LAS VEGAS— Two titans clashed under the lights of Sin City Tuesday night, as No. 11 Duke men’s basketball sought to dethrone No. 1 Kansas at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Jayhawks handed Jon Scheyer his first loss as Duke’s head coach in the 2022 Champions Classic, and despite an admirable battle that went down to the wire, the Blue Devils once again fell at the hand of legendary coach Bill Self’s squad, 75-72.
"I'm heartbroken for our players," Scheyer said after the game. "They gave it [their] all. But I explained to them the reason we've done this schedule is to make us stronger for the end of the season. We're not running from anybody. We're not avoiding playing any top team. I'm not sure I even have words for how beneficial this has been for our team."
Just over a minute remained in this game-of-the-season contender, and the Blue Devils had possession down one point. However, just as in Duke’s 77-72 loss to Kentucky, freshman phenom Cooper Flagg was stripped of the ball, and the Jayhawks regained possession. The Blue Devils responded with a huge defensive stop, and Scheyer called timeout with 14.2 seconds left.
Duke inbounded the ball to Tyrese Proctor, who passed the rock off to a driving Kon Knueppel. Yet, just as the Blue Devils’ talented freshman elevated, Kansas guard Rylan Griffen stole Knueppel’s pass attempt, and Duke was forced to foul with three seconds left. After a pair of made Jayhawk free throws, the Blue Devils found themselves down three and needing a miracle to tie. Duke’s prayers would not be answered as Knueppel’s last-second attempt almost banked into the basket, but barely missed its mark.
"Kon and Cooper had a great two-man game and they were making plays all second half," Scheyer said. "At the end of the day, as a coach, you want the ball in your best players' hands. I'm taking the ball in their hands any day of the week, we just have to execute better."
The game was tied at 65 with six minutes left in an electric showcase of back-and-forth basketball. While the Jayhawks were missing their best player, the Blue Devils found themselves deep in foul trouble with Kansas well in the bonus. Flagg slammed home his second dunk of the game, but then Griffen swished home a three off a beautiful Dajuan Harris Jr. assist, before Griffen finished through contact over Proctor for an and-one. Just like that, Kansas led by four.
A Khaman Maluach dunk brought Duke back within two points. With less than three minutes remaining, Flagg converted through contact to tie the game once more. Jayhawk guard Zeke Mayo’s floater found its way home as the shot clock expired, then Flagg made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a 73-72 Kansas lead.
With 12 minutes left in the game, Proctor’s fiery 3-point shooting continued, as the Sydney native’s fourth 3-pointer brought the Blue Devils back within six points. A few minutes later, with the Jayhawks’ lead just two, Duke’s Maliq Brown was controversially called for a foul on Preseason All-American Hunter Dickinson. However, Kansas’ center appeared to kick Brown in the head after the play, prompting a fiery exchange between the two players and an extended review. The original foul on Brown stood, but Dickinson was assessed a flagrant-two foul and ejected from the game.
After Dickinson’s ejection, a pair of Duke non-shooting fouls brought the Jayhawks into the bonus with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The Blue Devils responded immediately with yet another Proctor three, and then Flagg elevated through a defender for a thunderous slam to tie the game at 61.
"Give [Kansas] credit," Scheyer said. "They were incredibly physical. They played differently than they have all season with their pressure and contesting, but Cooper responded ... He had some great reads for others. The thing about him that you love is he's unselfish, so he's always trying to make the right play. I trust his competitiveness and his spirit and his intuition to know what it takes to win."
The second period began just as the first, with the Jayhawks responding to an elegant Knueppel fadeaway jumper by regaining the game’s momentum on the back of a 9-0 run, giving them a 50-42 lead. A pair of 3-point makes from sophomore Caleb Foster and Flagg reduced Kansas’ lead to four, but Self’s squad responded with consecutive makes of its own, most notably a deep-range shot from senior guard David Coit.
The Blue Devils endured a disastrous start to the game, with uncharacteristically sloppy play on both ends of the floor. With just over four minutes gone, Kansas already held a 16-3 lead, scoring on its first seven possessions. Sion James’ corner three ended an early 14-0 Kansas run, but the Jayhawks immediately responded with a successful alley-oop from Harris to junior AJ Storr. It wasn’t until the 14-minute mark of the first half that Duke finally earned a defensive stop.
Duke’s gradual first-half comeback started on the defensive end, with Scheyer’s men finding success by forcing the Jayhawks deep into the shot clock and into heavily-contested looks. Proctor’s second corner three of the game cut Kansas’ lead to seven with just under five minutes left in the half, then Brown swished a rare 3-point attempt to make it a 32-30 game. After Knueppel powered through Kansas’ defense in transition, the game was suddenly tied.
"I learned a lot of things tonight," Scheyer said. "Like what Maliq Brown did was incredible. He willed us really back into that game in the first half. The job he does defending [with] deflections [and] steals, he's a key guy."
The end of the first half felt like the game that was promised, a gladiatorial back-and-forth clash between two of college basketball’s best. With the seconds ticking down in the opening period, Proctor received a Maluach pass, dribbled to his right and attempted a bold step-back three. Blue Devil fans erupted around T-Mobile Arena as the ball swished through the basket. Just like that, Kansas led 41-39 as both teams headed to the locker room.
"I believe in this team more than I can even say," Scheyer said. "I love the heart and toughness we've shown. We're gonna continue to get better. I think the ceiling that we have to grow throughout the year is as high as anybody's. It's my job to make sure we get there, and we will."
The Blue Devils return home to face Seattle Friday before welcoming No. 4 Auburn in Cameron Indoor Stadium Dec. 4 in yet another high-profile early-season matchup.
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Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.