No. 2 Duke Cruises Past No. 8 Tennessee, 103-64, in Exhibition

Tuesday, October 20

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

0-0,0-0ACC

103

Tennessee

0-0,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	F
Tennessee	30	34	64
Duke	54	49	103

Deron Rippey Jr. shoots a three-pointer against Tennessee

No. 2 Duke Cruises Past No. 8 Tennessee, 103-64, in Exhibition

10/20/2026 9:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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DURHAM, N.C. – The second-ranked Duke men's basketball team continued its preseason slate on Tuesday night, defeating No. 8 Tennessee, 103-64, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils had six different players score in double-figures, led by freshman Deron Rippey Jr., who tallied a game-high 21 points.

John Blackwell posted 18 points courtesy of 6-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Dame Sarr chipped in 15 points and Patrick Ngongba II finished the night with 13 points, while Sebastian Wilkins and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje each added 11 points of their own.

Cayden Boozer dished a game-high six assists, while also securing five rebounds, finishing the night with a plus-minus of +24. Ngongba II led all Blue Devils on the glass with seven boards. Rippey accompanied his 21 points with three assists and a game-high three steals.

On defense, the Blue Devils held the visiting Volunteers to 20-of-59 (.339) from the field, including just 4-of-18 (.222) on three-pointers. On the inside, Duke won the rebounding battle, 44-29, and outscored Tennessee, 46-16 on points in the paint.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead, 17-2, holding the Volunteers without a field goal for nearly six minutes to begin the contest. A 15-point run featured four different Blue Devils scoring, led by Patrick Ngongba II, who poured in seven early points.
Another scoring burst, this time a 12-2 run, increased the margin to 23, 29-6, following a fast-break layup from Dame Sarr with 10:49 remaining in the first half.
The lead continued to grow to nearly 30 points, at 42-14 with just over six minutes before halftime. The Volunteers chipped away with a 13-4 run and eventually sent the game to halftime with a buzzer-beater from beyond midcourt, as Duke remained in control, 54-30.
A personal seven-point spurt by John Blackwell featured a fast-break dunk, a three-pointer and pull-up jumper, making it a 70-36 lead for the Blue Devils at the 16:10 mark.
Duke's cushion reached 40 points, 86-46, after a triple from Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Deron Rippey Jr. took off for seven straight points of his own, spanning two minutes of action, pushing the freshman past the 20-point threshold and giving him 21 points for the night, while also providing the Blue Devils with their largest lead of the night, 92-50, at 5:52.
The two teams exchanged scoring for the remainder of the night, as Duke closed out the 103-64 victory.

UP NEXT

No. 2 Duke travels to No. 17 Kansas for the final preseason game on the calendar. The Blue Devils and Jayhawks will square off at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.
The game will broadcast live on ESPN.

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