The No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils face another test, taking on the eighth-ranked Auburn Tigers on Tuesday night in the Maui Invitational.
One annihilation after another, the Duke Blue Devils are out of the gates in the 2018-19 college basketball season appearing to be unbeatable. The freshmen-led team for head coach Mike Krzyzewski started off the year by routing Kentucky and they haven’t looked back since. In their second game in as many days at the Maui Invitational though, the Blue Devils will face another SEC test in the No. 8 Auburn Tigers.
Duke trounced San Diego State in their opening-round matchup at the Maui Invitational, and it was more of the same of what we’ve seen from the Blue Devils this season. Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and R.J. Barrett combined for 49 points, a pedestrian total for them, but fellow freshman Tre Jones contributed big time with 14 points of his own in the win.
Meanwhile, Auburn needed overtime on Monday night to get past a talented Xavier Musketeers team as Bruce Pearl’s group has eyes for an SEC Championship this season. Led by an experienced group featuring the likes of Bryce Brown and Jared Harper, the Tigers clearly have the experience advantage against the uber-talented, yet young, Blue Devils.
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Tuesday night’s matchup between Auburn and Duke will be Duke’s second top-10 ranked opponent of the season, but we all saw how the first one played out. With this being the second night of a back-to-back for the Blue Devils and with the experience of this Tigers roster, this one could be a much tighter affair.
Game Info
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018
Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Maui, HI
Arena: Lahaina Civic Center
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Despite how talented and dangerous this Auburn team is, it truly does seem like no one in the country can hold a candle to Duke right now. Even still, in this tournament format of the Maui Invitational, perhaps that’s what it’ll take to topple the Blue Devils early in the season.