Georgetown @ Duke preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 22, 2015 ) Georgetown 84, Duke 86

Top-ranked Duke has been sharp through the first five games of the season and looks to avoid an upset when it takes on upstart Georgetown in the 2K Empire Classic championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday. The young Blue Devils had no problem with California 87-52 in Thursday’s semifinals as 6-10 freshman Vernon Carey Jr. broke out with 31 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Carey’s performance in the semifinals gave coach Mike Krzyzewski a chance to pass UCLA legend John Wooden (217) for the most wins as a No. 1 team when Duke goes after a third 2K Classic championship in four attempts. Georgetown rallied from a five-point deficit at halftime and put together a rousing final 20 minutes to surprise No. 22 Texas 82-66 in the first game Thursday as sophomore guard Mac McClung led the way with 19 points. The Hoyas managed three wins over mid-majors while losing to Penn State of the Big Ten before coming to the Big Apple and drawing some inspiration from coach Patrick Ewing, the Hall of Famer who starred with the New York Knicks. “This is still my home. I still have a lot of fans here, still a lot of family here, still have a lot of supporters here, so it was a great night,” Ewing told reporters after the victory. “And my team, these guys stepped up and got the job done.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (4-1): Senior center Omer Yurtseven, a 7-0 transfer from North Carolina State, leads the team in scoring (15.6) and rebounding (10.8) after draining 5-of-6 shots for 10 points against Texas. McClung, who averaged 13.1 points as a freshman, connected on 7-of-14 from the field Thursday and pushed his season scoring mark to 13.6 while junior forward Jamorko Pickett scored a season-best 15 versus the Longhorns. Sophomore guard James Akinjo filled the scoresheet Thursday with 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, and is averaging 12.6 points and 4.8 assists.

ABOUT DUKE (5-0): Carey connected on 11-of-18 from the field as the Blue Devils advanced to the final despite shooting 41.5 percent from the field by forcing 15 turnovers and pounding the Bears off the glass 50-28. Carey raised his average to 18 points and sophomore point guard Tre Jones is second on the team in scoring (15.2) while leading the way with six assists per contest, and freshman guard Cassius Stanley (12.6) has also contributed. Freshman forward Matthew Hurt is the fourth player averaging in double figures scoring (10.4) for the Blue Devils, who drained a season-high 10 3-pointers Thursday.

TIP-INS

1. Duke freshman F Wendell Moore Jr. matched his season high with 10 points Thursday and added season bests of seven boards and five assists.

2. Georgetown freshman C Qudus Wahab had nine points against Texas after totaling 11 in the first four contests.

3. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 8-7 and won the last matchup 86-84 at Madison Square Garden in 2015 2K Classic championship game.

PREDICTION: Duke 81, Georgetown 68