The No. 4 Duke Blue Devils (8-0) aim to keep their best start since the 2017-18 season intact as the No. 15 Florida Gators (5-2) visit Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Tuesday night in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
The Blue Devils’ hot start can be tied to the stellar play of Cameron Boozer. The star freshman scored 35 in Duke’s 80-71 win over Arkansas in the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic in Chicago, Ill., on Nov. 27 and places sixth in Division I with 22.9 points per game.
Boozer also leads the Blue Devils with 9.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Patrick Ngongba has proven to be the perfect complement in the frontcourt to Boozer for Duke this season. The 6-foot-11 sophomore has averaged 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and comes in to Tuesday’s matchup as the Blue Devils’ second leading scorer.
With a 2-2 record in neutral-site games this season, the defending national champion Florida Gators play their first true road contest after a 90-78 win over the Providence Friars in the third-place game at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego on Nov. 28, behind a game-high 20 points from Xavaian Lee.
Rebounds have proven to be the strength of the Gators as they lead the SEC with an average of 48.1 per game and a margin of 14.9.
Florida boasts a pair of frontcourt players in the SEC top six in rebounds per game as Rueben Chinyelu tops the list with 10.9, while Thomas Haugh ranks sixth at 7.9.
Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland has provided a boost in the backcourt for Florida in the early stages of the season with an average of 12.0 points per game and comes off a 17-point performance in the win over Providence.
Expect points to come fast and furious as both teams have scored at least 75 in each game this season.
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- Darryn Peterson on tough night in Chapel Hill