The No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks proved to be too much for Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils. On Tuesday, Duke basketball tasted its second defeat of the season, as the ACC powerhouse fell prey to Bill Self’s Jayhawks via a score of 75-72 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Blue Devils weren’t completely outclassed by Kansas. They even nearly forced overtime but Kon Knueppel’s desperate 3-point attempt at the buzzer went in and out of the rim.
The loss stings for Duke, and that was very much conveyed by the words of Jon Scheyer following the contest, with the Blue Devils head coach also lamenting a key reason behind his team’s defeat at the hands of the Big 12 program.
“It’s a heartbreaker – our team showed a lot of fight to get back in the game but there were too many moments where we gave Kansas life,” Scheyer said (h/t Duke men’s basketball official X account) “Nobody wants to win more than the guys in this locker room, we’ll figure this out.”
Duke and Kansas both struggled with ball security, as each committed a total of 16 turnovers. However, the Jayhawks got more attempts from the field, 57-48, in large part because they dominated the offensive glass. The Jayhawks had 31 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards while Duke basketball recorded 25 rebounds with just five off its own misses.
Nevertheless, Scheyer still has total confidence in his team, which could have also escaped with a win if the Blue Devils did a better job at making their freebies. Duke shot just 13-for-18 from the free throw line as compared to Kansas’ 11-for-12 shooting from the charity stripe.
“I want our heads held high, I want us to keep going. I believe in this team more than I can even say. I love the heart and toughness we’ve shown – we’re going to continue to get better. I think the ceiling that we have to grow throughout the year is as high as anybody’s and it’s my job to make sure we get there, and we will.”
Duke basketball suffers second defeat in 2024-25 season
Duke was led by Tyrese Proctor, who scored 15 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Cooper Flagg had a slow start, as Kansas limited him to only two points in the first half but the potential top pick at the 2025 NBA draft finished the contest with 13 points, five rebounds and three dimes. Meanwhile, Knueppel chipped in 11 points in addition to his eight assists.
Duke’s record now reads 4-2, but both of the Blue Devils’ losses have come against quality opponents. The Blue Devils’ first loss was to the then-No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Nov. 12.
Duke can get back to its winning ways as soon as this Friday when the Blue Devils host a lightweight in the form of the Seattle Redhawks (No. 125 on KenPom) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.
