Nothing cures a loss like getting back on the court and dominating. Duke, after dropping their first league game to Clemson, did just that. Taking on a Cal team who entered the night at 12-12 on the season and 5-8 in the ACC. The Blue Devils didn’t waste a lot of time
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but that was quickly challenged by a 7-2 run from Cal to get back within 2. A 19-11 run would put the Blue Devils up 13 with 8:08 left in the half. Duke would push their lead to 15 at the break on the strength of 22 combined points from Cooper Flagg and Tyrese Proctor in the first stanza.
Duke started the second half strong, opening up a 21-point gap, 50-29, following a three-point-play by Cooper Flagg. Cal was limited to a stretch of 1-for-10 shooting from the field, as Duke expanded the margin to 26, 58-32. The Blue Devils coasted to their 21st win of the season, 78-57.
The Blue Devils had been out-rebounded in their last 3 games, but against Cal, Duke righted the ship with a 43-31 edge on the boards. Duke’s defense had also been an issue the last couple of games and while Duke held the Bears to just 35% shooting and 57 points, Coach Scheyer mentioned that he’s still not pleased with the defense and that Cal got some open looks that they didn’t knock down.
The Blue Devils definitely were not clicking on all cylinders offensively, shooting 46.6% overall and 36% from 3, but still managed to score 78 points. Led by Cooper Flagg, who scored a game high 27 points. Flagg was an efficient 8-14 and 2-4 from beyond the arc and 9-9 from the free throw line. The freshman forward also added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Tyrese Proctor, who had averaged 18.7 points in Duke’s last three games, added 18 points on 7-15 shooting, including 3-6 from beyond the arc. Big man Khaman Maluach added 10 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.
Duke will face Stanford on Saturday in their final home game of the month before hitting the road to face Virginia, Illinois in MSG, and Miami in Coral Gables.
