No. 6 Duke Opens West Coast Trip at Cal Wednesday

Wednesday, January 14

Berkeley, CA

11 p.m.

Duke University

California

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Isaiah Evans - Duke Men's Basketball vs SMU 2026

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 6 Duke Opens West Coast Trip at Cal Wednesday

1/13/2026 4:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Opening Tip

No. 6 Duke opens its trip to the west coast on Wednesday at California, starting at 11 p.m., ET.
Wes Durham and Dennis Scott will call the action on the ACC Network. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
The Blue Devils are making their first visit to Haas Pavilion on Cal's campus.
Wednesday will be Duke's first game in California since the 2022 NCAA Tournament, when the Blue Devils defeated Texas Tech and Arkansas in San Francisco.
Duke has won 26 of its last 27 games against conference opponents.
The Blue Devils have played seven nationally-ranked opponent this season (6-1 record).
Duke has secured top-25 victories over No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU and No. 25 Kansas.
Duke is fourth in the NET rankings and leads the nation with six Quad 1 wins. (Jan. 12)
Duke is one of just four teams ranked in the top-11 nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.2, 11th) and defensive efficiency (94.6, 10th) ratings. (KenPom)
The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are 10th nationally in scoring margin (+20.2).
Isaiah Evans is the ACC's fourth-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 22.3 points per game, and is tied for the league high with 4.0 3-pointers per ACC contest.
Evans has drained three or more 3-pointers in nine games this season. Duke is 20-0 the past two seasons when the sophomore sharp-shooter hits three or more triples.
Cameron Boozer tops the league in scoring (22.9 ppg) and is positioned fourth in rebounding (9.5 rpg), sixth in steals (1.9 spg), 10th in assists (4.2 apg), fourth in field goal percentage (.579) and 18th in free-throw percentage (.775).
Boozer's 27-point performance at No. 20 Louisville was his eighth game scoring 25 points or more, which is tied for third among Duke freshmen all time.
Maliq Brown is the national leader in 2-point field goal percentage (82.6%).
Duke owns the best record in Division I college basketball over the past two seasons at 50-5.
On Dec. 16, Jon Scheyer broke the ACC record for the fastest coach to 100 wins (122 games), exceeding the standard set by Duke's Vic Bubas in 1964 (128 games).

About the California Golden Bears

Duke leads the series with California, 3-2, since first meeting in December 1982.
The Blue Devils have won the last three matchups with the Golden Bears, including in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament during Duke's run to the national title.
Cal opened the season with a 12-1 record, including nine consecutive victories, before dropping three of its last four.
Wednesday will be Duke's first game played on Cal's campus. The Blue Devils faced the Golden Bears at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena on Dec. 4, 1982, a 76-71 Cal victory in the first contest of the series.
Cal is the nation's third-best free-throw shooting squad with a conference-high 79.4% success rate at the charity stripe.
The Golden Bears are second-best in the ACC at taking care of the ball (19th nationally) with just 9.6 turnovers per game.
Dai Dai Ames tops four Golden Bears to average double figures in scoring with 17.8 points per contest.
John Camden is sixth in the ACC with 42 three-pointers.

On This Date - Jan. 14

Duke has a record of 17-13 on Jan. 14.
The Blue Devils have a 12-9 record in ACC play on this date.
Duke has lost four of its last five games on this date, snapping a four-game losing skid last season versus Miami (89-54).
Duke is 9-8 in road games on Jan. 14.
The Blue Devils won six straight road games on Jan. 14 from 1987-2009, before dropping three in-a-row since 2017.
Duke has played five overtime games on this date.

Last Time Out

No. 6 Duke utilized four players scoring at least 12 points to earn its sixth top-25 victory of the season, defeating No. 24 SMU, 82-75, on Saturday, Jan. 10, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Isaiah Evans led the team with 21 points, including a key three-pointer late in the second half. Cameron Boozer and Patrick Ngongba II scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, and Cayden Boozer rounded out Duke's double-digit scorers with 12 points.
Cameron Boozer paced Duke on the glass with seven boards, and joined his brother, Cayden, and Nikolas Khamenia for the team lead in assists with four dimes apiece.
The Mustangs entered Saturday's game averaging 90.1 points per game, leading the ACC and ranking 18th nationally. Duke's defense held the visitors to 75 points, 15.1 below SMU's average.
SMU also entered Saturday afternoon leading the league in assists per game (18.7). The Blue Devils slowed SMU's distribution, holding the Mustangs to just 10 assists.
The Blue Devils forced SMU into a season-high 21 turnovers. The Mustangs' previous high was 16 turnovers, against Radford (Nov. 24) and Butler (Nov. 15). The 21 turnovers are the most by a Duke opponent this season. The prior high was 18 by Indiana State (Nov. 14).
Evans has posted more than 20 points in three consecutive outings, with 28 points at Florida State, 23 at Louisville and 21 against SMU.
Evans knocked down four 3-pointers on eight attempts from deep against the Mustangs. Duke is 20-0 in the past two seasons when the sophomore sharp-shooter hits three or more triples.
Ngongba matched his career-high with 17 points, while also grabbing five rebounds. Ngongba's 12 double-digit scoring efforts this season includes 17 points versus Niagara (Nov. 21).
Cayden Boozer tallied 12 points, four assists, two boards and two steals on Saturday. The freshman guard came off the bench to play a season-high 34 minutes and finished with a game-best +14 plus-minus.
Dame Sarr equaled his season-high with four steals against SMU.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is one of just four teams ranked in the top-11 nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.2, 11th) and defensive efficiency (94.6, 10th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 8 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 29.60. (through games played on Jan. 11)
The 2024-25 Blue Devils achieved the best offensive efficiency rating (130.1) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season).
In 2024-25, Duke registered the second-highest overall rating (39.29) in KenPom history, trailing only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils (43.01).
Last season, Duke was the only team in the country ranked among the top-five in both offensive (130.1, 1st) and defensive (90.8, 5th) adjusted efficiency (KenPom).

Pace of Play

Duke's offense is playing at a faster pace this season than any prior campaign under head coach Jon Scheyer, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils' average length of possession on offense is 15.6 seconds, which is the 28th quickest use of time nationally.
In comparison, Duke's average length of offensive possession was 17.1 seconds in 2024-25, 17.5 in 2023-24 and 18.7 in 2022-23.
Duke maximizes its 15.6 seconds with an effective field goal percentage (58.1%) that ranks 16th in the country and a two-point field goal percentage (62.4%) that's third nationally.
On the other end of the floor, Duke's defense is forcing opponents to use 18.1 seconds per possession, which is 43rd-highest in the country.
The greater use of time has not yielded improved results for Duke opponents, as the Blue Devils' effective field goal percentage defense (46.3%) is 30th-best in the nation.

Tracking Blue Devil Deflections

Through 16 games, the Blue Devils have accumulated 322 deflections, an average of 20.1 per game.
Duke amassed a season-best 32 deflections versus Niagara (Nov. 21), topping the previous high of 30 against Indiana State (Nov. 14).
Maliq Brown, described as a "defensive menace" by head coach Jon Scheyer, tops Duke with 91 deflections (5.7 avg.).
Brown, who was selected to the 2023-24 ACC All-Defensive Team after leading the league with 71 steals as a sophomore at Syracuse, recorded 12 deflections against Niagara (Nov. 21), the most by a Blue Devil this season.

Strength of Schedule

Duke has secured six top-25 victories with wins over No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU and No. 25 Kansas.
The ACC boasts 14 teams in the NET top 75, the most of any conference. (as of Nov. 12)
Five ACC teams are ranked in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll: No. 6 Duke, No. 14 North Carolina, No. 16 Virginia, No. 20 Louisville and No. 22 Clemson.
Duke's 2025-26 non-conference lineup features eight opponents that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Texas (Nov. 4; Charlotte, N.C.), Kansas (Nov. 18; New York, N.Y.), Arkansas (Nov. 27; Chicago), Florida (Dec. 2; Durham), Michigan State (Dec. 6; East Lansing, Mich.), Lipscomb (Dec. 16; Durham), Texas Tech (Dec. 20; New York, N.Y.) and Michigan (Feb. 21; Washington, D.C.). Of those teams, five advanced to the Sweet 16, with three reaching the Elite Eight.
The Blue Devils play 10 games against teams ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25: No. 2 Florida, No. 6 Louisville (twice), No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 22 Kansas, No. 24 NC State and No. 25 North Carolina (twice).

Cameron Boozer's Historical Start

Cameron Boozer is the first Duke freshman to score 35 points or more twice - amassing 35 points versus Indiana State (Nov. 14) and tallying 35 points again versus Arkansas (Nov. 27).
The freshman forward became the first NCAA Division I or NBA player in the last 30 seasons to have an eight-game span with more than 175 points, 75 rebounds and 25 assists, 10 or fewer turnovers, and an undefeated record - doing so in Duke's first eight games. (OptaSTATS)
Boozer became the first ACC player with at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 20 assists in a five-game span since Craig Smith of Boston College in March 2006. The freshman forward accomplished that standard in his first five college contests. (Nov. 19)
Boozer is the only Division I player in the last 30 seasons to collect at least 250 points, 100 rebounds and 40 assists through his first 11 career games. (Dec. 17; OptaSTATS)
Boozer amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, connecting on 13-of-16 field goals in a win over Indiana State on Nov. 14, becoming the first major conference freshman to reach 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no more than one turnover since Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony in 2003 (ESPN), and joined Zion Williamson (2019) and Christian Laettner (1990) as the third Duke player in the past 45 years to score at least 35 points in a double-double performance.
Boozer's nine assists against Florida State were the most by a Blue Devil in the past three seasons (10 assists by Tyrese Proctor against Pitt in the 2023 ACC Tournament).
The Miami native has amassed 25 points or more in eight out of 16 games, including 35 points against No. 22 Arkansas, 35 points versus Indiana State and 29 points against No. 15 Florida.
Boozer has been voted ACC Player of the Week three times (Nov. 17, Dec. 1, Dec. 8) and ACC Rookie of the Week six times (Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Jan. 5, Jan. 12).
The freshman forward is currently the nation's fourth-leading scorer with 22.9 points per game, ranks 26th nationally with 9.5 rebounds per contest and sits 21st with seven double-doubles.
Among ACC statistical leaders, Boozer tops the league in scoring (22.9 ppg) and is positioned fourth in rebounding (9.5 rpg), sixth in steals (1.9 spg), 10th in assists (4.2 apg), fourth in field goal percentage (.579) and 18th in free-throw percentage (.775).

Duke's Three-Point Streak

Duke has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,280 straight games, the longest streak nationally.
It has been more than 35 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai'i.

Other Notables

Duke has won 26 of its last 27 games against conference opponents.
Duke owns the best record in Division I college basketball over the past two seasons at 50-5. Houston is second at 50-6. (College Basketball Report)
Duke has a record of 60-2 (.968) when committing 15 or fewer fouls under head coach Jon Scheyer, compared to 44-21 (.677) when the Blue Devils have 16 or more fouls. (@EvanMiya)
Maliq Brown is the national leader in 2-point field goal percentage (82.6%), having made 38-of-46 shots inside the arc.
Duke's 11-0 start was the best open to a season since the 2017-18 campaign.
The 55-point margin of victory over Army West Point (Nov. 11) was Duke's largest road win in program history.

All-Access with Coach Jon Scheyer

The weekly television show, "Duke All-Access with Jon Scheyer," is back for its fourth season in 2025-26.
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 12 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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