The Duke men’s basketball team picked up one of the best wins of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night, an 84-78 home victory over the undefeated Auburn Tigers. According to the opposing head coach after the game, Blue Devils coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] played a large role in the outcome.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl stopped by a Field of 68 live stream to speak with basketball reporter Jeff Goodman after Wednesday’s game, and he offered nothing but praise for [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag]’s successor.
“Jon Scheyer doesn’t get enough credit for the job he does,” Pearl told Goodman. “They run really good stuff that’s hard to guard, and they got us in some mismatches.”
Five-star freshman [autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag] came off the bench and made six 3-pointers in the first half on Wednesday thanks to some well-designed misdirection, and the Blue Devils held Auburn star Johni Broome to five points in the opening half after he’d averaged 21.7 over his previous three appearances.
The story of the season will always center around freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], however, and he delivered again on Wednesday. The 17-year-old forward scored 22 points and added 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks, becoming the first freshman this century to lead his team in all five categories during a top-five win.
“They find ways to get Cooper in against your guards,” Pearl said, another testament to Scheyer’s play designs.
Before Wednesday’s loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Tigers had taken down the Houston Cougars, Iowa State Cyclones, and North Carolina Tar Heels during their 7-0 start.