The St. John’s-Duke series was minted as one of the great out-of-conference matchups in recent years. But the Blue Devils’ domination of the teams’ last two meetings has raised questions about the Red Storm’s ability to compete.
“Over a period of time … there are going to be swings where every once in a while a team wins a few [more] games than the other team and all of sudden, because of the tradition and the coaching and the excellence that that program’s had over the years, they’re going to end up beating you,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said yesterday.
“That’s what makes it a great series,” he added. “So we would like to keep that series going and we’re looking forward to coming [to New York] on Sunday.”
That’s when the series continues, with the Blue Devils (19-4), ranked No. 4 by The Post, and Red Storm meeting for a noon tipoff at Madison Square Garden. Duke has won the last two meetings by a combined 74 points, including last year’s 97-55 drubbing at Durham.