No. 3 Duke Defeats Illinois in Program's Largest Victory at Madison Square Garden

Saturday, February 22

New York, N.Y.

8 p.m.

Duke University

24-3,15-1ACC

110

Illinois

17-11,9-8Big Ten

Illinois

Duke

110

Isaiah Evans celebrates against Illinois

No. 3 Duke Defeats Illinois in Program's Largest Victory at Madison Square Garden

2/22/2025 10:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)Coach Scheyer Presser Highlights Photo Gallery

NEW YORK – No. 3 Duke led wire-to-wire and tallied the program's largest win at Madison Square Garden, defeating Illinois, 110-67, on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) finished with seven players in double-figures and defeated the Fighting Illini (17-11, 9-8 Big Ten) by 43 points to set a new program record for winning margin at the historic venue.

Isaiah Evans led all Duke scorers with 17 points on 5-of-8 (.625) shooting, including 3-of-5 (.600) from beyond the arc. Cooper Flagg posted 16 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing five assists, while his classmate Kon Knueppel added 15 on 6-of-9 (.667) shooting. Khaman Maluach scored 13, Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster added 12 and Sion James rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11.

James led the team with six assists, helping the team to a season-high 28 assists. As a team, the Blue Devils only committed six turnovers, finishing the contest with a 4.7 assist-turnover ratio.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sion James started the scoring on Duke's first possession, connecting on a three-pointer from the wing. A layup by Kon Knueppel, followed by James' second triple, gave Duke an early 8-2 lead. The Blue Devils were held without a point for just over two minutes but a free throw from Isaiah Evans snapped the drought and gave Duke an 18-10 lead with 12:37 on the clock.
Evans promptly connected on back-to-back three-pointers, giving the freshman seven points. Duke remained in front, 24-16, at the under-12 timeout. Layups from Tyrese Proctor and Khaman Maluach expanded the Blue Devils' advantage to 12, 28-16, at the halfway mark of the opening half.
An extended 11-4 scoring run by Duke, capped by a Proctor three-pointer and a James layup, forced an Illinois timeout with Duke ahead by 15, 35-20. Duke continued to slowly inch further in front, claiming an 18-point lead, 42-24, with five minutes before halftime.
The Blue Devils remained in control at halftime, taking a 54-37 edge into the break. The 54 first-half points set a new season high for the Blue Devils in a first half and marked the most points given up in any half by Illinois this season.
Duke scored five quick points in less than 90 seconds to start the second half, triggering an Illinois timeout with 18:39 on the clock. The Blue Devils scored 11 of the first 14 points to begin the second stanza, leading 65-42 at the first media break. The lead grew to 30, 72-42, courtesy of two free throws from Knueppel.
A three-point-play by Maluach gave the freshman 11 points, the fifth Blue Devil to reach double-figures. James joined his teammates shortly after, giving Duke six players with at least 10 points.
A three-pointer by Caleb Foster, with six minutes remaining, expanded the margin to 40, 95-55. Duke closed out the 43-point win, capped by a three-pointer from Spencer Hubbard with less than a minute remaining.

NOTES

Seven Blue Devils scored in double-figures, the first time a Duke team accomplished the feat since Jan. 4, 2017.
The 43-point margin of victory set a new program record for largest victory in the venue, surpassing two 35-point wins on Nov. 11, 2019 and Dec. 19, 2009, against California and Gonzaga, respectively.
The 43-point setback by the Fighting Illini is the largest margin of defeat in Illinois' program history.
The 110 points scored are the second-most by a Duke team at Madison Square Garden, trailing only a 112-point effort against Seton Hall on Feb. 23, 1961.
Duke's 110 points are the most scored by the Blue Devils since defeating Stetson, 113-49, on Dec. 1, 2018.
Saturday marked the third time this season the Blue Devils reached the century mark in scoring. Duke is now 194-6 when scoring 100 points or more, including an unblemished 24-0 record on neutral courts.
Saturday night was Duke's 60th game at the current Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils are now 42-18 (.700) in the venue all-time.
The victory is Duke's 100th in current NBA venues, with a record of 100-34 (.746).
Saturday's game was announced as a sellout, with an attendance of 19,812.
Duke won the rebounding battle, 44-30, and has finished with a positive margin on the glass in all but seven games this season.
The Fighting Illini entered Saturday night ranked second in the country for rebound margin (+10.0) and rebounds per game (43.8), both top marks in the Big Ten.
Illinois' 30 rebounds matches a season low by the Fighting Illini.
The Fighting Illini entered the contest averaging 9.4 made three-point field goals per game, but were held to a season-low two triples on 26 attempts (.077).
The Blue Devils distributed a season-high 28 assists on 40 made field goals, while committing just six turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.8.
Duke has won eight straight and nine of its last 10 at the World's Most Famous Arena.
For the 16th time this season, Duke finished with a double-digit advantage for points in the paint, outscoring the Fighting Illini, 52-40, in the category.
The Blue Devils limited Illinois to just two fast-break points.
The Blue Devils scored 54 first-half points, the most by any Illinois opponent in any half this season.
The 54 points also marked the most points scored in a first half by Duke this season.
Duke now leads the series against Illinois, 6-3, including six consecutive neutral site victories.
With the victory, the Blue Devils improved to 22-5 when playing on Feb. 22.
Duke has won 17 of its last 18 contests on this date since 1968, including three in-a-row.
Head coach Jon Scheyer is now 78-21 (.788) in his coaching career.
Duke entered the game as the only team to average 80 points or more per game (81.0) and hold its opponent to fewer than 61 points per game (60.8).
Saturday night was the third recorded instance that Duke played on FOX. The Blue Devils are now 2-1 when playing on FOX.
Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 17 points in 17 minutes of play. The freshman shot 5-of-8 (.625) overall, including 3-of-5 (.600) from beyond the arc.
Evans has now scored 17 points in back-to-back games and is shooting 8-of-12 (.750) from deep in the two outings.
Cooper Flagg posted an all-around performance, scoring 16 points, while adding seven rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes.
Kon Knueppel finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 (.667) from the field and added four rebounds, two helpers and one steal.
Khaman Maluach was the fourth freshman to score in double-figures with his 13 points. The rookie also joined Flagg as a team leader on the glass with seven caroms, and tallied two assists and one block.
Tyrese Proctor scored 10 points in the first half en route to 12 total points, and is three points shy of 1,000 career points.
The junior also dished four assists and reeled in three rebounds.
Caleb Foster poured in 12 points in seven minutes of action. The sophomore shot 5-of-6 (.833) overall, including a perfect 2-for-2 from three.
Sion James rounded out the Blue Devils' double-digit scoring with 11, fueled by nine in the opening half. The graduate nailed two early three-pointers to help Duke establish control of the contest.
Patrick Ngongba II set a new career high for assists with three, and matched his career high with six rebounds. The freshman played 14 minutes, scoring five points and swiping one steal.
Spencer Hubbard drilled a three-pointer in the waning moments of the contest and also grabbed a rebound.
Stanley Borden saw action for the first time this season, collecting one rebound.

QUOTES

"First, I just want to thank the incredible crowd and to our fans that showed up. Playing Madison Square Garden is truly an honor. It's a privilege, and just to come out and play in that environment meant a lot to our team and to me, our staff, our program. Look, we played great. They missed some shots early. I thought our defense was really consistent. To me, it's about the sharing with 28 assists, six turnovers, and then the fact that we guard. The consistency of everybody stepping up, I could talk about each one of these guys that played tonight, even the guys at the end with what they did, they played the same way. That's the standard that we've talked about. I'm just really proud of their effort, their prep and their togetherness. I couldn't be more proud as a coach." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
"[Playing at Madison Square Garden] was incredible. Saw a lot of blue out there, which is always nice, made it feel nice and homey, and especially as we were rolling, getting shots and scoring the ball. It felt like a lot of Duke fans in the building. It was an unbelievable atmosphere. My first time playing here, and it was great. The big thing for us is doing it [playing defense] together, just like it is even when he [Maliq Brown] was still playing. You can't understate how much of an impact Maliq makes on that end of the floor for us, but we just know that we have to do it by committee, and everyone has to step up. That's something that's been really special to watch. Today, I think Patrick [Ngongba], in his minutes, really stepped up. I think Isaiah [Evans] has taken a huge step. Just to name those two specifically, but I think everyone's really improved on that end and has really bought in." - Duke graduate guard Sion James
"It's my first time playing here [Madison Square Garden]. That was an incredible atmosphere. I just love the energy, and saw so much blue in the crowd. It's what coach told us we would see. So, just good to see that. I think for us, this whole year has been a learning experience. We've taken it step-by-step, game-by-game, day-by-day, of just trying to get better with every experience that we've gone through, every game we've had. So, I thought we've just, and I personally, have tried to learn and get better from every situation that we've been in. And I feel like I've done that. I'm just trying to make the right play. Just keep moving forward, you get better." - Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg

UP NEXT

No. 3 Duke remains on the road, traveling to Miami on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) and Hurricanes (6-21, 2-14 ACC) will tip off at 7 p.m., on ESPN.

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