Game 8

^{[6 AP/5 Coaches]} Duke (6-1) vs. St. John’s (6-0)

Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009  •  3:30 p.m.  •  espn2

Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)  •  Durham, N.C.

The Opening Tip

Duke (6-1), ranked sixth in the AP poll and fifth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, faces unranked St. John’s (6-0) on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s contest will be aired by espn2 with Dave O’Brien and Jay Bilas calling the action.

The Last Time Out

Duke is coming off a 73-69 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Junior Kyle Singler scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the loss. He also added six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in the game.

Freshman Andre Dawkins went 4-of-4 from three-point range to finish with 12 points, while Nolan Smith (13) and Jon Scheyer (10) also reached double figures in scoring.

The Blue Devils shot 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the foul line in the game, but were unable to overcome eight three-point field goals, including three threes in the opening five minutes of action, by the Badgers.

The Duke-St. John’s Series

Duke has won six straight games in the series and is 13-5 all-time against St. John’s. The Blue Devils have won four straight home games and are 4-1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the series. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski boasts a 13-2 record against St. John’s.

Numbers Game

l Duke has won 32 straight home games against unranked opponents, dating back to a 68-67 loss to Florida State on Feb. 4, 2007.

l The Blue Devils have won a current NCAA-best 72 consecutive non-conference home games. Duke’s last home loss against a non-conference foe was an 83-82 decision against St. John’s on Feb. 26, 2000.

l Duke has won five of the last six games in the series with St. John’s by double figures. The Blue Devils have a +14.1 ppg. scoring margin in that span.

l The Blue Devils have won seven of their last 10 games against Big East opponents, including a 68-59 win over Connecticut on Nov. 27. Duke is 105-44 all-time against the conference.

l Duke has won 45 straight December home games, dating back to a 62-61 loss to Michigan on Dec. 8, 1996.

l The Blue Devils are 156-26 in the month of December under Coach K. Duke is 48-4 since the 1999-2000 season in December contests.

l Duke is 9-2 following a loss in the last three seasons. The Blue Devils are 34-11 in the last 10 seasons after a loss.

l Andre Dawkins leads the ACC in three-point field goals (2.9 3pg.) and has made two or more threes in six of seven games. He ranks second in the conference in three-point percentage at .556 (20-of-26). Over the last four games, Dawkins is averaging 12.8 points  per game, while shooting 14-of-18 (.778) from three-point range.

l Duke is the only team in the ACC with more than one player averaging over 15.0 points per game. Nolan Smith (17.4), Kyle Singler (17.1) and Jon Scheyer (15.9) are each average over 15.0 points per game for the season.

l Jon Scheyer has reached double figures in scoring in 19 straight games. He has scored 10 or more points in 83 of 111 career games.

l Junior Nolan Smith has scored 10 or more points in all five games he has played this season. He is averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game, a +9.0 ppg. scoring jump from a year ago.

l Duke leads the ACC in free throw percentage at .799 (115-of-144). Five Blue Devil regulars (Andre Dawkins, Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler & Lance Thomas) are shooting 85.0 percent or better from the charity stripe.

l The Blue Devils have three more fouls committed than their opponents through the first seven games of the season. The last time Duke finished the year with more fouls committed than its opponents was the 1995-96 season.

l Kyle Singler had a career-high 28 points in the loss to Wisconsin. He now has three 20-point efforts on the year and 18 for his career.

l Senior Jon Scheyer has led Duke in assists in all seven games this season. He leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.2:1) and is sixth in assists per game (5.1 apg.).