By ,
Published May 02, 2016
Durham, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - The second-ranked Duke Blue Devils put the nation's longest active home win streak on the line on Saturday afternoon, as they open up ACC play at Cameron Indoor Stadium against the Boston College Eagles.
Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils have opened the season with 12 straight wins and are the only team in the nation that has won all of its games by double digits. Duke ran its homecourt winning streak to 40 games with Wednesday's 84-55 blasting of Wofford. It also marked the 116th consecutive win at home against non-conference foes, also the longest active streak in the nation.
Jim Christian's Eagles are facing an uphill battle in this league-opener. Christian's first season at the helm in Chestnut Hill has produced mixed results thus far. The Eagles are 7-4 on the year overall and have shaken off a slow start by winning five of their last six games, including a 70-47 rout of UMass Lowell on Monday.
Duke has won 17 of the 19 all-time meetings with Boston College and is 13-1 in the series since BC joined the league. The Blue Devils are a perfect 7-0 against the Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Boston College opened the second half with a 10-2 run and never looked back, posting a lopsided win over UMass Lowell last time out. Grad student Aaron Brown had a huge game, going 9-of-12 from the floor and netting a season-high 22 points. Junior Dennis Clifford was efficient as well, going 5-of-6 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line to tally 19 points. Olivier Hanlan was heard from as well, posting 10 points in the win.
The Eagles are at their best when Brown and Hanlan are both on their games. The veteran backcourt duo is the driving force behind BC's offensive success. Brown currently leads the team in scoring at 16.1 ppg and has a team-best 22 3-pointers to his credit. A dynamic scoring threat earlier in his career, Hanlan has evolved into an all-around contributor as a junior. He is netting 15.5 ppg this year, while also averaging 4.0 rpg and doling out a team-best 4.2 apg. Clifford is third in the scoring column at a modest 8.7 ppg and tops the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg).
Duke has shown very few weaknesses this season and as a result boasts of a +24.8 scoring margin. The team is shooting a sizzling .529 from the floor this season (top-five nationally), while putting up 85.3 ppg (sixth nationally). Freshman sensation Jahlil Okafor has not disappointed, as the nation's top recruit has lived up to the hype, shooting .685 from the floor and pacing the Blue Devils in both scoring (18.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg). Senior guard Quinn Cook (14.5 ppg) is the veteran presence in the backcourt, while two more freshmen, Justise Winslow (12.1 ppg) and Tyus Jones (10.8 ppg, 5.5 apg) have made immediate impacts alongside Okafor.
Duke allowed Wofford to hang around in the first half, but put it into another gear after halftime and cruised to victory. The Blue Devils, who shot just .429 from the floor in the first half, upped it to a ridiculous .708 effort over the final 20 minutes to earn their 12th straight win of the season. Okafor was once again the driving force, going 11-of-13 from the floor and posting 24 points and eight rebounds. Winslow poured in 16 points, followed by Cook's 15 and Amile Jefferson's 10.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/duke-opens-acc-slate-against-boston-college