No coach, no problem: Three takeaways as No. 4 Duke wins key ACC game at SMU

Steve Wiseman, The News & Observer on Jan 4, 2025

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DALLAS — Duke played with coach Jon Scheyer back in Durham battling the flu but delivered a stellar performance nevertheless.

Behind Cooper Flagg’s 24 points and 11 rebounds, the No. 4 Blue Devils routed SMU, 89-62, in ACC basketball at Moody Coliseum on Saturday.

Duke (12-2, 4-0 ACC) won its eighth consecutive game despite Scheyer’s absence. Associate head coach Chris Carrawell served as acting head coach and the Blue Devils didn’t miss a beat.

Duke shot 53.2%, the third consecutive game it has shot 50% or better. After leading 41-32 at halftime, the Blue Devils hit their first five shots after intermission and 11 of their first 15 second-half shots to build a 71-50 lead.

Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel each added 14 points for Duke, which hit 11 of 24 3-pointers.

SMU (11-3, 2-1) saw its seven-game winning streak halted as the Mustangs were held to their lowest scoring output of the season. It’s just the second game this season in which SMU failed to score 70 points.

A 49.6% field-goal shooting team this season, SMU shot just 34.3% against Duke while making 5 of 21 3-pointers.

The Blue Devils led for all but 29 seconds of the game.

Here are three takeaways from Duke’s latest win:

Duke defense stifles Mustangs

In a classic strong offense versus stronger defense battle, Duke’s ability to stop SMU won out.

Duke has allowed 59 points per game this season, which ranked No. 7 nationally entering Saturday’s games. The Mustangs entered the game averaging 87.2 points per game, which was No. 11 nationally.

The Mustangs finished 25 points below their scoring average as Duke allowed them to score just 0.912 points per possession.

SMU entered Saturday’s game No. 21 nationally in offensive efficiency, scoring 118.8 points per 100 possessions (or 1.18 points per possession).

The Mustangs were the fourth opponent among the top 21 the Blue Devils have played thus far this season. Duke beat Auburn, the nation’s leader in offensive efficiency (130.7), 84-78, on Dec. 4. That’s the most points Duke has allowed in a game this season.

Duke also beat Arizona, which is No. 17 in offensive efficiency (119.3), 69-55, on Nov. 22. That’s the second-fewest points the Wildcats have scored this season.

Kentucky, which is No. 12 in offensive efficiency (120.8), beat Duke, 77-72, on Nov. 12.

Duke’s defense is No. 3 nationally in efficiency at 88.3.

Missing face on bench

With Scheyer too sick with the flu to travel to Dallas, Carrawell moved up to run the team against the Mustangs.

One slight change to the substitution pattern involved Maliq Brown and Khaman Maluach. While the 7-2 Maluach continued in his starting role, Brown didn’t come off the bench to replace him until after the game’s first timeout at the 15:32 mark. Scheyer has routinely subbed Brown for Maluach two minutes into the game this season.

As has been the case of late, 6-7 freshman Isaiah Evans was the first wing player off the bench. He entered the game at 15:32, prior to Caleb Foster and Mason Gillis. They both entered at the 14-minute mark of the first half.

Sion James shows versatility

One game after he recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Duke grad student forward Sion James displayed another strong aspect of his game.

James recorded a team-best eight assists, picking up seven of them in the first half when he helped Duke take a 41-32 lead.