Perhaps it’s coming a year too late?

Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick left last year for the NBA draft.

While it would have been nice to see that matchup, it will still be a great game.

Neither team seems too dominating or is a one-man team like Gonzaga last year. Both teams are well balanced.

So Thursday it is. The 22nd ranked Bulldogs will see the 6th ranked Duke Blue Devils as the second part of a double-header at Madison Square Garden.

Dick Vitale, ESPN’s finest will be there, announcing the game.

Gonzaga University has had remarkable success against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Bulldogs are 8-1 all time against ACC competition following an 82-74 win over then second-ranked University of North Carolina on Nov. 24 in the semifinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip Off at Madison Square Garden. Gonzaga’s game Thursday with Duke University will be the second of three games against ACC opponents this season, with a Jan. 3 date at the University of Virginia.