Gameday: Georgia Southern

THE CONTENTS: No. 8 Duke hosts Georgia Southern in the second round of the 2K Sports Classic tonight at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on 620 AM (in case you don’t want to listen to Beth Mowins and Bob Wenzel).

THE EXPOSITION: The Blue Devils reached the second round by dispatching Presbyterian, 80-49, last night. It wasn’t the prettiest of games from Duke, especially on the offensive side of the ball, as it committed 21 turnovers.

Georgia Southern, meanwhile, crept past Houston, 65-63, in the opener yesterday. This is mildly upsetting because it prevents us from seeing Tom Penders on the sidelines tonight, and Houston’s uptempo style would provide a nice complement to Duke’s pacing.

THE BIGGEST THING FROM LAST NIGHT: Duke overcame the Curse of Bob Wenzel. Wenzel, the former Rutgers’ coach who calls mostly Big East games during the season before helping out CBS in March, has been present for the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament losses the last three seasons. He was a sideline reporter in Atlanta in 2006 for the loss to LSU before being the analyst for Duke’s losses to VCU and West Virginia the last two years.

WHO IS GEORGIA SOUTHERN?: The Eagles play in the Southern Conference, and generally contend for the conference title (they won it to earn an NIT bid in 2006). This season, however, they will be hard-pressed to get by Davidson in conference, as they were ranked third in the pre-season poll for the South Division of the conference. Georgia Southern last made the NCAA Tournament in 1992 and is located in Statesboro, GA.

IF, PERCHANCE, I’M IN STATESBORO, WHERE SHOULD I WATCH THE GAME?: Manny’s Neighborhood Grille. Thank me later.

WHY NOT SOUTHERN GEORGIA?: Good question.

WHY DOES THE NAME SOUND FAMILIAR?: For football fans, Georgia Southern is the alma mater of star running back Adrian Peterson. You know, the one on the Bears.

Also, Duke faced off with the Eagles two seasons ago under similar circumstances: It was the second round of the CBE Classic, played at Cameron. The Blue Devils only led by six at halftime before outscoring Georgia Southern 34-16 after the intermission for a 72-48 win.

WHAT OTHER ARCANE HISTORICAL INFORMATION DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?: Duke played pretty poorly in its season opener last night. It was vaguely reminiscent of the Blue Devils’ hideous 60-43 win over Boston U. in the 2005 NIT Season Tip-Off season opener. Of course, in a game the next night, Duke recovered to trounce Seton Hall 93-40 in one of the most lopsided games I’ve ever seen. It was like 33-4 at one point.

FUN FACT ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN FROM ITS WIKIPEDIA PAGE: It has an endowment of roughly $46.5 million.

WILL YOU GIVE ME ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAME?: Apologies to the Eagles, but this game isn’t really about what Georgia Southern is going to do. Many of the same questions from last night linger for Duke: Can Nolan Smith run the offense smoothly? (Last night: Ehh.) Can Miles Plumlee be more than a black hole in the post? (Last night: Ehh.) Is this Gerald Henderson’s team? (Last night: Kyle Singler might have something to say about that.)

Those are the things I’ll be watching for. I want to see the Blue Devils play crisp and efficient offense, lockdown defense, and receive solid minutes from their deep bench. Plumlee, Lance Thomas, David McClure, and Brian Zoubek are all competing for time at that second frontcourt spot, and I think it comes down to who can defend without fouling and who can make open layups quickly and consistently (we’re setting the bar REAL high). Also, how is Greg Paulus handling the transition to the bench?

PREDICTION: Duke looks better early, tires late because of the early-season back-to-back. Blue Devils, 84-59.