Here we go again

The last embrace between IU coach Mike Davis and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski occurred on March 21, 2002 at centercourt of Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Davis extended his hand to shake Krzyzewski's just moments after raising it above his head in a frenzied celebration. The Hoosiers had just upset the No. 1 Blue Devils, throwing Davis and the Hoosiers onto the national stage -- a place Coach K was long accustomed to. \nBut that was the last time. The next time the two coaches embrace will be at 9 p.m. tonight when Krzyzewski and his once again No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils take the floor at Assembly Hall to play Davis and his No. 17-ranked Hoosiers. Both teams enter tonight's game undefeated (Duke 5-0, IU 3-0), and both shoot better than 50 percent from the floor.\nBut that might be where the similarities end. IU's offense has exploded this year for 300 points in three games resulting in a trio of lopsided victories. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils depend more on their defense, holding their opponents to just 55 points per game and nearly 20 percent shooting from the three-point line. \nLooking back at the last meeting between the two storied programs, it appears as though the roles have reversed in a statistical sense. Duke averaged more than 90 points per game that season, and IU relied on its defense to capture the postseason win. The Hoosiers' late-game pressure forced Blue Devil mistakes and spurred a 10-3 run to close the game and give IU the 74-73 win. Duke shot just 33 percent in the second half and missed 10 of its 14 three-point attempts.\nThis time around, the key for the Hoosiers might not be offense or defense, but rather the tempo of play.\n"We're going to make them run with us and see if they can keep up," senior guard Marshall Strickland said. "They won't expect us to be as fast as we are."\nDespite all the history, despite all the campus hype, the Hoosiers were quick to downplay the significance of this game over any others. After all, it's still the regular season and this game will count just the same as the ones against Nicholls State and Western Illinois.\n"I've been playing ball my whole life, and I think if you concentrate more on the name and all that stuff, you're going to try and do more and you're going to mess up more," senior Marco Killingsworth said. "If you take it as another game there won't be so much pressure on you."\nThis is the first time in the IU-Duke series history that the two teams have squared off in the regular season. All the previous meetings have come in either preseason or postseason tournaments, including three games in the NCAA tournament. In two of the postseason games, the winner went on to win the national \nchampionship.\nAll history and hype aside, IU coach Mike Davis said this game is not do or die. He said the game will be a challenge, but not necessarily a measuring stick for the team.\nFor the fans, on the other hand, they will witness something unseen at Assembly Hall in nearly five years -- a No. 1 ranked team. Davis may be able to downplay the importance of tonight's game for the team, but for the fans, he admitted, "they should be excited."\n"This is why they come to (IU)," he said. "To be a part of this"