#6 Duke Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0 ACC) vs #24 SMU Mustangs (12-3, 1-1 ACC)

#6 Duke Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0 ACC) vs. #24 SMU Mustangs (12-3, 1-1 ACC)

Saturday, Jan. 10 • 2:00 p.m. ET

Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

The Duke Blue Devils return home to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the #24 SMU Mustangs in another top 25 ACC matchup Saturday at 2:00pm.

TV ESPN
Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien
Analyst Jay Williams
Producer Kim Belton
Director Aladdin Freeman

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 161 or 193 & SiriusXM app

SMU boasts the highest-scoring offense in the league and 18th in the country with 90.1 points per contest, featuring five players averaging double figures in scoring. The Mustangs top the conference in assists (18.7 apg) and are positioned second in field goal percentage (.498). SMU is the most experienced team in the ACC and ranks fourth in the nation, averaging 2.76 years of experience. (KenPom) Boopie Miller is the top playmaker in the ACC with 7.1 assists per game (seventh nationally), and ranks fourth in the league in scoring (20.6 ppg) and fourth in steals (2.0 spg). Jaron Pierre Jr. tops the ACC in field goal attempts (214) and is eighth in the league in scoring with 17.9 points per game. B.J. Edwards leads the ACC with 2.5 steals per outing.

Last Time Out:

RJ Godfrey scored 17 points and Clemson held down No. 24 SMU in a 74-70 victory Wednesday night. The Mustangs cut a 15-point deficit to 71-67 on Boopie Miller’s free throws with 1:23 left. SMU had a chance to get closer, but Miller missed a short jumper. Jake Wahlin got the rebound for Clemson and made a foul shot with 22.5 seconds to play. Moments later, Dillon Hunter hit two foul shots to extend the lead to 74-67 with less than 10 seconds remaining. Miller led all scorers with 23 points. Samet Yigitoglu had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Mustangs.

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 is fourth in the NET rankings and is tied for the most Quad 1 wins with five. Duke is one of just three teams ranked in the top-10 nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.4, 10th) and defensive efficiency (94.1, 10th) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are ninth nationally in scoring margin (+21.1). On the glass, Duke ranks 16th in the country in rebound margin (+9.9 – 2nd in ACC), 19th in defensive rebounding (28.9 – 2nd in ACC) and 32nd in total rebounding (41.2 rpg). Cameron Boozer is the nation’s leading scorer with 23.3 points per game, ranks 23rd nationally with 9.7 rebounds per contest, and sits 16th with seven double-doubles. 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. Caleb Foster scored a career-high 20 points, including 16 in the decisive second half, in Tuesday’s 84-73 win at No. 20 Louisville. Isaiah Evans has drained three or more 3-pointers in eight games this season. Duke is 19-0 the past two seasons when the sophomore sharpshooter hits three or more triples.

Cameron Boozer leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 23.3 points per game, he leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 9.7 per contest. In addition, averaging a double-double, Boozer leads the Blue Devils in assists at 4.2 per game. Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba both are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 14 and 10.5 points per game respectively.

Last Time Out:

The Blue Devils, down by as many as 12 against Louisville, stormed back in the second half, utilizing a strong defensive effort and 16 second half points by Caleb Foster to down the Cardinals by 11 points. Led by Cam Boozer’s 27 points and Isaiah Evans’ 23 points offensively, Duke held the Cardinals to just 11% shooting from 3 in the second half on the road, winning 84-73.

Once again, the Blue Devils are facing a strong offensive team. Possible the best in the ACC. Against both Georgia Tech, Florida State and Louisville, the Blue Devils didn’t bring their best defensive effort to start the game and had to exhaust a lot of energy fighting back. We’ve learned that Duke’s margin for error is not as extensive as we once thought. The Mustangs being the oldest team in the ACC is not going to blow a lead if they get one. Duke cannot come out flat, they have to make it hard on the Mustangs and keep the fight up for the entirety of the game. The hope is that the second half of the Louisville game was a turning point, but only time will tell. I expect Duke to have some issues finishing against the 7’2 Samet Yigitoglu, I would expect the Blue Devils to try and put him in ball screens as much as possible and make him guard as far out as possible to open up the floor. The bigger concern for me remains on the defensive end, however – if Duke executes there, they should be fine.