Notre Dame hosts Zion Williamson, No. 2 Duke Blue Devils

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (17-2, 6-1 ACC) travel to Notre Dame for a Monday night matchup against the Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.

Blue Devils freshman point guard Tre Jones returned from a three-game absence Saturday against Georgia Tech. Jones missed almost two weeks with a separated shoulder.

Jones provided a boost to Duke's backcourt in the team's 66-53 win over the Yellow Jackets. He played 35 minutes and had six points, four assists and four rebounds in his return.

Apart from his offensive skill set, Jones' greatest contribution comes from his defensive ability, which allows the Blue Devils to use more full-court pressure.

"He felt really good after the game," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters about Jones. "When you're apart for a couple of weeks or three games, it's not like you come back together and it's [clicking] like that."

Blue Devils forward RJ Barrett earned some of the ball-handling duties when Jones missed time, but never had a dip in his scoring average. Barrett scored 24 points against the Yellow Jackets and has 16 games with 20 or more points this season.

Duke freshman phenom Zion Williamson couples with Barrett to form the ACC's top-scoring duo. Barrett ranks first with 23.9 points per game, and Williamson sits in second with 21.7 points. Williamson has at least nine field goals made in four straight games.

Junior forward John Mooney paces Notre Dame (11-9, 1-6 ACC) with six straight double-doubles. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds against No. 3 Virginia for his ACC-best 12th double-double of the year.

Duke's 66 points against Georgia Tech marked the school's lowest point total of the season. The Fighting Irish lost 82-55 to Virginia in their last contest Saturday. It was Notre Dame's fourth consecutive loss.