Duke Falls to Top-Ranked Kansas, 75-72

Tuesday, November 26

Las Vegas, Nev.

9 p.m.

Duke University

Kansas

Duke Falls to Top-Ranked Kansas, 75-72

11/26/2024 11:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Scheyer Quotes Coach Scheyer Presser Photo Gallery

LAS VEGAS – Duke men's basketball dropped a back-and-forth matchup with top-ranked Kansas, 75-72, on Tuesday night inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The Blue Devils were led by Tyrese Proctor, who scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Proctor was joined by three teammates in double-figures, as Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Sion James scored 13, 11 and 10, respectively.

Knuppel finished the contest with a career-high eight assists and Maliq Brown led the defensive effort with a season-high four steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams scored on their opening possession, with Kansas tipping in a layup and Tyrese Proctor knocking down a three-pointer. The Jayhawks opened an early double-digit lead, 13-3, at the first media timeout of the game.
A three-pointer by Sion James snapped a 14-point scoring run by Kansas and pulled Duke back within 10, 16-6. Duke held Kansas scoreless for over three minutes and drew within seven, 23-16, with just under nine minutes before halftime. A Proctor three-pointer followed by a dunk and three-pointer by Maliq Brown pulled the Blue Devils within two, 32-20 and forced a Kansas timeout with 3:55 on the clock.
After a steal by Brown and a layup by Kon Knueppel on the next possession knotted the score at 32, Kansas scored the next five points. A three-pointer by Proctor as the first-half buzzer went off sent Duke into the locker room down just two, 41-39.
Duke took a lead, 42-41, early in second half before Kansas ripped off nine straight points to trigger a Blue Devils timeout with 16:54 on the timer.
Consecutive three-pointers from Caleb Foster and Cooper Flagg narrowed Duke's deficit to four, 52-48, shortly before the under-16 media timeout. Proctor's fourth make from beyond the arc kept Duke within striking distance, 57-51, and a layup from James made it a one-possession game, 57-55, with just over 10 minutes remaining. Proctor's fifth three-pointer tied the game at 59 and a thunderous dunk by Flagg tied the game at 61.
The Blue Devils knotted the score at 65 with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. Another Flagg dunk pushed Duke in front, 67-65, and forced a Jayhawk timeout. Kansas responded with five straight points and led by three, 70-67, at the final media break of the game.
A dunk by Khaman Maluach out of the break and a running layup by Flagg tied the game at 71 with two minutes to play. Following a defensive stop, Duke called timeout with 14.2 seconds remaining, trailing by one, 73-72. A stop by Kansas and two free throws closed out the Jayhawk win, 75-72.

NOTES

Duke lost to the No. 1 team for the first time since March 8, 2008, and snapped the Blue Devils' two-game winning streak versus top-ranked teams. The Blue Devils had most recently beaten Gonzaga, 84-81, on Nov. 26, 2021, and Syracuse, 66-60, on Feb. 22, 2014.
Kansas entered the game averaging 44.8 points in the paint per game. Duke's defense limited the Jayhawks to just 30, a season low for the Jayhawks.
The Blue Devils got 23 bench points, the fourth time in six games that Duke has finished with at least 20 points from their bench.
Kansas out-rebounded the Blue Devils, 31-25, marking the first time this season that Duke finished with a negative margin on the glass.
The Blue Devils' defense forced 16 turnovers and has logged double-digit takeaways in every game so far this season.
Eleven of the Kansas turnovers were courtesy of a Duke steal, the second time in the last three games that the Blue Devils have swiped at least 10 steals.
The Blue Devils shot 50% from the field (24-of-48), converting on at least half of their shots for the first time since the season-opener versus Maine.
Duke's 42.3% shooting from behind the arc is the team's second-best percentage from distance this season (44.7% vs. Army).
The Blue Devils faced their largest deficit of the season at 13 points in the first half, but rallied to tie the game and trailed by just two points, 41-39, at intermission. The second half saw four ties and four lead changes.
Tyrese Proctor led the team with 15 points, connecting on 5-of-7 from deep, setting a new career-high for made three-pointers in a game.
With his five three-pointers, Proctor became the first Blue Devil to make at least five from deep since Jared McCain accomplished the feat with five versus NC State on March 31, 2024.
Proctor also led the team with six caroms, a new season-high for the junior.
Cooper Flagg scored in double-figures for the third straight game, putting in 13 points, while also reeling in five boards and dishing three assists.
Kon Knueppel also logged double-figure points, scoring 11. The freshman also dished a career-high eight assists.
Sion James rounded out Duke's scorers in double-figures, adding 10 points. The graduate ended the game a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, including 2-for-2 from deep, and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Maliq Brown registered season highs with eight points, including his first three-pointer as a Blue Devil, and four steals, which was a game high.

QUOTES

"Really proud of my team. I thought we battled like crazy. Give Kansas credit, they've had a week off and you could tell. The preparation and how ready they were to play, right away, I thought that was the best version of who they are. Their experience is legit. Their talent. Obviously, Coach [Bill] Self is one of the best. He's done a terrific job, always. Ton of respect for them and give them credit. For us, it would've been easy to fold in that kind of game. The way they came out, I thought they made some tough shots, to be honest with you. I thought we missed some open ones. And we just stuck with it. Kept fighting, kept fighting. We're asking a lot of 17, 18 and 19-year-olds. We are. That's what they want. I thought the character and the heart of our team really showed tonight. As much as I badly want to win – I think maybe at some point, I've thought about if I'm crazy for the schedule that we've had our first six games. But I did it with this group because I thought they could take it. They're wired the right way. They have toughness about them. The growth that we're going to have from this game, this whole trip – playing at Arizona and then playing Kansas on a neutral site – we're going to grow so much. I'm disappointed. Wanted to win badly, for our guys, but we're really going to learn so much and be better from this." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer

UP NEXT

No. 11 Duke returns home, taking on Seattle on Friday, Nov. 29, marking the Blue Devils' first game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium since Nov. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will air live on ACC Network.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

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