This will become a pseudo home-and-home series, as Duke then agreed to travel to MSU at a later date.

“It'll be different playing at Cameron without fans, just like it's different for Notre Dame to play here without fans,” Head Coach Tom Izzo said when speaking to reporters Monday. "I think we have two of the best basketball fan base, student bases in the whole country, and it'll be different. But it's still Cameron. It's still Duke.”

The last time the two schools met, Duke rolled over MSU, 87-75, at the Breslin in the Big Ten ACC challenge. Former Duke standout Vernon Carey Jr. put up 26 points against the school that so coveted him in a dominant performance.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was modest in the victory, describing the matchup as one of "two of the best programs in sport."

Izzo is 2-12 in his career coaching against Krzyzewski, and the Spartans are 0-3 at Duke.

Izzo addressed the “aura of Duke” when speaking to reporters Monday, saying he hopes they “respect and don’t fear (their) opponent.”

“We got punched in the mouth last year,” Izzo said. “It’s kind of our turn to repay the favor. If you’re a good team and a program as good as ours now, you shouldn’t get caught up in the aura of Duke.”

After the forwards saw reserve minutes through the first two games, sophomore Julius Marble and freshman Mady Sissoko entered the discussion of possible big lineups the Spartans can present — junior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. is also integral to this concept. 

"I would think that one of the strengths of our team is we could go real big, when I say real big with Marky (Bingham) and Mady (Sissoko),” Izzo said. 

“We can go small with Joey (Hauser) and Malik (Hall)," Izzo said. "I think that's one of the advantages. We could even move Aaron (Henry) to the four or Gabe (Brown) … Where it's a little bit of a weakness for us is they probably got more numbers of guards. That’s where, you know, the advantage of (Hall) being able to play the three some and being able to guard those kinds of players.”

Duke guard DJ Stewards led all Blue Devils with 24 points in their only game and win against Coppin State. Duke's roster is rounded out with six freshmen.

Izzo mentioned Duke forwards Jalen Johnson, coming off a 19-point, 19-rebound double-double and Wendell Moore, who had 13 points as an “X-factor” but remained confident in how the Spartans’ frontcourt matches up.

“They've got some guys on that team that have hurt us in the past, but I think matching up wise, maybe we have a few more bigs and they have a couple more guards," Izzo said.