An academic victory: Three takeaways from Duke basketball’s blowout win over Stanford
With Tyrese Proctor continuing his scoring surge, No. 3 Duke made short work of a new ACC school that made a long trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Proctor scored 17 of his season-high 23 points in the first half as the Blue Devils built a 20-point lead before halftime and rolled to a 106-70 ACC win over league newcomer Stanford on Saturday.
Duke (22-3, 14-1 ACC) maintained its place atop the ACC standings as Proctor scored 16 points or more for the fifth consecutive game. The 6-5 junior guard from Sydney, Australia, is averaging 19.4 points per game during that stretch.
“He’s been shot ready,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Guys have found him. I’ve probably been better for him, you know, trying to make sure he gets some good looks. But I think it’s really his mindset. Just being ready and preparing the right way.”
Freshman Cooper Flagg added 19 points for Duke, which shot 62.5%.
Stanford (16-10, 8-7 ACC) shot 38.1% and suffered its fourth loss in its past five games. The Cardinal return to the West Coast to play their Bay Area rival, California, as an ACC opponent for the first time on Feb. 22.
Maxime Raynaud scored 19 points with seven rebounds for the Cardinal.
Here are three takeaways from Duke’s latest win:
Offense on track
After failing to hit 50% of its shots in four of its previous six games, Duke had everything going well on that end against Stanford.
Duke’s 62.5% shooting was its best showing of the season. The Blue Devils made 58.1% of their shots in the first half while taking a 49-34 halftime lead. They then hit 9 of their first 11 shots after halftime to push their lead to 73-44.
Proctor, who made 9 of 13 shots, and Flagg, who hit 7 of 13, were two of four Duke starters to reach double figures. Khaman Maluach scored 17 points while Sion James added 14. Caleb Foster scored 10 points off the bench for Duke.
The Blue Devils made 14 of 29 3-pointers, paced by Proctor, who made 5 of 8 to tie a career high for 3-pointers made in game.
Blakes’ homecoming
For the second time this season, Duke’s Cameron Crazies showed a rare display of love to a visiting player as former Blue Devils guard Jaylen Blakes returned as a starter for the Cardinal.
Blakes played the past three seasons for the Blue Devils, appearing in 84 games with three starts. Saturday was his 23rd game for Stanford and he’s started all of those games.
Thus, when he was introduced with the rest of Stanford’s starting lineup, he received such a loud ovation from the Cameron Crazies that he raised his arms to celebrate with them.
Blakes scored two points on 1-of-10 shooting with two assists against Duke on Saturday, playing 28 minutes. He entered Saturday averaging 14.5 points and 5.0 assists per game.
“This is only game I was rooting against him,” Scheyer said. “Besides that, I mean, he’s given our program so much for three years. Really special.”
Duke faced former teammate Jaden Schutt at Cameron on Dec. 31 when it beat Virginia Tech, 88-65. Schutt, a Duke player the last two seasons, started for the Hokies that day.
On Monday night, a third player from last season’s Duke team will suit up against the Blue Devils when they play at Virginia. TJ Power, who played one season with the Blue Devils, transferred to Virginia last spring.
Dick Vitale returns
Having returned to ESPN’s airwaves one week earlier following a nearly two-year absence to receive cancer treatments, Dick Vitale made a triumphant return to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Vitale was part of the broadcast team for ABC’s telecast of Stanford-Duke. He called Duke’s 77-71 loss at Clemson on Feb. 8.
Prior to climbing to Cameron’s rafters to sit in the broadcast position in the crow’s nest, Vitale rang a bell, which signifies completion of cancer treatments, on the court as the Cameron Crazies’ student section cheered wildly.
Since 2021, the 85-year-old Vitale has been diagnosed with four different types of cancer, including vocal cord cancer, that prevented him from broadcasting games. Prior to the Feb. 8 game at Clemson, he hadn’t worked a game since the 2023 Final Four.
Vitale’s return to Duke was also special because three of his grandchildren play tennis for the Blue Devils. Twin brothers Connor and Jake Krug are seniors on the men’s team while Ava Krug is a freshman on Duke’s women’s tennis team.
Their mother, Sherri Vitale, is Dick Vitale’s daughter. She played tennis at Notre Dame from 1992-96.
This story was originally published February 15, 2025 at 6:12 PM.