#5 Duke Blue Devils (6-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. Howard Bison (3-3, 0-0 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 23 • 4:00 p.m. ET – “Brotherhood Run”
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
TV: ACC Network
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD
No. 5 Duke hosts Howard on Sunday, Nov. 23, in the Brotherhood Run, as the Blue Devils welcome back Kenneth Blakeney, former Blue Devil and current head coach of the Bison. Blakeney was a four-year letter winner at Duke (1991-95), helping the Blue Devils to a 99-34 record and three 20-win seasons. Blakeney was a redshirt member of Duke’s 1990-91 national championship team and a key contributor on the 1991-92 NCAA championship squad that finished 34-2.
Broadcast Information
TV ACC Network
Play-by-Play Evan Lepler
Analyst Dan Bonner
Analyst Jim Boeheim
Producer Will Black
Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 84 & SiriusXM app
Coaches & History
Duke Jon Scheyer (Duke ‘10)
Career Record / at Duke 95-22 (4th) / same
vs. Howard First meeting
Howard Kenneth Blakeney (Duke ‘95)
Career Record / at School 76-99 (7th) / same
vs. Duke First meeting
Howard Bison
Last season, Howard finished with a 12-20 record, going 7-7 in conference, although they posted an 8-6 record at home. So far this season, the Bison are 3-3, posting wins over UDC, Alcorn State and Niagara. Senior guard Bryce Harris leads a duo of double figure scorers at 22.4 points per game, he’s also the leading rebounder for the Bison at 7.8 rebounds per game. Alex Cotton, a junior guard out of Texas, averages 14.3 points per game. The leading assist man is Cam Gillus at 4.8 per contest. The Bison are in the top 40 in 3pt shooting at 39% per game so far this season.
Last Time Out:
Last time out Howard took down Niagara in the Brotherhood Run 80-70 on the strength of Bryce Harris’ 20 point outing.
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.
Duke currently sits at 6-0 on the season, posting wins against Texas and Kansas. The Blue Devils are led by a trio of double-figure scorers with Cam Boozer pacing the Blue Devils offensively with 20.3 points per game, Boozer is also averaging 9.5 boards and 4 assists – both are also team highs. Isaiah Evans averages 13.3 points per contest to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Sophomore Patrick Ngongba rounds out the double-figure scorers for Duke at 12.5 points per game, the big man out of Virginia also adds 7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Last Time Out:
The Blue Devils took out a helpless Niagara team 100-42 in the first game of the in season Brotherhood Run MTE.
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 | 6 | 40.0 | 31.0 | 60.8 | .510 | 19.5 | 31.0 | .629 | 11.5 | 29.8 | .385 | 20.2 | 27.2 | .742 | 12.8 | 31.3 | 44.2 | 20.7 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 9.8 | 17.3 | 93.7 |
| Howard | 5 | 39.7 | 26.0 | 56.0 | .464 | 18.4 | 36.6 | .503 | 7.6 | 19.4 | .392 | 14.8 | 20.2 | .733 | 11.0 | 21.6 | 32.6 | 15.4 | 8.4 | 1.8 | 14.0 | 19.8 | 74.4 |
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.
Howard Bison
G Cam Gillus 5’11, 180lbs Jr.
G Bryce Harris 6’4, 220lbs Sr.
G Alex Cotton 6’5, 195lbs Jr.
G Ose Okojie 6’5, 191lbs Sr.
C Danas Kazakevicius 6’10, not listed Fr.
Final Thoughts
As expected the Blue Devils dismantled an overmatched Niagara squad, Howard presents a challenge on the perimeter with their shooting. The Blue Devils showed against Niagara they can defend the perimeter well, after a few sub par outings. Bryce Harris shoots the 3 at a 52% clip and Alex Cotton at a 45.5% clip, they combine to average 12.9 attempts. Any scouting report on Howard begins with guarding the 3 and making Howard into a 2 point shooting team.
Offensively Duke has a distinct advantage in size on Howard. Duke is still looking for a standout performance from their freshman power forward Cam Boozer who has struggled so far this season finishing in the paint. With Arkansas at the United Center looming in just a few days this will be Duke’s last opportunity to iron out the wrinkles in Cam’s game.