Duke falls to Kansas, 69-64, in a back-and-forth heavyweight college basketball battle
Duke’s freshmen carried it deep into the second half with a lead on Tuesday night before the young players looked young again in crucial minutes.
Relying on first-year players for 22 consecutive points during one second-half stretch pushed the No. 7 Blue Devils to six-point second-half lead over the No. 6 Jayhawks.
But Duke failed to score on eight of 10 possessions late and Kansas rallied in the final two minutes to beat Duke, 69-64 in the Champions Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Jalen Wilson scored 25 points and Gradey Dick added 14 for the Jayhawks (3-0). After junior guard Jeremy Roach hit a 3-pointer to put Duke up 62-61 with two minutes left, Dick’s consecutive baskets put Kansas in front for good at 65-62.
Duke finished with 18 turnovers and shot 35.8%, making only 3 of 21 3-pointers.
“Those possessions add up over 40 minutes,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “When you have 18 turnovers, that’s obviously a big stat right there, not valuing and taking care of the ball.”
Kyle Filipowski, Duke’s 7-foot freshman, scored 17 points with 14 rebounds, becoming the first Duke player to start his career with three consecutive double-doubles. But it wasn’t enough as the Blue Devils faltered down the stretch.
From the nine-minute mark to Roach’s 3-pointer with two minutes left, Duke scored on just two of 10 possessions, turning the ball over four times.
Roach scored 16 points for Duke (2-1).
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, Duke cut the Kansas lead to 33-29 at halftime.
Freshman guard Tyrese Proctor, who had struggled with his shots in his first five halves of college basketball, got hot to push Duke in front. The 6-5 Australian hit two pull-up jumpers on the lane and added a 3-pointer as Duke took its first lead since the game’s early minutes.
Filipowski’s aggressive drive and two-handed slam dunk with 14:52 left gave Duke a 45-41 lead and had the freshman flexing and screaming. When he added a short jumper off an in-bounds pass, Duke led 47-41 with 14:23 left.
Kansas battled back behind Wilson, taking a 54-53 lead on his basket and free throw with 9:12 remaining.
In the first half, Duke struggled to find rhythm on offense. The Blue Devils shot just 31% from the field, missing 10 of 11 3-pointers and turned the ball over 11 times — six on offensive fouls. Proctor was even called for a flopping technical foul after missing a 3-pointer.
Kansas built a 17-6 lead over the game’s first seven minutes and looked ready to blow the Blue Devils out. But Duke tightened up its defense and the Jayhawks scored just one field goal over a five-minute stretch.
Meanwhile, Roach and Jaylen Blakes found room to drive to the basket resulting in either free throw attempts or baskets. When Roach hit a jumper with 8:14 left in the half, Duke cut the Kansas lead to 21-15.
With 3:39 left in the half, Roach scored on a driving layup while drawing a foul. He sank the free throw leaving Duke down 27-25 and Kansas took a 33-29 lead to halftime.
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 12:28 AM.