Duke Visits SMU for First Matchup as ACC Foes

The Opening Tip

No. 4 Duke visits ACC newcomer SMU on Saturday, Jan. 4, as the Blue Devils and Mustangs meet for just the fifth time and for the first time as conference foes, with the game scheduled for a 2:15 p.m., ET tipoff on The CW.
Thom Brennaman and Brian Oliver will call the action on The CW. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Saturday will be a clash of Duke's top scoring defense in the ACC (59.0 points allowed per game) against SMU's highest scoring offense in the conference (87.2 points per game).
Duke and SMU have each won seven straight games, tied for the ninth-longest active winning streak in the nation.
Duke has a 3-0 record on the road this season, while SMU is 7-1 at home.
Duke leads the series with SMU, 3-1, with the last meeting coming in the second round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, a 94-79 Duke victory.
The Blue Devils rank fifth in the country in field goal percentage defense (.363), eighth in scoring defense (59.0), 13th in scoring margin (+20.6), and 30th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.59) - all top marks in the ACC.
Duke is the only team in the country ranked in the top-10 in both offensive (9th) and defensive efficiency (3rd), according to KenPom.
Duke has not allowed more than 65 points to an unranked opponent this season, while SMU has scored 74 points or more in 12 of 13 games (defeated Virginia, 63-51).
With eight dunks versus Virginia Tech on Tuesday, including three from Tyrese Proctor, Duke is out-dunking its opponents, 58-16.
In the last six games, starting with a 6-for-8 explosion from 3-point range versus Auburn, Isaiah Evans has connected on 19-of-32 (.594) from behind the arc.
Evans is second in the nation and tops the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage (.520).
Cooper Flagg, who turned 18 years old on Dec. 21, tops Duke in points (220), rebounds (106), assists (48), steals (22) and blocked shots (16).
Flagg became the first 17-year-old in NCAA history to record multiple 20-point double-doubles, according to Real Sports, reaching that standard three times.

Last Time Out

A 24-point outing from freshman Cooper Flagg and a double-double from Sion James helped Duke defeat Virginia Tech, 88-65, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
Flagg added six assists and four steals, while James' 10-point, 11-rebound effort tallied the Sugar Hill, Georgia, native's second career double-double.
Six total Blue Devils finished with at least 10 points, as Tyrese Proctor (13), Kon Knueppel (13), Isaiah Evans (12), and Mason Gillis (10) joined Flagg and James.
With the 24 points, Flagg secured his sixth 20-point game of the season and eclipsed 200 career points. Coupled with his 106 rebounds, Flagg is just the sixth player in Duke history to score at least 200 points and grab at least 100 rebounds within Duke's first 13 games of the respective season.
Duke finished 15-of-15 (1.000) from the free throw line, going perfect from the charity stripe for the first time since the Blue Devils shot 4-of-4 at Syracuse on Feb. 18, 2023, and just the fifth time in Duke history on 10 or more attempts.
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils are now 300-92 (.765) in conference games when ranked as a top-five team in the country.
The Blue Devils finished the month of December with an unblemished record of 6-0 – the first undefeated December of head coach Jon Scheyer's tenure.
Tuesday marked the third time this season that six Blue Devils scored in double figures.
With eight dunks on Tuesday, including three by Proctor, Duke is out-dunking its opponents, 58-16.
The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle, 35-22 and have out-rebounded 10 of their first 13 opponents this season.
Duke opened the game with a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points through the first 20 minutes and finished the game with a 17-3 margin in the category.
The Blue Devils held Virginia Tech to just two fast-break points. Duke opponents have logged single-digit fast-break points in all but two games this season.
Duke collected 38 points in the paint compared to 22 by the Hokies. The Blue Devils have out-scored the opposition in the paint in 11 of their 13 games and have posted a double-digit margin in that category seven times this season.

KenPom.com Measures Duke as Nation's Tallest Team

Duke is at the top of KenPom.com's list of tallest teams in the country with an average height of 79.6 inches, better than 6-7 per Blue Devil.
The Blue Devils' starting lineup for the first five games features 6-5 guard Caleb Foster, 6-6 guard Tyrese Proctor, 6-7 guard/forward Kon Knueppel, 6-9 guard/forward Cooper Flagg and 7-2 center Khaman Maluach, for an average height of 6-8.

Strength of Schedule Tests and Prepares the Blue Devils

During a six-game stretch (Nov. 12-Dec. 4) before conference action began, Duke played four teams that were ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll (No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Auburn, No. 17 Arizona, and No. 19 Kentucky) and were at least a 4-seed in last season's NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils posted a 2-2 record in those ranked contests with a road win at No. 17 Arizona (Nov. 22) and a home victory over No. 2 Auburn (Dec. 4) in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Duke played three true road games before Christmas for the first time since the 1990-91 season, winning all three contests.

Duke Among Nation's Top Defenses

Duke is once again one of the top defenses in the country.
KenPom ranks the Blue Devils third in the nation with an adjusted defense efficiency rating of 88.3.
This season, Duke ranks fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.363), eighth in scoring defense (59.0) and 44th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.293).
Last season, the 2023-24 Blue Devils ranked 28th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 66.3 points per game.
In 2022-23, Jon Scheyer's first season as head coach, Duke ranked 24th in three-point percentage defense (.305), 27th in field goal percentage defense (.406) and 30th in scoring defense (63.6).

Down, But Not Out

Duke has found a way of overcoming double-figure deficits this season.
The Blue Devils trailed by 11 points (16:20-1st) versus Auburn (Dec. 4), battled to take a 12-point lead (18:23-2nd), and won by six points, 84-78.
Duke trailed by 14 points (8:36-1st) at Louisville (Dec. 8), stormed back for a 13-point advantage (0:47-2nd), and won by 11 points, 76-65.
The Auburn and Louisville victories were the first time the Blue Devils overcame double-digit deficits in consecutive wins since February 2020, when Duke defeated Boston College, 63-55, after trailing by 10 points (Feb. 4, 2020), and then beat North Carolina, 98-96 in overtime, after being down by 13 points (Feb. 8, 2020).
The Blue Devils also trailed by 13 points (15:49-1st) versus Kansas (Nov. 26), rallied to take a two-point lead (5:53 2nd), but lost by three points, 75-72.

Flagg Collecting Accolades

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, secured a spot on the 2024-25 Associated Press preseason All-America Team.
The 6-9 guard/forward was also announced as the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year and named to the Preseason All-ACC First Team, as chosen by a select media panel.
Flagg collected 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the season-opener against Maine to become the first freshman in Duke history to have at least 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in their debut.
Flagg was the first Duke player in the last 40 years to amass 50+ points, 25+ rebounds and 10+ assists in his first three career games, per ESPN.
Flagg was voted as the ACC Men's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week on Nov. 25, becoming the first player to earn both honors in the same week since Feb. 3, 2020, when Duke's Vernon Carey, Jr., accomplished the same feat.
Flagg has posted four double-doubles this season, including three with 20 points or more and two of those against ranked opponents, collecting 26 points and 11 rebounds versus No. 19 Kentucky and 22 points and 11 caroms against No. 2 Auburn.
In Duke's four top-25 matchups, Flagg averaged 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
After registering a pair of 20-point double-doubles without committing a turnover against No. 2 Auburn and at Louisville, Flagg was declared the Associated Press and Lute Olson National Player of the Week and the ACC Rookie of the Week (Dec. 9).
Flagg is just the sixth player in Duke history to score at least 200 points and grab at least 100 rebounds within Duke's first 13 games of the respective season, joining Jabari Parker (278 points/104 rebounds in 2013-14), Marvin Bagley III (274/142 in 2017-18), Zion Williamson (263/123 in 2018-19), Jahill Okafor (253/113 in 2014-15) and Vernon Carey Jr. (233/117 in 2019-20).
Flagg has been voted as the ACC Rookie of the Week four times (Nov. 18, Nov. 25, Dec. 9, Dec. 23).
Flagg, who turned 18 years old on Dec. 21, currently leads Duke in points (220), rebounds (106), assists (48), steals (22) and blocked shots (16).

On This Date

Duke has a 22-9 record on Jan. 4.
The Blue Devils are 6-6 in road games played on this date, having dropped three of their last four away contests on Jan. 4.
Duke has a record of 9-5 in ACC contests on Jan. 4, with a 5-4 mark in conference road games.
The Blue Devils have won three of their last four games played on Jan 4.

All-Access with Coach Jon Scheyer Debuts

The weekly television show, "Duke All-Access with Jon Scheyer," is back for its third season in 2024-25.
The 30-minute show features Jon Scheyer and his Blue Devils team. Presented in magazine format and produced by John Roth, the show also includes informative player features and behind-the-scenes access to the Duke program.
A production of Blue Devil Sports Properties from LEARFIELD, the show airs locally on ABC-11 WTVD on Sundays at noon ET and is live streamed on ABC11.com Saturdays at 10 a.m. ET. It is also available regionally across the FanDuel Sports Network on Fridays at 3 p.m. ET; and on MASN Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. ET. It can also be viewed via the Duke Athletics YouTube Channel and archived on GoDuke.com.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

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Players Mentioned

Isaiah Evans

Cooper Flagg

Caleb Foster

Mason Gillis

Sion James

Kon Knueppel

Khaman Maluach

Tyrese Proctor

Duke information