Courtesy: Duke Photography

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke (18-7, 5-6) faces Boston College (18-6, 9-2) on Wednesday at the Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. with ESPN televising the contest. The Eagles enter the contest ranked 21st in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, while the Blue Devils are unranked for the first time in 10 years.

Duke is coming off a 72-60 loss at Maryland on Sunday. The Blue Devils scored the first five points of the game before Maryland countered with a 29-4 run to take a 20-point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening half. Duke scraped its way back into the contest, closing to 58-52 with 8:02 remaining in the second half but could get no closer to the Terrapins.

Sophomore Josh McRoberts led the Blue Devils with 20 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals. After going 2-of-5 from the field in the first half, McRoberts shot 7-of-8 in the second half to close the game with a career-best nine field goals.

Greg Paulus (12) and Jon Scheyer (11) also reached double-figures in scoring, but the Blue Devils were unable to overcome 17 turnovers. Maryland converted Duke’s turnovers into 21 points and held a 12-4 edge in fastbreak points. The Terrapins also posted a 48-30 advantage on points in the paint. Duke shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field in the loss, including just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from three-point distance. The Blue Devils have dropped four straight games and are shooting just 43.5 percent (101-of-232) during that stretch.

Storylines

• Duke has dropped four straight games since registering a 75-61 win over Boston College on Jan. 28. The four-game losing streak is the longest for the Blue Devils since a six-game skid midway through the 1994-95 season. Duke’s current losing streak is just the fifth four-game skid at Duke by a Mike Krzyzewski-led team. Duke has not lost more than four games in a row with Coach K on the bench. The Blue Devils’ six-game skein during the 1994-95 season came while Krzyzewski was sidelined while recovering from back surgery.
• Duke’s seven losses this season are the most since the team lost seven games during the 2002-03 season. Six of the Blue Devils’ seven losses have come against teams ranked in the top 35 of the latest RPI standings.
• The Blue Devils are 18th in the RPI and have the fourth toughest strength of schedule. Duke is 4-6 against teams in the top 35 of the RPI, including a 3-1 mark against top 20 teams.
• Duke dropped from the AP rankings this week, marking the first time since the end of the 1995-96 season that the Blue Devils have not been ranked among the top 25 teams in the country. Duke was ranked 200 consecutive weeks, the second longest streak in NCAA history. Wednesday’s game snaps a string of 380 straight games played as a ranked team for the Blue Devils.
• Shooting percentage and turnovers have plagued the Blue Devils during their current four-game losing streak. In the last four games, Duke is shooting just 43.5 percent (101-of-232) from the field and 33.8 percent (22-of-65) from three-point distance. The Blue Devils are averaging 14.0 turnovers per game, with their opposition scoring 18.0 points per game off Duke turnovers, during the skid.
• The Blue Devils are 155-107 versus ranked teams under Krzyzewski, including a 68-28 mark since the 1997-98 season. Duke is 3-2 this season against ranked competition and 3-1 all-time against teams ranked 21st in the AP poll.
• Sophomore Josh McRoberts is averaging 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals in three career games versus Boston College. The Carmel, Ind., native is shooting 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the field and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the foul line against the Eagles. McRoberts enters Wednesday’s contest ranked among the ACC leaders in scoring (13.2 ppg. - 22nd), rebounds (7.9 rpg. - t-second), blocks (2.56 bpg. - second) and minutes played (34.80 mpg. - sixth).
• Greg Paulus is averaging 11.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in ACC play. He also has a 1.40:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in conference action and has scored in double-figures in eight of 11 league games. Over the last four games, Paulus is averaging a team-high 15.0 ppg., while shooting 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three-point range.
• Jon Scheyer is the fi fth-leading freshman scorer (12.2 ppg.) in the ACC this season. His 46 treys are the second-most (behind North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington - 48) in the ACC by a freshman this season.