#4 Duke Blue Devils (9-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #7 Michigan State Spartans (8-0, 1-0 B10)
Saturday, December 6 • 12:00 p.m. ET
Breslin Center (14,759) • East Lansing, MI
TV: FOX
The undefeated Duke Blue Devils travel to East Lansing to battle against Tom Izzo and the undefeated Michigan State Spartans. The Blue Devils lead the series with Michigan State, 15-4. Duke has won both games contested at Michigan State, a 72-50 victory on Dec. 3, 2003, and an 87-75 triumph on Dec. 2, 2019.
Broadcast Information TV
TV FOX
Play-by-Play Tim Brando
Analyst Jim Jackson
Producer Aaron Stojkov
Director Dustin Denti
Broadcast Information Radio
Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 137 or 193 & SiriusXM app
History
Overall Duke leads, 15-4
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 3-1
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 3-1
In East Lansing, MI Duke leads, 2-0
at Breslin Center Duke leads, 2-0
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 10-3
Last Meeting Duke 74, Michigan State 65 (Nov. 14, 2023 – Chicago)
Coaches
Duke Jon Scheyer (Duke ‘10)
Career Record / at Duke 98-22 (4th) / same
vs. Michigan State 1-0
Michigan State Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan ‘77)
Career Record / at School 745-302 (31st) / same
vs. Duke 3-14
Michigan State Spartans
Tom Izzo coached his Spartans to a stellar season last year, his 31st at the helm, going 30-7, including a 17 and 3 record in conference. The Spartans won 4 games in the NCAA tournament this past season as a 2-seed, falling to the 1-seed Auburn Tigers.
The Spartans retained senior forward Jaxon Kohler, Jeremy Fears and several other notable important pieces from last season’s run, including Kur Teng and Carson Cooper – both starters on this year’s squad. The Spartans enter the weekend with an 8-0 record with quality wins against Kentucky, UNC and Arkansas already on the young season. Senior forward Jaxon Kohler leads the Spartans in both scoring and rebounding at 14.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Fears is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 9.4 assists per game. Junior Coen Carr adds 11.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Spartans. Michigan State is 7th in the country in points allowed and 4th in rebounds per game. They, like Duke, are top 10 in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency.
Last Time Out:
The Spartans overwhelmed Iowa in their first Big Ten game of the season 71-52, led by a trio of double figure scorers paced by Coen Carr’s 15 points, a single point behind them, Jeremy Fears added 12 points and 6 assists for the Spartans. Jaxon Kohler rounded out the double figure scoring 12 points and 11 boards against the Hawkeyes
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.
The Blue Devils are 9-0 this season with wins over Florida, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas. They are led in scoring by freshman forward Cameron Boozer, who is averaging 23.6 points per game, 9.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Boozer is the team lead in each category. His front court mate Patrick Ngongba is also averaging in double figures at 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds to go with his 2.6 assists per game. Sophomore guard Isaiah Evans rounds out Duke double figure scorers at 12.6 points her game.
Last Time Out:
Last time out, the Blue Devils won a nail-biter against a very talented Florida Gators squad, 67-66. A late 3-pointer from sophomore guard Isaiah Evans won the day for the Blue Devils, who willed themselves to victory. Cam Boozer proved to be the linchpin for the Blue Devils, scoring 29 points and hitting timely baskets in a game of runs.
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 | 9 | 40.0 | 30.7 | 59.9 | .512 | 20.6 | 31.8 | .647 | 10.1 | 28.1 | .360 | 17.7 | 24.7 | .716 | 12.1 | 29.9 | 42.0 | 19.4 | 7.4 | 5.0 | 10.4 | 17.0 | 89.1 |
| Michigan State | 8 | 40.0 | 28.3 | 59.6 | .474 | 21.6 | 39.8 | .544 | 6.6 | 19.9 | .333 | 15.5 | 21.3 | .729 | 14.4 | 27.3 | 41.6 | 19.4 | 6.8 | 4.6 | 11.6 | 16.6 | 78.6 |
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.
Michigan State Spartans
G Jeremy Fears 6’2, 190lbs RSo.
G Kur Teng 6’5, 200lbs So.
F Coen Carr 6’6, 230lbs Jr.
F Jaxon Kohler 6’10, 245lbs Sr.
C Carson Cooper6’11, 245lbs Sr.
Final Thoughts
Michigan State begins and ends with the playmaking of Jeremy Fears. Fears has been a wizard with the basketball averaging 9.4 assists per game against high level competition. Fears can also score the basketball and stopping one doesn’t necessarily stop the other. He and Jaxon Kohler are a dynamic 1-2 punch for the Spartans. Kohler is as strong as they come and can operate in the paint as well as the perimeter, he’s got a ton of big game experience and will be a load for the Blue Devils to contend with. Defending the Spartans starts with keeping them off of the glass. Duke has to rebound the basketball much better than they did against the Gators. Duke also has to take care of the basketball, having a bad floor game and turning the basketball over is going to make the game much easier for the Spartans. Duke has to be much crisper on the offensive end, guard play has to be better – Caleb Foster has been playing much better basketball lately and that has to continue but Cayden Boozer has to step up Saturday and do what he does best. The worry for me is that Michigan State’s physicality will hinder Duke’s guard play – if that happens this could be a very long night for the Blue Devils. A good offensive output will go along way toward simplifying the game for Duke and defensively being stout and completing the defensive exchange will be paramount.