The Duke Blue Devils will take on the VCU Rams on Friday night in the first semifinal of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The winner will earn the right to play either Wisconsin or Georgetown in the finals on Sunday.
VCU is in its first year under new head coach Will Wade after Shaka Smart left to take the Texas job. Wade has won his first two games, but he now will face his toughest test in fifth-ranked Duke. Although Smart is gone, the Rams return a bunch of key players this year.
VCU's top five scorers are all upper classmen, so they have the experience over this young Blue Devils squad. Through the first two games senior guard Melvin Johnson has been the Rams' go-to guy, as he is scoring 18.5 points per game while making nine of his first 18 three-point attempts.
Another player to keep your eye on for VCU is junior forward Mo Alie-Cox. Cox is undersized against most of the people he guards at just 6-foot-7, but he plays extremely physical close to the basket and is one of the best rebounders in the nation. Through two games Alie-Cox is averaging 7.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Alie-Cox, though, will have to deal with Amile Jefferson on Friday night who has double-doubled in each of Duke's first three games. Jefferson is known for his defense and rebounding, but he is doing it all this year as he is averaging 15.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game and was able to keep up with, and maybe outplay, Kentucky's enormous frontline.
Duke lost to Kentucky on Tuesday night, and it did not play particularly well as the team shot 40 percent from the field, but the main culprit was sophomore guard Grayson Allen. Allen had his worst game as a college athlete against the Wildcats, as he shot 2-11 from the floor and turned the ball over four times. Allen had scored 26 points and 28 points in the first two contests and he will look to get back on track in this one.
These two schools haven't met up since 2012 when Duke defeated VCU in the semifinals for the Battle 4 Atlantis. The most famous meeting between these two teams, though, is likely the tilt back in 2007 when 11th-seeded VCU stunned sixth seed Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Eric Maynor's last second jumpshot (which you can watch below.) Duke, though, is 26-8 all-time at Madison Square Garden, including wins in 18 of its ast 21, so VCU has its work cut out for it.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. EST time. To watch the live broadcast, go here. To listen to the Duke radio broadcast go here, and for the VCU radio broadcast go here.
