No. 4 Duke feeling rested as it welcomes Brown

Much has been made about No. 4 Duke's relative inactivity during the month of December.

Brown almost has the Blue Devils trumped in that category.

But whether the Bears can keep up with Duke on the court might be another matter when the teams meet Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Duke has suited up just once across a three-week period, but the workload will begin to pick up for the Blue Devils now that exams and the holiday have passed.

"This has been an unusual couple of weeks for us," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the team's victory against Wofford on Dec. 19 in its only outing since Dec. 6. "I'm really proud of my guys for what they have done."

Amid some of the layoff, the Blue Devils (10-1) keep rising in the polls. They hold a four-game winning streak.

Brown (5-5) hasn't played since a Dec. 10 loss at St. John's. That marked the Bears' second loss in a row.

"I can't fault our effort at all," Brown coach Mike Martin said.

Brown has been idle for more than two weeks going into the first game with Duke since the opener of the 1994-95 season.

Duke played the Wofford game without sophomore point guard Tre Jones, who sat out with what was called a slight sprain of his left foot.

"It's better with this break to get well," Krzyzewski said. "He'll be back and he'll play right away."

The Blue Devils had enough backcourt depth to make up for Jones' absence from the lineup. Jordan Goldwire filled in as a starting guard, while sophomore reserve Joey Baker heated up on the perimeter and bagged a career-high 22 points.

"I've started before, so it wasn't something that was different, besides not having Tre out there with me," Goldwire said. "I was very comfortable out there and just tried to stay poised."

Baker's offense was significant. His point total in the Wofford game marked the most for a Duke reserve since Luke Kennard poured in 26 against North Carolina State in February 2016.

"I definitely feed off (the crowd), but in the moment you're just worried about the next play, getting a stop and getting the win," Baker said.

Some of the down time from games has been beneficial in various ways for the Blue Devils.

"I get a chance to get in the gym, work on my shot and work on a bunch of other things, so I think that definitely helps," Goldwire said.

Duke center Vernon Carey Jr. has eight double-doubles to lead all freshmen nationally in that category.

One area of concern for Brown has been perimeter defense.

"We need to be better," Martin said.

Duke has the ability to flood the floor with shooters. Plus, the Blue Devils have been careful with the ball recently with a total of 15 turnovers in the last two games combined.

Senior guard Brandon Anderson leads Brown in scoring with 21 points per game.

This will be a home-state game for Brown senior Joshua Howard, a starting forward who's from Charlotte, and sophomore Jaylan Gainey, a reserve forward.

Duke leads 3-1 in the all-time series with Brown.

--Field Level Media