Blazers to battle No. 1 Blue Devils in Cameron

UAB has won four straight

February 26, 2000.

That was the last time that current No. 1 and defending national champion Duke (13-0) lost a non-conference game at Cameron Indoor Stadium--which provides the Blue Devils with the nation's best homecourt advantage.

UAB (10-2) will attempt to put an end to that NCAA-leading 84-game streak on Wednesday night when it travels to Durham for a nationally-televised contest with Mike Krzyzewski's club.

The Blazers are 3-2 away from Bartow Arena with their lone defeats coming by three at Arizona State and two at Georgia.

Mike Davis' club, which has not played since blowing out George Washington, 79-44, on December 27, is led by Jamarr Sanders and Cameron Moore. Both Sanders and Moore average over 17 points per game. Sanders has made a team-high 28 three-pointers and Moore shoots well-over 50 percent (15-29) from deep. He shoots an amazing 56.1 percent from the floor and leads the team with 14 blocks.

Senior point guard Aaron Johnson, who stands just 5'8", leads the team in assists (99), steals (24) and free-throw percentage (88.5).

The Blazers have played very good defense as their opponents have shot just 38.6 percent and 26.7 from beyond the arc. However, they will be facing a Duke team that averages over 90 points. They shoot 51 percent and make over 44 percent of their three-point attempts.

The Blue Devils, who have won 23 straight and 27 consecutive overall at Cameron, are led by veterans Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. Singler and Smith each average nearly 18 points. Singler, who is second on the team in three-pointers, is one of the most versatile players in college basketball. He also pulls down 5.6 rebounds. Nolan Smith, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, dishes out over five assists per game. Andre Dawkins, who is Duke's sixth man, also averages in double figures. He is the team's top three-point shooter, as he makes over half of his attempts from deep. Liberty transfer Seth Curry is another top-three-point threat. The Plumlee brothers, Mason and Miles, clean the glass for the Devils. Mason averages more than seven boards per game.

Duke has played its last five games without star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving, who was averaging 17.4 points through eight games, was also dishing out over five assists.

Prediction

The Blazers are a good basketball team, but beating top-ranked Duke on its homecourt will be too tall of a task for Mike Davis and UAB. Don't be surprised if they compete for awhile, but the Blue Devils should pull away to win by double figures and capture their 85th straight victory over a non-ACC team in front of the Cameron Crazies.