Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer spent all offseason talking about the difficulty of his team’s non-conference schedule, and the challenges will continue on Friday night in Tucson, Arizona.
Superstar freshman Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils will play the Arizona Wildcats, their second top-25 opponent of the young season. Flagg scored 26 points against the Kentucky Wildcats last Tuesday, earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors, but a pair of late turnovers turned a tie game into a 77-72 loss down the stretch. However, despite the errors in Atlanta, there are several trends that point to the defeat being a one-off performance.
On top of that, Duke faces program villain Caleb Love for (presumably) the final time. The Blue Devils have lost five of their previous eight meetings with the former North Carolina Tar Heels star. Can Friday’s showdown end differently?
Here are five reasons why the Blue Devils will pick up their first ranked victory of the season on Friday night.
The Blue Devils won’t shoot as poorly as they did against Kentucky
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
In Duke’s three wins this season, the Blue Devils made 44/105 (41.9%) of their 3-point attempts. Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel, and at least four other members of the team are threats to finish the year above 40% from beyond the arc. However, against Kentucky, Duke made just four of its 24 attempts from distance. With the shooting talent Scheyer collected this offseason, the smart bet is that last week’s loss was simply a bad game, something that won’t happen frequently.
Arizona, on the other hand, won’t shoot as well as Kentucky did
Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
While the Blue Devils look consistently good from 3-point range (again, for the most part), Arizona can’t say the same thus far. Through three games in 2024-25, the Wildcats have made just 27.4% of their triples. In their first loss of the season against the Wisconsin Badgers, Arizona made four of its 23 attempts, and Love is shooting 26.3% on 3-point tries so far this season. Duke can rest on its efficiency during wins and older sample sizes, but the Wildcats can’t say the same.
The Arizona stars who helped win last year’s matchup aren’t in Tucson this year
Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Yes, Arizona beat the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium last November. However, while Duke fans are well aware of how different this year’s roster looks, they may not realize how much talent the Wildcats lost. Four of the five starters from last year’s game now play elsewhere, either in the college or the NBA, and they scored 51 of Arizona’s 78 points. New names like Jaden Bradley have taken a step forward, but any competition about talent replenishment goes to the Blue Devils.
Duke won’t need to entirely rely upon Cooper Flagg down the stretch this time
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Flagg’s big game against the Wildcats partially stemmed from his performance, the 17-year-old did consistently deliver on high-pressure possessions, but the Blue Devils also literally couldn’t turn to anyone else. No other Duke player made a shot from the floor over the final 10:50, and Flagg finished with 12 of the team’s last 14 points. Knueppel and Proctor have both scored more than 12 points per game this year, and the former is due for another big night. Expect at least 15 points from someone else on the roster.
Duke’s height can offset Arizona’s biggest advantage
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Wildcats have nearly doubled their opponents on the boards this season, averaging 51.3 rebounds per game while allowing just 27.0. Even in their recent loss to Wisconsin, the Badgers only snagged two offensive rebounds. However, every single member of Duke’s rotation stands at least 6-foot-5, and with freshman center Patrick Ngongba starting to play more minutes, there are four Blue Devils who are 6-foot-9 or taller at Scheyer’s disposal. If anyone can nullify Arizona’s biggest strength, it’s Duke.
Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer spent all offseason talking about the difficulty of his team’s non-conference schedule, and the challenges will continue on Friday night in Tucson, Arizona.
Superstar freshman Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils will play the Arizona Wildcats, their second top-25 opponent of the young season. Flagg scored 26 points against the Kentucky Wildcats last Tuesday, earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors, but a pair of late turnovers turned a tie game into a 77-72 loss down the stretch. However, despite the errors in Atlanta, there are several trends that point to the defeat being a one-off performance.
On top of that, Duke faces program villain Caleb Love for (presumably) the final time. The Blue Devils have lost five of their previous eight meetings with the former North Carolina Tar Heels star. Can Friday’s showdown end differently?
Here are five reasons why the Blue Devils will pick up their first ranked victory of the season on Friday night.
The Blue Devils won’t shoot as poorly as they did against Kentucky
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
In Duke’s three wins this season, the Blue Devils made 44/105 (41.9%) of their 3-point attempts. Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel, and at least four other members of the team are threats to finish the year above 40% from beyond the arc. However, against Kentucky, Duke made just four of its 24 attempts from distance. With the shooting talent Scheyer collected this offseason, the smart bet is that last week’s loss was simply a bad game, something that won’t happen frequently.
Arizona, on the other hand, won’t shoot as well as Kentucky did
Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
While the Blue Devils look consistently good from 3-point range (again, for the most part), Arizona can’t say the same thus far. Through three games in 2024-25, the Wildcats have made just 27.4% of their triples. In their first loss of the season against the Wisconsin Badgers, Arizona made four of its 23 attempts, and Love is shooting 26.3% on 3-point tries so far this season. Duke can rest on its efficiency during wins and older sample sizes, but the Wildcats can’t say the same.
The Arizona stars who helped win last year’s matchup aren’t in Tucson this year
Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Yes, Arizona beat the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium last November. However, while Duke fans are well aware of how different this year’s roster looks, they may not realize how much talent the Wildcats lost. Four of the five starters from last year’s game now play elsewhere, either in the college or the NBA, and they scored 51 of Arizona’s 78 points. New names like Jaden Bradley have taken a step forward, but any competition about talent replenishment goes to the Blue Devils.
Duke won’t need to entirely rely upon Cooper Flagg down the stretch this time
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Flagg’s big game against the Wildcats partially stemmed from his performance, the 17-year-old did consistently deliver on high-pressure possessions, but the Blue Devils also literally couldn’t turn to anyone else. No other Duke player made a shot from the floor over the final 10:50, and Flagg finished with 12 of the team’s last 14 points. Knueppel and Proctor have both scored more than 12 points per game this year, and the former is due for another big night. Expect at least 15 points from someone else on the roster.
Duke’s height can offset Arizona’s biggest advantage
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Wildcats have nearly doubled their opponents on the boards this season, averaging 51.3 rebounds per game while allowing just 27.0. Even in their recent loss to Wisconsin, the Badgers only snagged two offensive rebounds. However, every single member of Duke’s rotation stands at least 6-foot-5, and with freshman center Patrick Ngongba starting to play more minutes, there are four Blue Devils who are 6-foot-9 or taller at Scheyer’s disposal. If anyone can nullify Arizona’s biggest strength, it’s Duke.
