GAME NOTES: In what appears to be an extremely lopsided non-conference matchup, the ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils play host to the Cornell Big Red. Cornell has managed victories in its last two games to improve to 6-4 overall. The most recent win came on New Year's Eve in an 86-84 decision over Quinnipiac in overtime. Clearly, however, this evening's clash marks a major leap in competition level. Duke has been idle since December 20th when it dropped a heart-breaking 65-64 overtime loss to Pittsburgh in New York. That defeat was the first of the season for the Blue Devils, who have yet to play a true road game in 2007-08. Duke owns a 3-0 lead in the all-time series with Cornell, and the teams haven't met since 1988.

In the thrilling victory over Quinnipiac, Ryan Wittman paced Cornell with 22 points on the strength of a 5-of-9 shooting performance from three-point range. Louis Dale pitched in 15 points, Alex Tyler added 13 points, and both Jeff Foote and Jason Hartford scored 10 points to provide further balance to the lineup. The Big Red connected on 54.4 percent of their field goal attempts, helping them overcome a 41-26 rebounding disadvantage. Wittman has connected on 51.5 percent of his three-pointers thus far and is averaging 15.9 ppg. Dale adds 14.4 ppg to the mix, but Collin Robinson is providing 11.9 ppg. Cornell is scoring a strong 78.9 ppg, but the club is permitting an almost identical 78.6 ppg to the opposition.

Duke is racking up 86.7 ppg this season on 49.9 percent shooting from the floor, including 42.4 percent from three-point range. Fortunately, the squad has been able to limit opponents to 62.0 ppg on 40.1 percent shooting, including 32.5 percent from behind the arc. The Blue Devils have committed 43 fewer turnovers than the opposition and have scored 59 more points from the foul line. Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson are both netting 13.6 ppg for the Blue Devils, and DeMarcus Nelson adds 11.7 ppg. Jon Scheyer chips in 10.9 ppg, and Taylor King rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.8 ppg. Against Pitt the last time out, Singler and Henderson posted 17 points apiece. As for Nelson, he came through with 14 points and six assists. Duke turned the ball over 20 times and shot 37.7 percent from the floor, the two most obvious factors that led to defeat.

Don't expect tonight's game to be close, as Duke is far superior to Cornell. We will soon find out just how good this group of Blue Devils is when ACC play begins.