Furman Paladins
Krzyzewski puts charge into No. 1 Duke for Furman game (Nov 20, 2017)
Furman Paladins

Krzyzewski puts charge into No. 1 Duke for Furman game (Nov 20, 2017)

Published Nov. 19, 2017 11:14 p.m. ET

DURHAM, N.C. -- The past couple of days might have been a bit rough for Duke after a less-than-sterling outing Friday night.

But the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils figure they could benefit from a game with glitches that produced yet another victory.

"(Coach Mike Krzyzewski) tried to light a fire under us," Duke senior guard Grayson Allen said, referring to the 78-61 victory against Southern. "He was fired up, just like he always is."

That figures to make the Blue Devils a little more energetic for their next game, which comes with Monday night's meeting with visiting Furman at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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Duke (4-0) has won 135 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. The meeting with Furman (2-1) is an on-campus game as part of the PK80 event, which Duke will compete in later in the week in Portland, Ore.

For Krzyzewski, it's all part of going through a season with different factors impacting various games.

"We just go back to basics," Krzyzewski said. "We don't want to completely go back to the drawing board. We just want to be how we've been and we weren't that way (Friday night)."

Krzyzewski said one area of concern in the opening minutes against Southern was a lack of attention to defensive rebounding.

"Guys were leaking out," Krzyzewski said. "When a shot was taken (against us), we should have had five guys on the boards and there weren't five guys on the boards. Guys were trying to get down the court quick, just not the way we play."

Freshman forward Wendell Carter Jr. said there should be a better focus for the Furman game.

"Come back out energized, communicating and get back in the flow of things," Carter said. "We've just got to come out and be unselfish. That's what keeps us going, being unselfish."

Furman (2-1) is coming off an 82-65 loss Saturday at Butler. That began a stretch of four consecutive games away from home for the Paladins.

While Duke has a team with four freshmen in the starting lineup, the Paladins have some experience on their side.

"Our team is just battle-tested and we've got an old group and we have a group that likes to fight," first-year Furman coach Bob Richey said. "We have some versatility and we have to use that."

Senior guard Devin Shipley is averaging 19 points across the first three games for Furman. Senior guard Daniel Fowler posted a team-high 19 points in the Butler game.

Richey said the Paladins like to run and play a fast pace. Whether that's a good formula for a game at Duke might be worth assessing.

Furman was the only Southern Conference member to be without a loss across the first week of the season until stumbling against Butler. The Paladins were the preseason conference favorite in voting by media covering the league.

So the Paladins expect to have good moments.

"These guys are just tough," Richey said. "The power of playing hard and being connected defensively and being able to get out and run and having the shooters we have, you can make runs quick."

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