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Duke in unfamiliar position against VCU

Mar 15, 2007 - 2:04 PM Va Commonwealth (27-6) at Duke (22-10) 7:10 pm EDT

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Duke looks to overcome its worst seed in 11 years in its NCAA opener.

The sixth-seeded Blue Devils (22-10) face 11th-seed Virginia Commonwealth (27-6) on Thursday in a West Region first-round matchup.

Duke (22-10) has lost three straight contests, including an 85-80 overtime decision to North Carolina State in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in its last outing.

As a result, the Blue Devils enter the NCAAs seeded lower than third for the first time since 1996, when they were an eight seed.

Junior guard DeMarcus Nelson averages 14.2 points and sophomore Josh McRoberts adds 12.6 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who lost to Louisiana State in the regional semifinals last season.

Duke owns an NCAA Tournament-best .759 winning percentage (85-27) and has advanced to the regional semifinals nine consecutive seasons, the longest current streak in the nation and No. 2 all-time behind North Carolina's 13 (1981-93).

That recent success has been achieved under Mike Krzyzewski, who ranks second all-time in the NCAAs with a .782 (68-19) winning percentage.

Virginia Commonwealth earned a bid by winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, beating George Mason - a Final Four team last season - in the championship game.

The Rams set a school record for victories in a season and set a conference mark with 16 league wins.

First-team All-CAA selection Eric Maynor paces the Rams, averaging 7.2 assists and connecting on 40 percent of his 3-point attempts.

First-year coach Anthony Grant was a member of Billy Donovan's staff last season when Florida won the NCAA Tournament.

VCU is 4-7 all-time in the NCAAs, losing in the first round in 2004 to fourth-seeded Wake Forest, 79-78, in its last appearance.

The winner will face third-seeded Pittsburgh or 14th-seeded Wright State in Saturday's second round.