Welcome To The ACC, Mustangs: Duke Blows By SMU, 89-62

05.01.2025 01:05

DALLAS, TEXAS - JANUARY 4: Kon Knueppel #7 of the Duke Blue Devils passes the ball against Chuck Harris #3 of the SMU Mustangs during the first half of the game at Moody Coliseum on January 4, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. | Photo by Lance King/Getty Images

As Jon Scheyer stays home with an illness

No Scheyer no problem: Duke rolled over SMU 89-62 for an eighth straight win. Duke has not lost since Sion James became a starter against Auburn.

Scheyer, who apparently is quite ill, stayed home. It’s only the second time he has missed time with Duke, according to the TV crew for the game. He never missed as a player and only a game or two when he had appendicitis.

Duke started off hot and when things went cold for a bit and SMU started to catch up, cutting the lead to 18-16, the Blue Devils never really gave the Mustangs a chance to get back into it. There was never really a sense that SMU could win this game.

The difference, as it has usually been this year, is Duke’s defense: the Blue Devils held SMU to 5-21 (23.8%) on threes and 23-67 (34.3%) overall.

Starters Yohan Traore and BJ Edwards contributed six and two points respectively. Matt Cross was just 4-11 and Samet Yigitoglu just 4-13. Boopie Miller had some sweet shots but even he was just 8-18.

And it’s not like Duke was strip-mining the Ponies - SMU had just seven turnovers. They just couldn’t do much against that defense. Yigitoglu was frequently frustrated inside and balked several times. You could see the doubt in his eyes: this was a new experience for him.

For the Devils, Cooper Flagg had a brilliant outing, hitting 7-12/2-2 for 24 points. He also had 10 rebounds.

Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor both had 14 and their shot totals were very similar: 5-10/3-8 for Knueppel and 5-11/4-7 for Proctor.

Khaman Maluach finished with eight points and eight rebounds and one block, but he altered a ton of shots and, from where we sat (at home), really bothered Yigitoglu.

Sion James didn’t score a lot but he had seven assists in the first half and finished with eight.

Mason Gillis and Caleb Foster were solid off the bench with seven and nine respectively. Gillis had one of his better games in a Duke uniform and Foster has become a much more effective penetrator lately. He also shot 4-6.

It was more methodical than mercurial: Duke just kept the pressure up and was able to keep the Mustangs out of their normal patterns and rhythms.

The funny thing is that SMU wasn’t that far off from being in this game. Miller was at a size disadvantage obviously. He’s slight and just 6-0 - maybe. He managed to get some impressive shots off in the lane with a combination of quickness and craftiness. Matt Cross is still getting over his tailbone injury, so he gets a bit of a break, or should. He played hard. He also grabbed eight rebounds.

One major flaw was free throw shooting: SMU hit an abysmal 11-25 from the line. Better shooting wouldn’t have won the game or anything, but it might have changed it.

Duke’s defense is kind of like a python. It gets a hold of you and just keeps squeezing. You might get a great play here or there - Kario Oquendo had a stunner of a dunk over Maluach - you might do a great job with ball security - but you look up and you’re down 20.

There are no guarantees and someone will probably get Duke at some point, but in January, the Blue Devils look to be far ahead of the rest of the league.

Notes - Maluach’s stats are deceiving....he really controlled the lane and was more fluid and at ease than we’ve seen him...Knueppel is rounding into form at the same time as Proctor...Patrick Ngongba wasn’t in for long but he had some quality play...Foster appears to be improving and is a great contributor off the bench...