No. 3 Duke Vs. St. John’s: Blue Devils In Trouble At Madison Square Garden

GAME NOTES: The third-ranked Duke Blue Devils continue to steam toward a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they will take a break from ACC action this afternoon to do battle with the St. John's Red Storm of the Big East Conference at Madison Square Garden.

Duke has won its last four games by double figures since suffering its lone loss of the season at Florida State. The Blue Devils are 19-1 overall, including 6-1 in ACC play, and 16 of their wins have come by double digits. On Thursday, they cruised to an 84-68 decision over Boston College at home. Today, Duke will aim for just its third true road victory of the season.

St. John's certainly earned plenty of praise and media attention with a 3-0 start to Big East Conference play. Unfortunately for the squad, things have gone down hill in a hurry. Losses in five of the last six outings have dropped the Red Storm to 11-8 overall and 4-5 in league action. Four of the last five losses have come by 15 or more points, including Wednesday's 77-52 beating at the hands of the Georgetown Hoyas.

With regard to the all-time series between these two teams, Duke holds a 14-5 edge over St. John's. The clubs have squared off every year since the 1998-99 campaign, and the Red Storm haven't beaten the Blue Devils since 2003.

The fact that Duke has barely blinked since star freshman guard Kyrie Irving went out with injury speaks to the tremendous talent that exists on the roster. It is unclear if and when Irving will return this season, but players such as Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Andre Dawkins are prepared to make a run at a national title defense regardless. Smith is scoring 20.5 ppg to go along with 5.7 apg, and he has to be considered the frontrunner for ACC Player of the Year. Singler checks in with 17.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg, and Dawkins provides 10.4 ppg for Duke, which is generating 85.7 ppg on 49 percent field goal efficiency, including 40.9 percent from three-point range. At the defensive end, the Blue Devils are holding opponents to 64.0 ppg on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor. Smith exploded for 28 points and eight assists in the victory over Boston College on Thursday, and Seth Curry hit 5-of-7 three- pointers en route to 20 points. Singler and Ryan Kelly added 14 points each for Duke, which shot 50 percent from the field and turned the ball over only seven times.

It is hard to imagine St. John's playing any worse than it did on Wednesday against Georgetown. The Red Storm connected on only 33.3 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 4-of-15 effort from three-point range. They also suffered a 39-30 rebounding disadvantage and a 16-8 deficit in points from the foul line while permitting the Hoyas to connect on 51 percent of their shots from the floor. Justin Harrell led the way in defeat for St. John's with 12 points off the bench, and Dwight Hardy finished with 10 points despite his 4-of-16 shooting effort from the field. Through 19 outings, Hardy is averaging 14.5 ppg, but his 29.3 percent accuracy from three-point range leaves much to be desired. Justin Brownlee adds 13.2 ppg, and D.J. Kennedy is netting 10.7 ppg. SJU is averaging 68.8 ppg overall while surrendering 66.7 ppg to its opponents.

Don't expect an upset this afternoon, as Duke may not lose again this season. Even without Irving, you can make the case that the Blue Devils are the nation's best team.

GAME NOTES: The third-ranked Duke Blue Devils continue to steam toward a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they will take a break from ACC action this afternoon to do battle with the St. John's Red Storm of the Big East Conference at Madison Square Garden.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Madison Square Garden (19,876) -- New York, New York. Television: CBS. Home Record: Duke 12-0, St. John's 6-3. Away Record: Duke 2-1, St. John's 2-5. Neutral Record: Duke 5-0, St. John's 3-0. Conference Record: Duke 6-1, St. John's 4-5. Series Record: Duke leads, 14-5.

Duke 79, St. John's 65