Blue Devils and Huskies collide in the Big Apple

The Washington Huskies close out their stay in ranked Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden as part of the Carquest Auto Parts Classic.

The Huskies are 4-3 on the young season and come into this contest having lost back-to-back contests, including a bitter 79-77 setback to nationally-ranked Marquette on Tuesday in the Jimmy V. Classic.

The Blue Devils have just one loss on the season and that was a humbling setback at Ohio State (85-63) on November 29th. Mike Krzyzewski's team was able to put some distance between itself and the loss with Wednesday's 87-64 rout of Colorado State.

This is the sixth meeting all-time between these two teams. Duke has won four of the five previous matchups, including the last three.

The Huskies will present some challenges for Duke. An offensive-minded squad, Washington is averaging a healthy 80.4 ppg on 47-percent shooting. Three Huskies currently boast double-figure scoring averages, with Terrence Ross leading the way at 16.6 ppg. C.J. Wilcox is a close second at 15.7 ppg, while Tony Wroten has been a spark off the bench with 13.0 ppg. Ross is the team's top rebounder, hauling in 7.0 caroms per contest. Wilcox is the resident sniper, hitting 21-of-44 three-pointers (.477). The young Huskies proved themselves worthy under the bright lights in the Garden, as they gave nationally-ranked Marquette all it could handle. Ross led four Huskies in double digits with 19 points. Wilcox added 15, while Darnell Gant and Wroten finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Washington won the battle on the boards, 46-32, but still suffered a two-point loss.

Duke made light work of Colorado State in Durham this week, extending its streak of non-conference wins at home to a whopping 90 games. Freshman Austin Rivers led the charge with 17 points. Three other Blue Devils posted double digits, as Andre Dawkins finished with 15 points, followed by Mason Plumlee and his double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds and Miles Plumlee's 14 points as well. Balanced scoring has been the cornerstone of Duke's success early on. The team has shot the ball extremely well from all over the floor, converting 50 percent overall and 42 percent from behind the arc. Four of the five starters are averaging double figures, led by Rivers' 15.6 ppg. Seth Curry adds to the perimeter assault with 13.1 ppg, followed by a pair of frontcourt players in Mason Plumlee (12.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg) and Ryan Kelly (12.2 ppg).