FACTS & STATS: Madison Square Garden (19,763) -- New York, New York. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Duke 3-0, Michigan 2-0. Away Record: Duke 0-0, Michigan 0-0. Neutral Record: Duke 1-0, Michigan 1-0. Conference Record: Duke 0-0, Michigan 0-0. Series Record: Duke leads, 18-7.

GAME NOTES: The 10th-ranked Duke Blue Devils and the Michigan Wolverines clash at historic Madison Square Garden tonight, with the winner earning the right to call themselves the 2008 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer champion.

The Blue Devils earned their spot in the finals of this event by capturing an 83-58 triumph over Southern Illinois in the semifinals at MSG last night. It was yet another convincing victory in this tournament for Duke, which won its regional with dominating victories over Presbyterian (80-49) and Georgia Southern (97-54). Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils also came out on top in their only non-tournament game of the year, notching an 82-79 victory over Rhode Island on Sunday.

As for Michigan, it pulled off the biggest upset of the season in order to advance to tonight's championship bout, knocking off fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52 on Thursday. It was the program's first win over a top five-ranked team since 1997, when the Wolverines upended top-ranked Duke 81-72. With the victory, the team also snapped a 12-game losing streak against ranked opponents. Michigan earned the right to play at MSG by winning its regional matchups with Michigan Tech (77-55) and Northeastern (76-56).

In terms of the all-time series, Duke holds an 18-7 lead over the Wolverines, including a convincing 95-67 victory in last season's encounter. These two teams will meet again on December 6th in Ann Arbor.

Gerald Henderson scored all 20 of his points after the break, lifting the Blue Devils past Southern Illinois in the semifinals on Thursday. After averaging just 9.0 ppg through the first three outings, Henderson led all scorers with his point total and he finished the game 5-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three-point range. Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler each added 13 points in the win, while Brian Zoubek had 10 points and six boards. Singler currently leads Duke in both scoring (18.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg) and Scheyer follows him (14.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg). Duke shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the win over Southern Illinois and that includes a 7-of-16 effort from downtown. The Blue Devils also did some significant damage at the foul line, where they went 40-of-47 on the night.

DeShawn Sims came off the bench and tallied 18 points to power the Wolverines in a huge upset of UCLA last night. Sims, who is averaging 15.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg on the year, hit on 9-of-15 field goals and also grabbed five caroms. Manny Harris added 15 points and five boards to the mix, while Stu Douglass logged 10 points and five assists. Harris has enjoyed a sensational start to the season, posting 23.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg in this tournament. Michigan made good on 43.3 percent of its field goals last night, in addition to forcing UCLA into 17 turnovers. The Wolverines have been stingy on defense up to this point, holding their foes to just 54.3 ppg through the first three games.

Michigan is coming off a remarkable win, but it will need to play with that same kind of emotion tonight and that could be a lot to ask. Duke has been a machine in this tournament and its balance will come into play in a victory tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Duke 72, Michigan 60