By ,
Published November 20, 2014
A pair of top 25 teams clash for the Maui ranked Duke Blue Devils ranked Kansas Jayhawks battle it out at the Lahaina Civic Center.
The Blue Devils are 6-0 on the season and are certainly no stranger to this event, winning four tournament titles. Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils have never lost a game in this event (14-0) and that includes a pair of wins this year over Tennessee (77-67) and Michigan (82-75).
Bill Self's Jayhawks knocked off tough teams in Georgetown (67-63) and UCLA (72-56) the last two days to move to 3-1 on the young season. The Jayhawks opened the year with a rout of Towson (100-54), followed by a loss to Kentucky (75-65).
These two teams have won two of the last four national titles. Duke holds a 6-2 lead in the all-time series with Kansas. The most memorable meeting took place in the 1991 NCAA National title game, with Duke coming out on top, 72-65. The last meeting took place in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, with Kansas posting a 69-65 victory in the West Regional semifinals.
It was once again Duke's superior shooting that made the difference, as the team moved to 14-0 in this event with an 82-75 win over a good Michigan squad. Freshman Austin Rivers led the way once again for Duke, scoring a career-high 20 points, shooting 6-of-14 from the floor. Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly provided scoring balance with 17 points apiece in the win. The Blue Devils converted 56.5 percent from the floor, including an 11-of-21 showing from behind the arc. The Blue Devils are averaging 81.3 ppg and have plenty of scoring punch. Curry leads four players in double figures with 16.2 ppg. Rivers is next in line at 15.2 ppg, followed by Kelly and Mason Plumlee with 12.3 and 10.5 ppg, respectively. Plumlee is the team's top rebounder with close to 10 caroms per outing (9.7).
The Jayhawks shot .511 from the floor and owned the Bruins on the glass, outrebounding UCLA 34-21 in a 16-point victory on Tuesday. Elijah Johnson led the way at the offensive end, hitting 8-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three-point range to finish with a game-high 23 points. Thomas Robinson poured in 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Tyshawn Taylor finished with 13 points and six assists. Through four games, Kansas is averaging 76.0 ppg, getting it done on 48-percent shooting. Robinson has been strong down low and leads the team in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (11.3 rpg). Taylor is right behind in terms of scoring (15.8 ppg), while Johnson has been both a scorer (12.0 ppg) and solid distributor (team-high 18 assists).
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/duke-and-kansas-square-off-for-maui-invitational-crown