No. 3 Duke aims to get back on track vs. Indiana

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke will be in its first game since suffering a loss.

That makes the ability to respond from that result crucial when the third-ranked Blue Devils face Indiana in Tuesday night's ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Indiana has largely operated under the radar, so the Hoosiers will have something to prove as well.

Duke, which was stripped of its No. 1 ranking this week, will be intent on building off certain aspects of an 89-87 setback to now-No. 1 Gonzaga in the championship game of last week's Maui Invitational.

"It's a great game for us," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We were in the process of getting blown out there the first three minutes of the second half and they turned it around. It wasn't coaching, our kids turned it around."

These types of tests early in the season can help strengthen teams, Krzyzewski said.

"In our first six games, we played three Top 10 teams, and one other who is supposed to win their conference," he said. "Overall to play and be put in a position to win against (Gonzaga), overall that's a good thing for our team."

Indiana players are aware of the fanfare associated with Duke this season. That makes this matchup enticing.

"It will be fun. It's us versus them," Indiana senior forward Juwan Morgan said. "I can't wait to get there and the ball is in the air, the jump ball. There's not really much more I can say. I'm just excited. ... They are a great team, but I feel we're a great team, so it should be a good game."

Indiana freshman guard Romeo Langford is posting 18.5 points per game and Morgan is averaging 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

Freshmen RJ Barrett (22.8), Zion Williamson (20.7) and Cam Reddish (15.7) are the top scorers for the Blue Devils.

Langford is familiar with Duke's high-profile freshmen, but he said the matchup extends beyond what the newcomers can do for either side.

"Obviously they are really good players, elite players," Langford said. "It really is not like really me or freshmen against freshmen or upperclassmen. It's Indiana against Duke. It's really a team effort."

Another of those freshmen for Duke is point guard Tre Jones. Through the games in the Maui Invitational, his stock grew in some ways.

"Tre is the heart and soul of our team," junior forward Javin DeLaurier said. "We go as he goes. He's an amazing player. He almost never makes the wrong play and he's capable of providing everyone with energy."

Jones said Duke's comeback in the second half provided insight on some of the things the Blue Devils can do.

"I feel we just got to playing how we know we can play, the way that the coaches want us to play and the way that us players know that we can play and want to play," Jones said.

Second-year Indiana coach Archie Miller is a former North Carolina State player, so he has been in uniform facing the Blue Devils as an ACC player. Miller played in nine games against Duke.

"Not very many wins. But, yeah, it's a great place to play," he said of Cameron Indoor Stadium. "I'm sure more than anything there's some mystique about it. The thing that I always remember about playing in Cameron wasn't really the fans or the environment, it was much more of the teams that we played."

Duke leads the series 6-3, including last November's 91-81 victory at Indiana.

Indiana's lone setback came by 73-72 at Arkansas. In the Hoosiers' most recent game, they trailed UC Davis 54-50 with less than eight minutes to play before closing the contest with a 26-3 advantage.

Within the next week, Indiana will have Big Ten Conference games against Northwestern and Penn State.