Preview: #5 Duke Blue Devils (4-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #25 Kansas Jayhawks (3-1, 0-0 B12)
Tuesday, Nov. 18 • 9:00 p.m. ET
Madison Square Garden • New York, N.Y.
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD
The 4-0 Duke Blue Devils travel to Madison Square Garden in NYC to battle Bill Self and his 3-1 Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday Night in the Champions Classic.
Broadcast Information
TV ESPN
Play-by-Play Dan Shulman
Analyst Jay Bilas
Reporter Kris Budden
Producer Joe Taylor
Director Mike Roig
Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 117 or 193 & SiriusXM app
Coaches & History
Duke Jon Scheyer (Duke ‘10)
Career Record / at Duke 93-22 (4th) / same
vs. Kansas 0-2
Kansas Bill Self (Oklahoma State ‘85)
Career Record / at School 819-262 (33rd) / 612-157 (23rd)
vs. Duke 5-4
Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas is coming off of a season that saw them win 21 games but lose 13, finishing 11-9 in the Big12. The Jayhawks made the NCAAT as a 7th seed but lost in the first round to Arkansas 79-72.
The Jayhawks enter the Champions Classic Tuesday with a 3-1 record, posing wins against Green Bay, Texas A&M – CC and Princeton, their lone loss game on the road to North Carolina 87-74.
Last Time Out:
Kansas defeated Princeton at home, 76-57, on the strength of a 25 point and 10 rebound double-double from Flory Bidunga. Neither team eclipsed 30% from beyond the arc, but the Jayhawks managed to shoot 47.2% from the floor overall and won the rebounding battle 43-31.
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils are coming off of a 35-4 season that saw them within a game of a title shot. Duke went 19-1 in conference, winning both the regular season and the ACC Tournament.
The Blue Devils welcome in a number 1 recruiting class after their Final Four run. Jon Scheyer after losing his entire starting lineup to the NBA but retaining core pieces with experience. Leading Duke are experienced returners senior big Maliq Brown and junior guard Caleb Foster, both instrumental pieces in Duke’s run this past season. Duke also returned 3 members from last season freshman class in hot shooting Isaiah Evans, who shot a team high 41.6%. Duke also brings back Darren Harris who has reshaped his body in hopes for a larger role and Patrick Ngongba who similarly has reshaped his frame, coming into this season healthy.
Duke’s freshman class includes the Boozer brothers, Cayden and Cameron, do-it-all forward Nik Khamenia and Italian import Dame Sarr. Duke also added reserves Jack Scott and Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, from Princeton and Rice, respectively. Duke also added Sebastian Wilkins, who has elected to red shirt this season.
Last Time Out:
Despite a slow start defensively, the Blue Devils dispatched of Indiana State handily to move to 4-0 on the season. Cameron Boozer reached 35 points, tied for the second most by a Duke freshman, with two free throws. The Blue Devils reached the century mark with a three-pointer from Darren Harris en route to the eventual 100-62 victory.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 4 | 40.0 | 31.8 | 63.0 | .504 | 20.5 | 33.0 | .621 | 11.3 | 30.0 | .375 | 21.3 | 28.3 | .752 | 13.3 | 32.8 | 46.0 | 20.8 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 10.5 | 17.5 | 96.0 |
| Kansas | 4 | 40.0 | 27.8 | 54.8 | .507 | 19.0 | 30.8 | .618 | 8.8 | 24.0 | .365 | 16.0 | 22.3 | .719 | 8.0 | 31.5 | 39.5 | 16.0 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 12.3 | 14.8 | 80.3 |
Projected Starters
Duke Blue Devils
G Caleb Foster 6’4, 205lbs Jr.
G Isaiah Evans 6’6, 180lbs So.
G Dame Sarr 6’8, 190lbs Fr.
F Cameron Boozer 6’9, 250lbs Fr.
C Patrick Ngongba 6’11, 250lbs So.
Kansas Jayhawks
G Melvin Council Jr. 6’4, 180lbs Sr.
G Kohl Rosario 6’6, 200lbs Fr.
G Tre White 6’7, 215lbs Sr.
F Flory Bidunga 6’10, 235lbs So.
F Bryson Tiller 6’11, 240lbs Fr.
Final Thoughts
The prevailing sentiment is that Kansas will be without superstar freshman Darryn Peterson. I think that remains to be seen as of publishing this. If the high scoring freshmen is out, it certainly leaves the Jayhawks shorthanded, but far from helpless. Peterson, if he plays, gives the Jayhawks 21 points a game and 4.3 rebounds. Uber athletic big man Flory Bidunga has been a steady presence both on the scoreboard and on the glass. He’s currently second in scoring for Bill Self at 17 points and leading the team on the boards with 7.8 per game. Senior guard Melvin Council Jr. leads Kansas in assists at 5.8 assists per game. A pair of freshman round out the Jayhawks starting lineup, both within a basket of averaging double-figure scoring, with Bryson Tiller at 9 points and 5 boards, and Kohl Rosario at 8.8 points per game.
I fully expect this game to be a dog fight, Kansas has a solid roster and this Blue Devil’s team still feels like a team finding their footing. For Duke, guard and wing play will determine how this game goes. Duke has to, on the offensive end, get production out of both Dame Sarr and Isaiah Evans, if that tandem is playing at a high level then everything else Duke wants to do will open up. For PG play, we need to see aggressive Caleb Foster on both ends. Foster seems to slowly be finding the balance between getting his offensively (which sounds selfish but is exactly what Duke needs) and distributing the ball and running the offense. I expect to see a lot of Cayden and Caleb on the floor at the same time in this game which has seemed to be part of Duke’s best early lineups.