The diameter of a basketball rim is 18 inches, but sometimes, it just looks bigger.
Such was the case for Duke in Saturday evening’s 106-70 dispatching of Stanford, as the Blue Devils posted one of the best offensive performances in the program’s storied history according to KenPom. While head coach Jon Scheyer’s contingent has consistently proved to be one of the best in the nation, the victory against the Cardinal was the first time everything clicked on the same night — and the result was a near-flawless offensive performance.
“That’s just Duke basketball,” freshman forward Cooper Flagg said after the game. “That's just the standards that we play to, just finding the open man, making the right pass, making the right read. It’s just what we're trying to do on every possession.”
It doesn’t require any deep digging to see how dominant the Blue Devils were on the offensive end of the court, as the 106-point showing was their highest tally in an ACC game since a 110-57 win against Georgia Tech in 2017. But down to every last play and statistic, the performance was a comprehensive dismantling.
From shooting efficiency to balanced scoring to ball security, Duke passed every test the Cardinal threw its way with flying colors. The 62.5% field-goal percentage and the 4.6 assist-to-turnover ratio both marked season-highs, an impressive statement given the Blue Devils already lead the conference in both stats.
Twelve different players scored for Duke while five tallied double figures. This was led — as has recently been the case — by junior guard Tyrese Proctor, who spearheaded the squad with 23 points to go along with four assists. The Sydney native also didn’t turn the ball over in the contest — a microcosm of how the Blue Devils’ disciplined offense and crisp passing led to open shots and few turnovers. Proctor posted another remarkably efficient output, converting 9-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-8 from deep.
“Tyrese, obviously, on offense, what he's doing, I think the sharing and connecting is what stands out to me,” Scheyer said.
Not to be outdone by his backcourt mate, graduate transfer Sion James was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, making seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe to end with 14 points. The sure-handed guard commanded the floor especially well in the first half, racking up five assists in the period without committing a turnover.
It was freshman center Khaman Maluach who set the tone for Duke, though. After employing his length to force a turnover on Stanford’s opening possession, Maluach ran the floor and executed a perfect pick-and-roll action from the left slot with fellow freshman Kon Knueppel. After screening former Blue Devil guard Jaylen Blakes, the 7-foot-2 big man darted to the rim, turning just in time to rise up and throw down Knueppel’s well-placed lob for the first of many Duke buckets.
The Rumbek, South Sudan, native finished the contest with 17 points in just under 21 minutes, with a 3-point attempt serving as his only miss of the night. Maluach’s seven dunks exemplified how Duke got whatever it wanted inside, ultimately outscoring the Cardinal 42-16 in the paint.
“He's got a ton of pressure on him, and what he does is he puts that pressure on himself,” Scheyer said. “He's just playing to his strengths, and I'm really proud of that with him.”
Some missed shots in the opening minutes allowed Stanford to hang around, and the score was knotted at 13 as the clock ticked under 15:00 in the first half. A gorgeous possession that included five passes to just two dribbles ended in Proctor’s first trey of the game, giving the Blue Devils the lead they would never surrender. From that point forward, Duke cashed in 12-of-24 attempts from deep, a remarkable clip even for the conference leader in 3-pointers made.
From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Blue Devils fired on all cylinders. Even once the game was in hand and both coaches turned toward the end of their benches, Duke continued its efficient onslaught. Sophomore guard Caleb Foster, whose midseason struggles have forced him out of the rotation, quickly racked up 10 points including two makes from downtown — his first made threes in his last eight games.
Oh yeah, and Flagg scored 19.
No matter which way you slice it, Saturday’s showing was a glimpse of just how good Duke can be at its peak. With March peering just around the corner, if the Blue Devils manage to put it all together like they did against the Cardinal, they are likely the best team in the country.
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