Lincoln Regional 2nd Round Preview: Battle of the evil Blues in 2nd round

No time to celebrate a thrilling win over Oklahoma Sooners in their opening game. The 7th-seeded DePaul Blue Demons (28-6) have to focus on their chance to get through to the Sweet 16. If they're going to do that, they'll have to get by the vaunted Duke Blue Devils (28-6).

"DePaul is an excellent team offensively," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "They've got a lot of weapons, they share the ball well, and they like to run."

The Blue Demons dropped 104 points in regulation on the Sooners, including 54 in the second half.

Not only are they great on the offensive end, they're on fire right now, too. DePaul has won 17 of 18 games, including sweeping their way through the Big East Conference Tournament.

While the 2nd-seeded Blue Devils cruised passed 15th-seed Winthrop Eagles 87-45 in the opening game in the Durham Regional, Even though Duke has done this without all three of their point guards, who've been lost to injury.

With how big Duke is compared to DePaul, the Blue Demons will have to rely on their speed and their ability to get out in transition. It really was able to put Oklahoma in uncomfortable positions throughout the game. In the same sense, we watched that Sooners team do the same for DePaul.

An obvious statement to make, but if DePaul is going to win this game, it's not by giving up 66 second half points. They'll need to flash some of that defense that shined throughout the Big East season.

Tricia Liston, the senior, will be vital for Duke's offense as she is their leading scorer at 17.4 points per game and team captain. She shoots it 48.9 percent from the Duke money ball line and can hit you on the drive, too.

"I definitely think we're prepared to play against this level of competition," DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. "We have to go out and do what we do. We have to play our game. And if we play our game, I think we can definitely make a game of this."

Duke leads the all-time series against DePaul 2-1. Tonight's game marks the first meeting between the two team’s at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The previous meetings took place in Chicago (1986), Champaign, Ill. (1997) and in Philadelphia. Duke leads the all-time series 2-1 with DePaul’s victory coming in 1986 on its home floor. The other two games were NCAA Tournament contests and were played on a neutral court.

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