Graduate student Amile Jefferson has set new career-highs in points the last two times he has taken the court.

After a trip north to play at one of the world’s most famous arenas, the Blue Devils now head west to rekindle an old rivalry.

With just three games remaining on its nonconference slate, No. 5 Duke will look to extend its seven-game winning streak when it travels to Las Vegas to battle UNLV Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. The two programs have not met in more than 25 years, but their last two contest were instant classics and they will meet in the new arena’s first-ever basketball game.

In 1991, the Blue Devils came away with a 79-77 Final Four win against an undefeated Runnin’ Rebels squad. That Duke team—led by Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill—avenged the previous year’s defeat, in which UNLV demolished them in the national championship game. The Runnin’ Rebels’ win was the most lopsided in national title game history, and the only time a team has scored at least 100 points in a national championship.

Since then, Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski has gone on to hang five banners in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the rivalry’s significance will not be lost on him come Saturday.

“There will be a lot of history because two of the greatest games in history—well, it wasn’t a great game on our part—but the largest margin in championship game, 103 points and then ‘91 in the semis is a classic,” Krzyzewski said after Duke’s win against Maine Dec. 3. “Historically, we shared a moment in time. We shared a moment where we each won.”

The connection between the two eras runs through current Blue Devil sophomore Chase Jeter, whose father, Chris, was a member of the 1990 and 1991 Runnin’ Rebels. Although Chase Jeter grew up in Las Vegas and went to high school just 20 minutes from Saturday’s arena, he said there was no pressure for him to follow suit and play for UNLV.

Krzyzewski noted how the elder Jeter has switched sides and fully embraced his son’s place at Duke.

“How ironic, huh?” Krzyzewski said. “I think he even has Duke license plates. He’s very proud of what he did at Las Vegas, and he’s very proud of what his son is doing at Duke.”

Chase Jeter has seen his minutes nearly double in his sophomore campaign, and said he is excited to be playing so close to home. His father was also a frontcourt player in his college days, and the two have compared notes about playing for an elite coach on a national-championship caliber team.

“It flipped the script a little bit with me being at Duke instead of UNLV, but it’s definitely an interesting dynamic between me and him,” Jeter said Nov. 9. “It’s going to be fun getting back home and playing against them this year.”

This year’s Runnin’ Rebels squad is looking to bounce back from their worst loss of the season, a 97-73 drubbing at the hands of Arizona State last Saturday. UNLV (5-3)—which relies on sophomore guard Jalen Poyser’s 17.5 points per game for much of the offense—allowed the Sun Devils to shoot 49.2 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from 3-point range, and will need a better defensive effort to slow down Duke’s high-scoring attack.

The Blue Devils (9-1) are averaging 85.5 points per contest led by sophomore guard Luke Kennard. Kennard has stepped up to drive the scoring lately, eclipsing the 20-point mark in each of his last three games.

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With fellow backcourt mates Grayson Allen and Matt Jones struggling to find their offensive rhythms, Kennard has emerged as Duke’s leading scorer with 20.4 points per contest. The offensive outburst, however, is nothing new to Jeter and the rest of the Blue Devils, who see the former four-star recruit’s skills every day in practice.

“Luke has always been that good to me,” Jeter said. “Luke just scores just as much as our leading scorers on the team in practice. That consistency has always been there from Luke, and now that it’s been there in the games, it’s no surprise.”

Kennard’s 29-point effort against Florida Tuesday was slightly overshadowed by freshman Jayson Tatum’s 22 points in just his second game of the year. Tatum, one of the top recruits in his class, is still getting his legs under him after sitting out Duke’s first eight games with an ankle injury but showed his dynamic scoring ability against the Gators.

The Blue Devils are also trying to work freshman center Marques Bolden—who, like Tatum, made his season debut against the Black Bears last week—back into the mix. With fellow five-star recruit Harry Giles potentially returning in the next few weeks as well, Duke is still very much trying to find its identity as conference play nears.

“[We’re] starting to put it together a little bit. We’d like to get this win against Vegas on Saturday, and then we’ve got exams,” Krzyzewski said after Tuesday’s win. “It’s almost like we’re in ‘October mode’ now, whereas everyone else is in ‘December mode,’ but I think we can catch up. We did it tonight.”

Mitchell Gladstone and Sameer Pandhare contributed reporting.