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Duke faces in-state rival UNC-Greensboro

Nov 16, 2006 - 2:38 PM UNC-Greensboro (0-2) at No. 10 Duke (2-0) 7:00 pm EST

DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) - Josh McRoberts almost entered the NBA draft last summer. Duke is glad he decided to stay.

The 10th-ranked Blue Devils look to remain unbeaten when they take on in-state rival North Carolina-Greensboro in their third straight home game to open the season.

After losing National Player of the Year J.J. Redick and center Shelden Williams to the NBA, Duke will have to rely on McRoberts to be the main scoring option on the youngest Blue Devils team in years.

McRoberts and DeMarcus Nelson scored 16 points apiece as the Blue Devils pulled away in the second half to post a 72-48 victory over Georgia Southern in the second round of the BCE Classic on Monday.

A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Nelson gave Duke a 38-32 halftime lead, capping a seven-point run in the final 40 seconds.

The Blue Devils looked like a different team in the second half, tightening their defense and using their transition game to spark an early 9-0 surge - highlighted by back-to-back dunks from Lance Thomas - that pushed the lead to 53-38 with 15:13 to play.

The Spartans slipped to 0-2 with a 69-56 loss to Penn State on Monday. Kyle Hines had 20 points and seven rebounds in the defeat.

Duke has won all six meetings with UNC-Greensboro, which all have come during coach Mike Krzyzewski's tenure.