The Blue Devils began the 2026-27 season with an 84-50 victory over Army West Point on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Dame Sarr, who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, led the Blue Devils with 16 points. The Blue Devils also got double-figure efforts from Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, who added 15 points, and his front court mate Patrick Ngongba added 10. Ngongba and Boumtje-Boumtje tied for the team lead with 7 rebounds a-piece. The leaders in assists were sophomores Dame Sarr and Cayden Boozer, each with 3 dimes.
How the Game Was Won/Lost
The game itself wasn’t close—the talent, the size—it was all too much for Army as it should have been. Where Duke has room for improvement would be the turnovers—13, while not a huge number—a lot were unforced and due to a lack of concentration or execution. Not to be negative, as there were a lot of positives as well—the way Duke began this game gave us a glimpse of what this team could look like, firing on all cylinders. It was a thing of beauty. The defensive intensity was a joy to watch. Offensively, Duke moved the ball, got good shots, and cut well. Then Army adjusted and forced Duke, with their zone, to play in the half-court. Things from there got sloppy, the execution wasn’t the same, and things really stalled. Meanwhile, Army found their shot for a spell and continued to scrap and claw, even leading Duke in rebounding at the half (18-17). Duke did flex their collective muscle in the second half, doubling up the Black Knights’ 20-10 in rebounding. The issue was that instead of consistency and continuity, we got spurts, fits, and starts.
Defensively, Duke forced 24 turnovers, which led to 29 points, including 16 steals and four shot-clock violations. Sebastian Wilkins was active in his Duke debut with a game-high four steals, while the Blue Devils as a team finished with the most steals under Scheyer, surpassing the 15 steals Duke recorded against USC Upstate on Nov. 11, 2022. In addition to the beginning game kill shot, Duke came out of the half with a flourish, scoring another kill shot with 11 unanswered points, expanding the lead to to 26 points, 44-18, after a 3-pointer by Cayden Boozer.
By the Numbers
Offensively Duke didn’t eclipse 20% shooting from 3, going just 4 of 22; they did, however, hover around 50% overall shooting 49.2%. Duke was efficient at the free throw line, hitting at 84.6% (22-26).
Player of the Game:
Dame Sarr, in addition to leading Duke in scoring with 16 points, adds 3 assists and his patented on-ball defense. Sarr was a vocal leader for Jon Scheyer’s team; that might have been the most impressive thing about his performance. He also didn’t miss a shot, not one.
What We Learned About Duke
Takeaways
- Duke is very talented; when your biggest offensive weapon scores 3 points and you still win by 34—that’s a good sign.
- There are plenty of guys on this team that can dominate on any given night
- Scheyer has a lot of talent, and his hardest job will be to ensure that talent has championship habits sooner rather than later
- Focus is a necessity for this team; how to play with it for longer stretches of time will be key
What Comes Next
Duke will be back in action on Thursday facing Coastal Carolina with another chance to prove that they can play a full focused game rather than in spurts.
Final Thoughts
The hardest part of coaching may very well be coaching against human nature. When Duke began the game against Army with a kill shot, I knew that would be the more entertaining battle. Would Duke lose focus? And despite beating Army by 34 points, the answer was yes. Not to say Duke played horribly; they didn’t, but there were lapses on both ends of the floor that just didn’t sit right with Jon Scheyer and the coaching staff. Some things are going to vary from game to game, like shooting. I don’t think anyone expects John Blackwell to go 1-5 from 3 a lot this season or tally more turnovers than made field goals, but here we are. There were way too many instances of the Blue Devils not exercising the habits of a team with aspirations beyond the Elite 8. It’s not an indictment of the team; it’s just a point of reference in this instance, this snapshot. A teachable and coachable moment that should be easier to overcome than a lack of talent. In some ways this could be a wake-up call, giving Scheyer a theme before the next game.
