Duke Beats Down Purdue, 76-60

With their 76-60 punking of Purdue on the road Tuesday night in the perpetually un-challenging Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Devils' cover is blown.

So don't get too cocky, Carolina. Duke is back.

Duke is back with one of the most precious commodities in today's transient college basketball: experience. Duke is back with an eight-man core rotation that features two seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and zero freshmen -- a throwback rotation to the olden days when rookies waited their turn. Duke is back without a powerhouse player in the middle, but with so many players who can do so many things that it can make up for that deficiency.

Duke is back with a poised group that can saunter into an old-fashioned Midwestern snake pit, feel the noise press against its ears and smirk in response.

"We're a very confident team," said leading scorer Kyle Singler.

"These guys have games like this every single time they go out," said admiring Purdue coach Matt Painter. "They walk into that atmosphere every single night."

The Devils walked into a charged atmosphere and slapped the Boilermakers right in the face. They never trailed. They led 7-0 as Purdue hyperventilated its way to five missed shots (two of them layups) and three turnovers. The lead was two possessions or greater for the final 31 minutes and 16 seconds. It was double digits for the final 19:12.

This was a Boiler beatdown.

"It's important to get off to a good start in an environment like this," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Purdue was so amped, I think they missed some easy plays and layups. They wanted it so bad."

Duke wanted it, too. But a poised, veteran team can want it and still execute.

The Blue Devils did that, slapping relentless pressure defense and reliable weakside rotations on Purdue's best offensive players, Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore. They blocked out like pros, hammered the Boilers by 20 on the glass. And they routinely got the ball where it needed to go -- primarily in the hands of gifted sophomore Singler.

Singler was one of the few stars of the tremendous prep Class of 2007 who came back for a second season of college ball, and he'll be Duke's bell cow. Tuesday night the kid with the feathery stroke and a banger's mentality punished Purdue with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He played like a very veteran, very talented sophomore.

"Kyle will never be nervous or afraid," Krzyzewski said. "Ever."

Singler is part of a Duke starting lineup that has more athleticism than any in several years. Swingman Gerald Henderson might be the most athletic player in the nation; guard Jon Scheyer is an underrated athlete (ask Moore, whom he locked up much of the night); and sophomore point guard Nolan Smith is a jet.

The insertion of Smith in the starting lineup was the one great chemistry experiment by Krzyzewski, because it sent Greg Paulus to the bench -- for the first time ever, really. Paulus had started 95 games in three years at Duke and had the ball in his hands an awful lot of that time.

There have been hot starts before in recent years -- plenty of them, as the Blue Devils seemingly played over their heads and then wore down or were exposed come tournament time.

Don't expect this Duke team to fade all season -- not even against North Carolina. If the Tar Holes want to know where their challenge is coming from, they don't have to look far to find it.