After each Duke men's basketball game this season, check back here for the Player of the Game and more. It was a decisive shellacking for the Blue Devils, who beat the Terriers 86-35, and the Blue Zone breaks down the game:
One player: Tyrese Proctor
Proctor continued his dominance on offense with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists. He maintained his streak of scoring double digits and at least two 3-pointers in all games this season. The junior’s 3-pointers were a major highlight of the game, and his 57.1% 3-point percentage outpaced Duke’s overall 42.1%. Proctor also beat his career average of 34.9%. The Sydney, Australia, native has been crucial to the Blue Devils’ success in their 3-1 season, and with a game against Arizona coming up Friday, Duke will certainly be pinning hope for another blowout on a repeat performance from Proctor.
One word: Balanced
Duke maintained consistent pressure on the Terriers thanks to a balanced performance from numerous players. Head coach Jon Scheyer utilized a deep bench, employing 13 players to Wofford’s nine. The eight non-starting Blue Devils scored 31 total points, while Wofford’s four bench players combined for just five. By halftime, at which point Duke had a 51-14 lead, 11 Blue Devils had already taken to the court. Four players — Isaiah Evans, Khaman Maluach, Caleb Foster and Proctor — scored more than 10 points, but notably, none of them made the top five for rebounds.
Duke found surprising balance in an intriguing combination of players, particularly freshmen Cooper Flagg and Patrick Ngongba II. Flagg led the team in rebounds and assists with nine and six, respectively. Ngongba made his debut after being plagued by a foot injury in high school. He had six rebounds during the game, the second most of any Blue Devil, while adding two assists and two points. Notably, his five offensive rebounds and one defensive rebound spanned a mere 11 minutes.
Scheyer sent out three relatively inexperienced freshmen — Evans, Ngongba and Darren Harris — at the same time, with the score at 66-20, and Duke ultimately still expanded its lead. The balanced performance meant that Duke was less reliant on one or two key players: for example, after playing 36 minutes against Kentucky, Proctor only played 22 against Wofford. Even though he played less than in previous games, his teammates were able to shoulder a greater part of the burden.
One stat: 42.1%
Much of the credit for the Blue Devils’ offense goes to its 3-point accuracy and its contribution to Saturday’s one-sided affair.
Duke’s 3-point percentage improved significantly from the disappointment against Kentucky, when the Blue Devils made a paltry 16.7% of 3-point shots. The improvement in 3-point accuracy was noticeable: against Kentucky, the Blue Devils scored 12 points from threes versus 48 against Wofford. Three-pointers were the foundation of Duke’s dominant lead during the first 10 minutes, at which point the Blue Devils had scored 15 points from 3-point shots and led 24-7.
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Samanyu Gangappa is a Trinity sophomore and local/national news editor for the news department.