Coach Mike Krzyzewski alluded to his 1,000th coaching victory possibly weighing on the Duke Blue Devils (4) Sunday, but they getting the milestone out of the way in time to visit South Bend to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8) could be important.

Discussing the historic win on the sideline of Madison Square Garden, Krzyzewski said he thought his team played "soft" against St. John's, possibly caught up in the moment. Thankfully, he said, they snapped out of it, but the Blue Devils will find a less forgiving opponent in Notre Dame.

CLICK HERE to listen to the game live via TuneIn. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in South Bend, Ind.

"I think our fans are going to be through the roof," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said in a pregame news conference, according to the Associated Press.

Coach K may get universal respect from just about everyone in sports, college and pros, but that does not mean his peers do not want to beat him. As of week 12 in the AP top 25 poll, four ACC teams sit in the top 10. With no divisions, the ACC race is bound to be a highly contentious one.

A key matchup will be Duke center Jahlil Okafor against whoever has the tall task of defending him. That person could be junior power forward Zach Auguste, but if Okafor can attract a second defender, then Duke should have open looks for their talented shooters.

"He wants to pass. He has made overall great decisions in handling that," Krzyzewski said before the game, according to the AP. "We're better if passes out and we hit shots. In the games we've played well in, we've hit a good percentage of those shots."

These two teams will also meet again on Feb. 7 in Durham.