To be the best, you have to beat the best … or lose to them and grow.
For the Blue Devils, it was the latter, as they failed to complete the comeback and fell to No. 1 Kansas 75-72 Tuesday night. Duke assuredly would have preferred to return to Cameron Indoor Stadium victorious, having handed the top-ranked team in the country its first loss of the season, but instead it lost its second match in three weeks to an older, top-25 team.
So where does this loss leave the Blue Devils? Better off than they would be without these tough, top-tier losses.
“I explained to them that the reason we’ve done this schedule is to make us stronger for the end of the season,” head coach Jon Scheyer said. “We’re not running from anybody. We’re not avoiding playing any top team.”
Against Kansas, it was apparent at times that Duke needed a grow-up game. It needed to face the top-ranked, most experienced team in the nation according to KenPom, in a packed neutral-site environment where at times it was difficult to tell if there were more fans rooting for Kansas or for Duke. And while they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, for the Blue Devils to have future success, they will need to keep what happened in Vegas at the forefront of their minds.
Kansas was initially led by first-team All-American Hunter Dickinson, and while the graduate was ejected with a flagrant-two foul in the second half, his equally experienced teammates immediately stepped in to fill the 7-foot-2 hole left in his absence. Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams Jr. both played on the Kansas team that won the national championship in 2022 and brought a wealth of experience and confidence to the Jayhawks’ starting five. Junior Rylan Griffen, who stole the ball from Kon Knueppel and Duke’s chances of winning the game with it, made it to the Final Four and the Sweet 16 with the Crimson Tide before transferring to the Jayhawks this season.
Experience.
“Harris and Adams in particular. How many games have they been in like this?” Scheyer asked. “It showed in their poise down the stretch, their toughness as well.”
The poise and composure of Harris, Adams and the rest of the Kansas cadre often contrasted the inexperience of Duke at times, especially in the closing minutes of the contest when the Blue Devils briefly snatched the lead and had the opportunity to win the game. Whether it was Griffen stripping Knueppel of the ball, Cooper Flagg missing a significant free throw or another inopportune turnover with under a minute left, Duke’s youth showed itself.
“We’ve thrown these guys in the fire,” Scheyer said. “We’re asking a lot of our 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds.”
A lot is being asked of Duke’s freshmen and sophomores, but for the most part against Kansas, they delivered. Flagg was second on the team in points, made his only 3-point attempt of the night and had five rebounds. Though Knueppel did not have the best shooting night, he still tallied 11 points — third on the team — and led the team in assists, helping to drive Duke’s offense and find his teammates for open looks.
Another team, especially one with Duke’s youth, might have folded in the first half alone when the Jayhawks burst out of the gate with impressive speed and offensive prowess, getting off to a rapid 16-3 start. The experience and early domination of Kansas might have caused another team to lose sight of its identity. And the Blue Devils may have taken some time to find their identity and momentum early, but once they found it, they forced Kansas to fight down to the wire to walk out of T-Mobile Arena with the win.
“The character and the heart of our team really showed tonight,” Scheyer said. “It’s character, it's either you have a competitive spirit or you don't.”
Duke’s competitive spirit reared its head against the Jayhawks even as its youthful energy showed itself. In the loss, the Blue Devils seemingly discovered something about themselves, that they have the grit and determination to take top-ranked teams down to the final buzzer.
Scheyer, himself, put it best.
“I'm not sure I even have the words for how beneficial this has been for our team.”
The benefits will outweigh the heartbreak of defeat. Duke competed with the best, and a loss in November could do wonders for a team’s confidence and poise in March.
“We're going to continue to get better,” Scheyer said. “I think the ceiling that we have to grow throughout the year is as high as anybody's.”
A few months from now, experts may point to this loss as the turning point for Duke. As Scheyer said, the ceiling of the Blue Devils’ potential could take them anywhere, now that they know what it takes to go toe-to-toe with college basketball’s fiercest competition. But for now, they will take it one game at a time, next up back in Cameron Indoor Stadium against Seattle Friday night.
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