Three takeaways from No. 16 Duke basketball’s blowout win over Queens on Saturday
With the calendar about to flip to 2024 and nothing but ACC play ahead of it, No. 16 Duke regained a key player from injury and collected a lopsided win Saturday.
Sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor returned from a sprained ankle and the Blue Devils rode another strong scoring performance from Jared McCain to blast Queens, 106-69, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
A freshman guard, McCain poured in 24 points, topping the 20-point mark for the third time in Duke’s last four games. He’s averaging 19.8 points per game over that stretch, while hitting 60.1% of his shots (28 of 46).
“I love the fact of how ready he was to shoot tonight,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “That’s what I love to see. I told the team at halftime if Jared’s got it going, keep finding him.”
Preseason All-American Kyle Filipowski scored 19 points for the Blue Devils (9-3), while Caleb Foster tallied 13 points and Mark Mitchell added 10.
Duke, which faces Syracuse in ACC play Tuesday night, shot 58.8% while easily topping Queens (6-9). The Blue Devils finished with a season-best 24 assists while scoring 100 points for the first time in Scheyer’s two seasons as their head coach.
Deyton Albury scored 23 points for Queens, which shot 42.4% and turned over the ball 19 times.
Here are three takeaways from Duke’s win:
Proctor returns
Four weeks to the day after he severely sprained his right ankle during Duke’s 72-68 loss at Georgia Tech, Proctor returned to game action.
“I definitely missed it,” Proctor said. “It’s the longest time I’ve been out, so it was good just to get back on the court with the guys and get the win.”
The 6-5 sophomore guard, who had played in every Duke game over this season and last prior to his injury, came off the bench against Queens. Scheyer opted to stay with the same starting lineup he used while Proctor was out — Jeremy Roach, McCain and Foster as the three guards, with Mitchell and Filipowski in the front court.
By the time Proctor entered the game at 12:47 of the first half, Duke led Queens 21-9 on a the strength of a 13-0 run. Proctor needed just 16 seconds of game time to record a blocked shot.
At the 10:01 mark, he drove aggressively to the basket to sink a layup and draw a foul. The contact caused him to land awkwardly and fall. But Proctor quickly hopped up, showing no signs of injury, to take his free throw.
The Duke medical staff’s plan was for Proctor to play around 15 minutes in his return. He played 18 minutes, scoring nine points with four assists.
“I thought he looked even better,” Scheyer said. “I thought he played really efficiently and played just under control.”
Flilipowski flexes on defense
Filipowski set a career high for blocked shots in a game. The sophomore big man blocked five shots against Queens, including four in the first half while Duke built a 46-33 halftime lead.
Filipowski blocked four shots — his previous career high — against Georgia Tech on Dec. 2.
After blocking 26 shots in 36 games last season, Filipowski already has 24 in 12 games this season.
“Especially the last few weeks,” Scheyer said, “I think he’s made a big jump on defense. People try to attack him.”
With Filipowski leading the way, the Blue Devils had a season-best 11 blocked shots against Queens.
Duke’s ball protection remains solid
The Blue Devils entered Saturday’s game No. 4 nationally in fewest turnovers per game (8.7). According to KenPom.com’s advanced stats, Duke has turned over the ball on just 12.9% of its possessions. That’s No. 6 nationally.
The Blue Devils finished with nine turnovers against Queens, turning it over on just 11.8% of their possessions. Three Duke starters — Filipowski, Mitchell and Roach — all played turnover-free games.
It’s the eighth time in 12 games the Blue Devils have committed nine or fewer turnovers in a game.
It’s a big change from last season when Duke, even in an ACC championship season, turned the ball over 12 times per game, finishing No. 194 nationally by committing turnovers on 18.3% of its possessions.
“We emphasized taking care of the ball out last year and we were one of the worst in the league,” Scheyer said. “We just had a hard time with it.”
This season, using a three-guard lineup has naturally helped. But there’s more to it than just personnel.
“That’s a huge strength of our team,” Scheyer said. “We’ve talked about not having to force the issue. We don’t need one guy to force the issue because we have five players on the court that can always score, pass and handle and they’ve really embraced it. I wish I could take credit for it. I can’t.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2023 at 4:30 PM.