out the double figure scorers for the Blue Devils with Roach averaging 14.3 and Mitchell comes in at 11.1 per game.

G Jeremy Roach 6’2, 180lbs SR
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 197lbs FR
G Jared McCain 6’3, 197lbs FR
F Mark Mitchell  6’9, 232lbs SO
C Kyle Filipowski 7’0, 248lbs SO

G Jaquan Carlos 6’0, 170lbs JR
G Tyler Thomas 6’3, 200lbs GS
G Bryce Washington 6’4, 187lbs GS
G Darlinstone Dubar 6’8, 211lbs JR
F Jacco Fritz 6’10, 215lbs GS

With starting point guard Tyrese Proctor still expected to miss more time it’s going to be a trial by fire for Duke’s freshman guards (Jared McCain and Caleb Foster). If the Blue Devils get the production they got from their guards in their last outing against Charlotte then the verdict will be positive. The Blue Devils shot the ball extremely well against the 49ers but what happens when those shots aren’t going in? Hofstra presents a unique challenge for the Blue Devils defense – a team that lives beyond the arc and shoots it exceptionally well. Duke, even in their win against Charlotte had defensive miscues on the perimeter that the 49ers were unable to knock down. Hofstra will make the Blue Devils pay for those mistake.

I expect the Pride to drive the Blue Devils any chance they get to draw fouls and get to the line where they shoot it as good as anyone in the country but what separates Hofstra is their ability beyond the arc. This will be a game that tests Duke’s basketball IQ. Hofstra is an older team full of crafty graduate students, juniors and seniors who will not enter Cameron Indoor in awe of Blue Devil lore. I expect a much closer game than perhaps “the line” will say. The Blue Devils have their work cut out for them – especially defensively.