Duke rolls to 100-42 victory over Niagara. What we learned about Blue Devils
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke dominated Niagara at Cameron, never trailed and secured a sixth win.
- Team defense and rotations forced turnovers, limited boards and created runs.
- Program showcased depth and development; creative scheduling honored alumni.
Mike Krzyzewski made another walk to midcourt Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The former Duke coach was back to welcome one of his former players, Greg Paulus, now in his seventh season as head coach at Niagara. Krzyzewski, Paulus and Duke coach Jon Scheyer then dutifully stood together for a round of photos and video.
It was much like the preseason exhibition game when former Duke All-America and Devils assistant coach Johnny Dawkins came back to Cameron with his team, Central Florida. Coach K, the photos, the smiles. It also had the same result after 40 minutes: a comfortable Blue Devils win.
The Devils, ranked No. 5 in this week’s AP poll, rolled past the Purple Eagles, 100-42, at Cameron. After their high-profile win over Kansas at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the Devils returned home, never trailed and never let up in their sixth win of the season.
“It was an honor to have Greg Paulus back,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Greg and I were teammates for three years, and I never thought me and him would be here coaching.
“I thought our team played to the standard we wanted. Our habits, the way we started the game. We have a lot we need to continue to get better at, but I thought today was a really good step and we’ll keep growing.”
On a night when everyone on the bench contributed, Patrick Ngongba II led six players in double figures with 17 points to go with his team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Cameron Boozer, on more of a low-key night, had 14 points for the Blue Devils, who were 17-for-33 on 3-pointers in shooting 58 percent from the field.
The Purple Eagles (2-3) got 15 points Trenton Walters, a 5-9 guard who at times was asked to double up defensively on Cameron Boozer or Ngongba and was willing to do it, if futilely.
“I tried to take it all in,” Paulus said. “You come back here and there are so many emotions. I love this place so much and the people. To see Jon and Coach and the fans, they’ve always been the best. It was special.”
What was learned about the Devils?
Feel good game for Devils
For Duke, it was one of those feel-good games. Everybody touches the ball, gets their looks, gets their shots. Given the talent disparity, there was no pressure on the Blue Devils, nor would there be any in-game pressure.
But it also was the kind of game where everyone got in their defensive touches.
It was Duke’s Maliq Brown blocking a shot on a Niagara inbounds play. It was Isaiah Evans getting a deflection. It was Nik Khamenia making a quick switch and getting a hand on a ball, and Dame Sarr smothering Niagara’s Vice Zanki, poking at the ball.
In the second half, Foster chased after a loose ball in the backcourt, diving across the floor. Duke led 74-31.
“We play to our habits,” Foster said. “We play Duke basketball, no matter what the score is.”
The Blue Devils used full court defensive pressure with a 1-2-2 zone look. With Brown at the point, it was a quick 6-9 forward as a long-armed road block in front of some short Niagara guards.
Early in the second half, Ngongba teamed up with Evans for a turnover near midcourt that led to a Ngongba transition dunk. Later, Foster did the same to feed Cameron Boozer for a slam.
In the second half, Khamenia believed he had knocked the ball off the leg of a Niagara player for a turnover. The freshman, who had 12 points and a team-best five assists, looked to the Duke bench and wanted Scheyer to challenge the call. Scheyer smiled and waved it off – Duke led 57-21.
The Blue Devils in the half court make their defensive screens look so smooth, so well-practiced. They cover up well with their help defense. They’re rarely caught out of position. It’s a very sound.
“We work harder defensively than offensively,” freshman Cayden Boozer said. “With our team, anyone can go off any night offensively, so honing in our defense is what we’ve been talking about. I felt like today was a good day for guarding the whole 40 minutes.”
Statistical oddity for Duke
Call it a statistical oddity that caused a second look: With 16 minutes played in the game, Cameron Boozer did not have a rebound.
Niagara was missing shots – the Purple Eagles were 6-of-24 from the field in the opening half – but Boozer did not grab one of the misses until about four minutes remained.
One reason: Ngongba. He had seven of Duke’s 17 rebounds in the first half. The Devils also limited the Purple Eagles to four offensive boards in the first half.
Boozer finished with five rebounds, half his average over the first five games, as Duke had a 40-20 edge on the boards.
Blue Devils come at you in waves
Scheyer kept the subs flowing freely. All Paulus could do was stand by his bench, arms crossed, as if thinking he has seen all this before in Cameron – when he wore Duke blue.
The Devils had Cameron Boozer, Ngongba, Foster, Isaiah Evans and Sarr as the starters. That was more than Niagara could handle as the Devils quickly took leads of 15-3 and 22-6 in bolting to a 47-19 cushion at the half.
“We need to get off to better starts,” Scheyer said. “Every coach says they want to get off to quick start, and our thing has been how we respond. But I prefer not to have to respond after giving up five or six layups at the start of every game.
“That was a point of emphasis. That’s why we subbed in right away.”
At one point in the first half, Scheyer had Cayden Boozer, Brown, Khamenia, Evans and Darren Harris on the floor. One had to wonder how many ACC teams that unit could beat.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can play,” Foster said.
Cayden Boozer, a player not lacking confidence as a freshman, was sharp with his ballhandling, passing and shooting Friday. Boozer was one of eight players who had two or more assists as Duke closed with 24 assists on 32 made baskets.
“I loved the way we shared the ball tonight,” Scheyer. “Sometimes, when you get a lead that can be the easiest time to try to hunt shots, and I thought we didn’t do that at all.”
‘Brotherhood’ weekend for Duke
Duke’s men’s basketball likes to call itself “The Brotherhood” and ”The Brotherhood Run” this weekend does have a nostalgic, reunion type feel to it.
Paulus brought in Niagara on Friday. On Sunday, the Devils will face Howard, coached by former Duke player Kenny Blakeney. Krzyzewski should be at that one, too.
Adding another twist is that Duke agreed to have Niagara and Howard play each other Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. That allows the two schools to work in two games on their trip to Durham and on Duke’s home floor, which should create some basketball memories for their players.
“Being able to bring two guys who played here back to Cameron Indoor Stadium is pretty special,” Cameron Boozer said. “You could see the love before the game with Coach K and Coach Scheyer and the coach from the other team, whether that’s Howard or Niagara or UCF. The ‘Brotherhood’ runs deep, for sure.”
Cool idea. Creative, too. Other schools might want to consider such things.
This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 9:13 PM.
