With an 89-62 road victory over the SMU Mustangs (11-3, 2-1 ACC) on Saturday and despite Jon Scheyer being back in Durham recovering from an illness, Duke basketball acting head coach Chris Carrawell oversaw the Blue Devils’ eighth straight win to tie the longest regular season winning streak across the three-year Scheyer era.
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As has been the case of late, No. 4-ranked Duke (12-2, 4-0 ACC) put on a show in the distribution department. The Blue Devils finished with 22 dimes and only seven turnovers, marking their season-best 3.1 assist-turnover ratio, all while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 40.7 percent beyond the arc.
“I think it speaks to our team,” freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg, who tallied a routine-for-him 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks against the Mustangs, said about Duke’s impressive ball movement. “We have such a talented team.
“It’s a disservice to everybody on the team if we don’t share it and get the right looks.”
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor and freshman guard/forward Kon Knueppel scored 14 points apiece. Meanwhile, graduate guard Sion James paced the Blue Devils with his season-high eight dimes.
Duke is now averaging 20.3 assists across its past three wins. And with Saturday’s effort, the 2024-25 Blue Devils’ season average of 16.8 assists is on track to be the program’s highest clip since the 2017-18 team dished out 17.5 per game.
“It takes time,” the 47-year-old Carrawell said about the squad’s now-smooth offense after becoming 1-0 as an acting head coach, reminding folks that the Blue Devils returned only two scholarship talents in Proctor and sophomore guard Caleb Foster. “I thought our defense was, of course, ahead of our offense. But guys are learning how to play with each other.
☔️ @CoachCarrawell 😎😈 pic.twitter.com/hVRu00SVRl
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 4, 2025
“[Tyrese Proctor and Cooper Flagg] are really excellent leaders for our team. We go how they go. Their voice, their leadership.”
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