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Friday, December 4
Durham, N.C.
7 P.M.
Duke University
vs
Bellarmine
No. 6 Duke Welcomes Bellarmine for Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari
12/3/2020 5:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
THE OPENING TIP
DUKE TO HOST MTE, HONOR LEGENDARY DR. ONLY E. AKWARI
Duke announced in November plans for the Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari ("OWN-yay ak-WAR-ee), a co-hosted multi-team event (MTE) with Howard…Duke will host Bellarmine on Friday, while Howard welcomes Bellarmine on Sunday. The games versus Elon have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols at Elon…The late Dr. Akwari, a Nigerian-American and the first African-American surgeon on the faculty of Duke University, passed away in Durham in April 2019 at the age of 76…Recruited to Duke as associate professor of surgery in the School of Medicine in 1978, Akwari was revered for advancing the cause of both underrepresented minorities and women in the field of medicine.
MORE ABOUT DR. AKWARI
Dr. Akwari (1942–2019) was the first African American surgeon on the faculty of Duke University…He was known as a compassionate physician, a dedicated mentor, and a champion for underrepresented minorities and women in the field of medicine. Notably, Dr. Akwari organized the first national meeting of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons in 1989…Duke had only two other African American professors on faculty with Akwari being only the second on the academic tenure track. It was only a decade earlier that the hospital had desegregated its facilities…His daughter fondly recalls her dad's commitment to his patients, students, and trainees, and his work across the medical center and university as well as in civic and international surgical engagement…He brought vision and confident persistence paired with an engaging, low-key temperament to his research and clinical work, to his citizenship in his university, and to his participation in the American and international surgical communities…Among his many leadership roles at Duke, he served on Duke's Athletic Council and enjoyed close relationships with the coaches of women's and men's basketball, football, and wrestling. He was keenly interested in facilitating the studies of Division I athletes who aspired to medical careers.
COACH K ON DR. AKWARI
"Dr. Akwari not only did amazing things medically for Duke University, but he really helped our program, starting in the 1980s when I arrived. Dr. Akwari was a mentor to some of our young men like Tommy Amaker, Johnny Dawkins, Billy King and many others. He is one of the great human beings in the history of our University and although he has passed, his wife Anne remains a vibrant member of our Duke and Durham communities."
ABOUT BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY
Friday marks the first regular-season meeting between programs…Duke hosted Bellarmine for an exhibition game at Cameron Indoor on Oct. 29, 2011 -- an 87-62 Blue Devil victory behind 18 points and six rebounds from Seth Curry…Bellarmine was the 2011 Division-II national champion, as it has become a custom under head coach Mike Krzyzewski for Duke to host the previous season's D-II champ for an exhibition…No stranger to success, the Knights reached the D-II Final Four four times in their program history including three times under 16th-year head coach Scott Davenport…Davenport has won 77 percent of his games at Bellarmine…Located in the city of Louisville, Bellarmine plays its home games at Freedom Hall -- the previous home of the Louisville Cardinals.
DUKE-BELLARMINE CONNECTIONS
Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport and his family are long-time family friends with Duke's Nolan Smith and his family…Davenport was a graduate assistant coach at Louisville while Smith's father, the late Derek Smith, played there from 1979-82, winning the 1980 national championship.
ON THIS DATE
Duke is 13-4 when playing on December 4 and has won seven straight…The Blue Devils last played on this date in 2010 -- an 82-70 victory over Butler at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., the season after beating the Bulldogs in the national championship game.
AP POLL STREAKS EXTEND
With the release of the Associated Press preseason poll on Nov. 9, Duke was ranked No. 9 -- extending some notable streaks…The Blue Devils have now been ranked in the top 10 at least once in 25 consecutive seasons -- the longest active streak nationally by a decade (Kansas, 15)…This marks the 13th consecutive season that the Blue Devils have debuted in the top 10…With Duke moving up to No. 6 in the Nov. 30 poll, the Blue Devils have now been ranked in 85 consecutive polls dating back to 2016, the nation's second-longest active streak.
SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
Duke achieved the program's 55th 20-win season in 2019-20, and the Blue Devils have won 20+ in 24 consecutive seasons, including this past season…Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas are the only programs to have won 25 or more games in each of the last 13 seasons…The Blue Devils have reached the 30-win mark in 15 different season under Coach K -- an NCAA record.
THREE-POINT STREAK
Duke has connected on at least one three-pointer in 1,092 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally, trailing only UNLV's 1,106-game streak…It has been more than 30 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai'i…Vanderbilt had owned the second-longest streak before its January 18, 2020 game versus Tennessee (0-of-25)…
NOTHING EASY FROM OUTSIDE
Since the start of last season, Duke has held 15 opponents to 25 percent or less from behind the three-point line -- second most nationally and tied for the most among power conference teams…In that time, the Blue Devils are 13-2 when doing so…Last season, Duke held opponents to a .299 mark from three-point range to rank third in the ACC and 32nd nationally…Duke's .299 percentage marked just the sixth time in program history the Blue Devils held the opposition to less than 30 percentage from three-point range…The Blue Devils allowed opponents to make an average of just 4.84 threes per game last year -- the fourth fewest yielded nationally and fewest among power conference teams…From January 1 to the end of the season, Duke allowed just 87 made three-pointers -- the fewest by any power conference team.
#GoDuke
- In the opening game of the Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari, No. 6 Duke hosts Bellarmine Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- The game tips at 7 p.m. ET on the ACC's Regional Sports Networks including Fox Sports South with Eric Collins and Grant Long on the call. On the radio, David Shumate and John Roth have the call on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield IMG College (96.5FM & 610AM in Durham).
- For linear television distribution, click here. The game can also be streamed out of market via the FoxSportsGo app, and out-of-market on the WatchESPN app.
- The Blue Devils and Knights are meeting for the first time in the regular season, however it's not Bellarmine's first visit to Cameron.
- As the 2011 NCAA Division-II national champions, Bellarmine battled Duke in an exhibition game the following season -- an 87-62 Duke win. It has become a custom under head coach Mike Krzyzewski for Duke to host the previous season's D-II champ for an exhibition.
- Friday marks Bellarmine's first game as a full Division-I member after the program transitioned this off season. They will compete as a member of the ASUN Conference.
- Two Blue Devils have posted a double-double over the season's first games with freshman Jalen Johnson's 19 points and 19 rebounds in the opener versus Coppin State and Matthew Hurt's 21 points and career-high 13 boards against Michigan State.
- Johnson was named ACC Freshman of the Week for his efforts, becoming the 16th different Blue Devil to be named ACC Freshman of the Week over the last six-plus seasons.
- Including Michigan State's 5-of-20 (.250) from three-point range, Duke has held 15 opponents to .250 or less from long range since the start of last season -- no power conference team has done it more.
- Duke is 31-5 following a loss over the last five seasons.
- The 2020-21 campaign marks the 41st season at Duke for Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K's 1,158 overall wins and 1,085 wins at Duke are each NCAA records.
- Ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP poll, Duke was in the AP's preseason top 10 for the 13th straight year. The Blue Devils have been ranked in the top 10 at least some point during a season in 25 consecutive years – the nation's longest active streak (Kansas, 15).
- Duke's 2020-21 roster features seven newcomers -- six freshmen that comprised the nation's No. 2 class and graduate transfer Patrick Tapé from Columbia University -- the program's first grad transfer.
DUKE TO HOST MTE, HONOR LEGENDARY DR. ONLY E. AKWARI
Duke announced in November plans for the Mako Medical Duke Classic Honoring Dr. Onye E. Akwari ("OWN-yay ak-WAR-ee), a co-hosted multi-team event (MTE) with Howard…Duke will host Bellarmine on Friday, while Howard welcomes Bellarmine on Sunday. The games versus Elon have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols at Elon…The late Dr. Akwari, a Nigerian-American and the first African-American surgeon on the faculty of Duke University, passed away in Durham in April 2019 at the age of 76…Recruited to Duke as associate professor of surgery in the School of Medicine in 1978, Akwari was revered for advancing the cause of both underrepresented minorities and women in the field of medicine.
MORE ABOUT DR. AKWARI
Dr. Akwari (1942–2019) was the first African American surgeon on the faculty of Duke University…He was known as a compassionate physician, a dedicated mentor, and a champion for underrepresented minorities and women in the field of medicine. Notably, Dr. Akwari organized the first national meeting of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons in 1989…Duke had only two other African American professors on faculty with Akwari being only the second on the academic tenure track. It was only a decade earlier that the hospital had desegregated its facilities…His daughter fondly recalls her dad's commitment to his patients, students, and trainees, and his work across the medical center and university as well as in civic and international surgical engagement…He brought vision and confident persistence paired with an engaging, low-key temperament to his research and clinical work, to his citizenship in his university, and to his participation in the American and international surgical communities…Among his many leadership roles at Duke, he served on Duke's Athletic Council and enjoyed close relationships with the coaches of women's and men's basketball, football, and wrestling. He was keenly interested in facilitating the studies of Division I athletes who aspired to medical careers.
COACH K ON DR. AKWARI
"Dr. Akwari not only did amazing things medically for Duke University, but he really helped our program, starting in the 1980s when I arrived. Dr. Akwari was a mentor to some of our young men like Tommy Amaker, Johnny Dawkins, Billy King and many others. He is one of the great human beings in the history of our University and although he has passed, his wife Anne remains a vibrant member of our Duke and Durham communities."
ABOUT BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY
Friday marks the first regular-season meeting between programs…Duke hosted Bellarmine for an exhibition game at Cameron Indoor on Oct. 29, 2011 -- an 87-62 Blue Devil victory behind 18 points and six rebounds from Seth Curry…Bellarmine was the 2011 Division-II national champion, as it has become a custom under head coach Mike Krzyzewski for Duke to host the previous season's D-II champ for an exhibition…No stranger to success, the Knights reached the D-II Final Four four times in their program history including three times under 16th-year head coach Scott Davenport…Davenport has won 77 percent of his games at Bellarmine…Located in the city of Louisville, Bellarmine plays its home games at Freedom Hall -- the previous home of the Louisville Cardinals.
DUKE-BELLARMINE CONNECTIONS
Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport and his family are long-time family friends with Duke's Nolan Smith and his family…Davenport was a graduate assistant coach at Louisville while Smith's father, the late Derek Smith, played there from 1979-82, winning the 1980 national championship.
ON THIS DATE
Duke is 13-4 when playing on December 4 and has won seven straight…The Blue Devils last played on this date in 2010 -- an 82-70 victory over Butler at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., the season after beating the Bulldogs in the national championship game.
AP POLL STREAKS EXTEND
With the release of the Associated Press preseason poll on Nov. 9, Duke was ranked No. 9 -- extending some notable streaks…The Blue Devils have now been ranked in the top 10 at least once in 25 consecutive seasons -- the longest active streak nationally by a decade (Kansas, 15)…This marks the 13th consecutive season that the Blue Devils have debuted in the top 10…With Duke moving up to No. 6 in the Nov. 30 poll, the Blue Devils have now been ranked in 85 consecutive polls dating back to 2016, the nation's second-longest active streak.
SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
Duke achieved the program's 55th 20-win season in 2019-20, and the Blue Devils have won 20+ in 24 consecutive seasons, including this past season…Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas are the only programs to have won 25 or more games in each of the last 13 seasons…The Blue Devils have reached the 30-win mark in 15 different season under Coach K -- an NCAA record.
THREE-POINT STREAK
Duke has connected on at least one three-pointer in 1,092 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally, trailing only UNLV's 1,106-game streak…It has been more than 30 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai'i…Vanderbilt had owned the second-longest streak before its January 18, 2020 game versus Tennessee (0-of-25)…
NOTHING EASY FROM OUTSIDE
Since the start of last season, Duke has held 15 opponents to 25 percent or less from behind the three-point line -- second most nationally and tied for the most among power conference teams…In that time, the Blue Devils are 13-2 when doing so…Last season, Duke held opponents to a .299 mark from three-point range to rank third in the ACC and 32nd nationally…Duke's .299 percentage marked just the sixth time in program history the Blue Devils held the opposition to less than 30 percentage from three-point range…The Blue Devils allowed opponents to make an average of just 4.84 threes per game last year -- the fourth fewest yielded nationally and fewest among power conference teams…From January 1 to the end of the season, Duke allowed just 87 made three-pointers -- the fewest by any power conference team.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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