Durham, NC (My Sportsbook) - The ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils conclude a four-game homestand to begin the 2009-10 season, as they welcome the Radford Highlanders to Durham for a non-conference showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium this afternoon.
Duke moved to 3-0 on the young season and posted its 71st consecutive non- conference victory at home last time out, with a 101-59 whipping of Charlotte as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Following this contest Mike Krzyzewski's squad will head to New York City for semifinal action of the NIT Season Tip- Off.
Radford is also sporting an unblemished record thus far, opening the year with victories over Navy (76-65) and most recently Lynchburg (94-70). The Highlanders began the season with two straight home games, but will play the next five on the road, starting with today.
This is just the second meeting between these two teams, with Duke posting a 99-63 decision in opening round action of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
Through the first two games, it is apparent that the strength of Radford's game is in the frontcourt, where Artsiom Parakhouski and Joey Lynch-Flohr have dominated. Both players have posted back-to-back double-doubles. In the rout of Lynchburg, Parakhouski erupted for 31 points and 17 rebounds, hitting 15- of-22 shots from the floor. Lynch-Flohr added 21 points and 12 rebounds, as Radford owned a 46-27 advantage on the glass overall. Also finishing in double-figure scoring were Phillip Martin (13 pts), Blake Smith (10 pts) and Jeremy Robinson (10 pts). The Highlanders forced Lynchburg into 18 turnovers and shot a solid .532 from the floor overall. After two games, Parakhouski and Lynch-Flohr are both shooting 60 percent from the floor or better, averaging a gaudy 25.5 and 21.0 ppg, respectively.
Junior guard Nolan Smith made his season debut and was impressive against Charlotte, pouring in a career-high 24 points, to go with five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Fellow guard Jon Scheyer had a solid all-around game as well, adding 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to the cause. All- American candidate Kyle Singler scored 17 points, followed by sophomore forward Miles Plumlee's double-double of 15 points and 11 boards. Brian Zoubek finished with nine points, but matched his career-high with 13 rebounds. The Blue Devils were deadly from long range against Charlotte, hitting 12 three- pointers, on 57.1 percent accuracy. On the season, Duke is averaging an eye- popping 90.3 ppg, while allowing a mere 56.7. Singler is averaging 20.0 ppg, while grabbing 6.3 rpg. Scheyer is netting 16.0 ppg, while dishing out nearly five assists (4.7). Plumlee comes in at 11.7 ppg and is the team's top rebounder (8.7 rpg). With Smith back on the floor, Duke is even more formidable in terms of scoring potential.
