Duke basketball – Syndication Server

Who leads the Duke basketball team in points per minute so far this season?

Who leads the Blue Devils in points per minute through the first 12 games this season?

No sport can be completely distilled into mathematical formulas, but basketball benefits from a number of ways to quantify performance. One of the most interesting ways to measure efficiency, for example, is to calculate how many points a player scores per minute on the floor.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] leads the Blue Devils with 16.3 points per game, and the top-ranked freshman has obviously been the focal point of the offense in year one. He’s also the only player on the roster averaging more than 30 minutes per game. While that volume always limits efficiency, it’s a fun thought experiment to see which Blue Devils have made the most of their time on the floor.

Some of the math involved shouldn’t surprise any Duke basketball fans. This metric favors freshman microwave [autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag] more than anyone considering his small role and emphatic green light. Anyone who makes six first-half threes against the Auburn Tigers off the bench will probably dominate per-minute scoring metrics, and a 51.2% rate from behind the arc will boost anyone’s math.

Per-minute scoring splits also punish veteran forward [autotag]Maliq Brown[/autotag] more than anyone else. The Syracuse transfer can get the ball in the hoop, but he’s at his best on the defensive end of the floor. His 1.9 steals per game lead the roster, and he constantly disrupts opposing offenses with his deflections, so he gets a lot of playing time without a major offensive focus.

But some of the math might surprise the Cameron Crazies. Freshman center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] got off to a somewhat slow start (by Olympian standards) with 7.0 points through the first nine games, but a reasonable minute-management program and an increased pick-and-roll presence over the last two weeks flung him back toward the top of the metric.

Nine different Blue Devils have played at least 100 minutes this season. Here’s how they rank in points per minute as of December 22.

Player	Points	Minute	Points/Minute
Isaiah Evans	78	123	0.634
Cooper Flagg	196	368	0.533
Khaman Malauch	101	222	0.455
Kon Knueppel	146	358	0.408
Tyrese Proctor	135	349	0.387
Caleb Foster	89	236	0.377
Sion James	94	250	0.376
Mason Gillis	43	168	0.256
Maliq Brown	32	225	0.142

Where is Duke basketball in the ESPN BPI rankings after Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech?

Check out where the Duke Blue Devils are in the ESPN Basketball Power Index through Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech.

College basketball fans might have questioned whether the Duke basketball hype was warranted after a pair of early losses, but it seems like head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his roster might get the last laugh.

The Blue Devils handily defeated Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon, an 82-56 win powered by a return to form from behind the 3-point line. The victory, Duke’s sixth in a row, moved the team to 10-2 for the season and kept them No. 3 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

Cooper Flagg and his teammates only trail the Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars in ESPN’s metrics through Sunday morning.

ESPN continues to consider the Blue Devils the most well-rounded team in the nation. None of Duke’s opponents have crossed the 80-point threshold this season, and the team from Durham has made 40% of its 3-pointers in five different games.

As a result, the Blue Devils are the only team with both an offensive and defensive rating above 10.0 in ESPN’s formula, slotting sixth on the offensive standings and third on defense.

The Blue Devils look like the class of the ACC with no other team within ESPN’s top 18, and Duke’s projected conference record continues to improve as a result. The popular analytics site thinks the Blue Devils will win 18.1 of their 20 ACC games this season, good enough for a projected 26.8 wins in 31 regular-season games.

Where are the Duke Blue Devils in the KenPom rankings after the Georgia Tech victory?

See where the Duke Blue Devils ended up in the KenPom efficiency rankings after their Saturday win over Georgia Tech.

The Duke Blue Devils won their sixth straight game on Saturday afternoon, an 82-56 road win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and they moved closer to the top of the KenPom rankings as a result.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and his teammates jumped over the undefeated Tennessee Volunteers for the No. 2 spot in the site’s net rating, trailing only the Auburn Tigers as of Sunday morning.

The Blue Devils have held four of their last six opponents under 60 points, and no team has scored more than 78 against Duke this season. After another stifling defensive performance in Atlanta, the Blue Devils also pushed past Tennessee for the top spot in the defensive rating with 88.3 adjusted points allowed per 100 possessions.

The Volunteers and Houston Cougars are the only other schools under 90.

The Duke offense finally rose from its small slumber as well. [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] found his target on four of his eight 3-point looks as the Blue Devils made eight of their first 16 as a team, and their 82 points were the most they’d scored in four games. It was nearly enough to break them back into the top 10 on the offensive end, leaving them No. 11 in offensive rating.

No other ACC school remained in the top 20 through Saturday with the Pittsburgh Panthers (No. 23) the next-highest team in the confernece.

The best Duke basketball photos from Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech

Check out the best Duke basketball photos from Saturday’s win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has already given the Duke Blue Devils quite a bit through the first seven weeks of his freshman season, so his teammates decided to help give him a victory for his birthday on Saturday.

Flagg tallied at least 20 points in three of Duke’s previous four games, giving him five such performances for the year, but he only took 11 shots from the floor against Georgia Tech to finish with 13 points. Instead, three other starters combined for 43 thanks to some return to form behind the 3-point line.

[autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag], who went just 4/18 from behind the line in Duke’s last four games, found his mark on four of his eight tries against the Yellow Jackets, and 7-foot-2 center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] got to the basket five different times and drew multiple whistles for a 15-point game.

It all added up to an 82-56 victory for the road team, letting the Blue Devils carry a six-game winning streak with them into their second 10-day break of the month.

Here are the best photos from Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech.

How many points did Cooper Flagg score against Georgia Tech on his birthday?

Here’s how Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg performed against Georgia Tech on his 18th birthday.

Duke basketball superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] played his first game as an 18-year-old on Saturday with a road battle against Georgia Tech on his birthday.

The top-ranked player in the Class of 2024 didn’t exactly have much left to prove, even with a single conference game under his belt. Flagg already amassed five 20-point performances and four double-doubles in his first 11 collegiate games, and the Blue Devils entered this weekend on a five-game win streak.

Duke struggled from behind the arc in the past few games, failing to score 30 points in either of its last two opening halves, but the Blue Devils caught fire in Atlanta. They connected on six of their first 12 3-point efforts to open up a 37-22 lead, but could they hold on for another win?

Here’s a recap of Flagg’s birthday game against the Yellow Jackets.

Cooper Flagg points scored vs. Georgia Tech:

Flagg finished with 13 points after he made five of his 11 shots from the floor, and he added four rebounds and two assists to his final line.

Did Duke win?

Yes, the Blue Devils opened the second half on a 16-2 run for an 82-56 win. The Blue Devils are now 10-2 after their six straight victories, and Duke starts the year 2-0 in conference play.

Cooper Flagg’s next game:

The Duke Blue Devils will return to the court on New Year’s Eve with a home game against Virginia Tech

Duke basketball shoots the lights out to beat Georgia Tech on Cooper Flagg’s birthday

The Duke Blue Devils won their sixth straight game on Saturday afternoon thanks to 13 points from Cooper Flagg on his birthday.

The Duke men’s basketball team looked like the offense that was promised against Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon, getting 13 points from [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] on his 18th birthday in the 82-56 win.

The Blue Devils struggled to get points on the board in the first 20 minutes of its last two games, failing to score 30 points before halftime against Incarnate Word or George Mason, but water returned to level at McCamish Pavilion.

Duke made fewer than 34% of its 3-point looks in four of its last five contests, but five-star freshman Kon Knueppel helped take the lid off the basket early in Atlanta. The Wisconsin native made two of his first three looks from behind the arc, and the Blue Devils knocked down four of their first six threes as a team.

That run helped power one of the most explosive streaks of the season for the road team. Yes, Knueppel finding his 3-point form helped, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to keep themselves between Duke and the basket. Flagg got to the paint for a dunk, Tyrese Proctor carved his way through to the glass for a layup, and the hits kept coming and coming.

For a six-minute run from 17:00 to 11:00 left in the opening half, the Blue Devils made 11 of their 13 attempts from the floor, and Georgia Tech trailed by 14 on their own floor.

The home team refused to roll over, however. The Blue Devils still led by 15 with four minutes left on the clock when Georgia Tech’s Duncan Powell earned two trips to the free-throw line and made them both. Jaeden Mustaf drilled a three, and sophomore star Baye Ndongo notched five straight points for a surprising 12-2 run.

The sequence completely reversed the game, slicing the advantage to five by the break, but the vaunted Duke defense clamped down over the final 20 minutes. The Blue Devils began the weekend as KenPom’s second-ranked defense, holding three of their last five opponents under 50 points, and Georgia Tech made just seven of its 28 shots after halftime to halt its comeback effort.

The Yellow Jackets missed the mark on seven of their 10 second-half threes, and their 20 points in the closing frame helped Duke pull away for an easy win.

The Blue Devils, on the other hand, kept their shooting form through halftime. Knueppel opened the second half by floating an alley-oop up to center Khaman Maluach, prompting a two-handed slam from his 7-foot-2 classmate.

The dunk sparked a 16-2 Duke run, concluded by Maluach grabbing an offensive rebound and finding Flagg on a slashing cut. The birthday boy grabbed the ball and cocked it back in one hand for a tomahawk dunk, a proper celebration for his big day.

Flagg also grabbed four rebounds with two assists, and Knueppel led the team with 18 points after he went four-for-eight from distance. Maluach and Proctor contributed 15 and 10 points, respectively, and Duke made 56.5% (31/55) of its shots in the resounding win.

The Blue Devils now get their second 10-day break of the month with no games on the schedule until New Year’s Eve against Virginia Tech.

Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer will hit coaching milestone against Georgia Tech

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer will spend his 400th game on the Blue Devils’ staff this Saturday against Georgia Tech.

It may feel like Duke basketball coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] is a recent face for the program since he took over for legendary coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] in 2022, but the former national champion has spent more than a decade with the Blue Devils. In fact, Saturday’s game with Georgia Tech will be Scheyer’s 400th on staff.

Scheyer spent most of that time learning from his predecessor, joining Duke as an assistant back in 2013. Coach K promoted him to associate head coach in 2018, giving him four years of preparation before he took the helm.

The Blue Devils have won 308 of the first 399 Scheyer games, a 77.2% clip, and he’s almost sustained that pace as the head coach. He led Duke to consecutive 27-9 seasons in his first two campaigns, and this year’s 9-2 start gives him a 63-20 (75.9%) overall record.

In fact, if Scheyer wins each of his next seven games to reach 70-20, he’d surpass the 77.5% percentage (245-71) from his 10 years under Krzyzewski.

The third-year Duke coach has already added an ACC Tournament title and an Elite Eight appearance to his resume, and this year’s team looks like heavy favorites to add ‘regular-season conference champion’ to that growing list of accolades.

Cooper Flagg’s best Duke basketball photos on his 18th birthday

Check out Cooper Flagg’s best Duke basketball photos as the freshman phenom celebrates his 18th birthday.

Duke basketball superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has already accomplished so much in his freshman season.

The presumed No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s NBA draft has already put together five 20-point games, including a 22-point performance in a home victory over the No. 2 Auburn Tigers, along with four double-doubles in just 11 games. Flagg is averaging 16.6 points. 9.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks to rank within the top 12 in all five categories among ACC players.

He also turned 18 years old on Saturday.

Flagg leads the Blue Devils into battle once more on his birthday, a road game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for his second conference game. With three 20-point outings in Duke’s last four games, fans should certainly expect more fireworks from the young star.

However, in preparation for the moment, take a trip down (recent) memory lane with some of the best photos from his first 11 games.

Cooper Flagg set to play on his birthday in Duke basketball game against Georgia Tech

The Duke men’s basketball team plays Georgia Tech on Saturday, and the team’s star player will celebrate his birthday on the court.

Duke basketball phenom [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has already done pretty much everything a player can do in a Blue Devils uniform (in the regular season), but the star freshman will check another box this weekend: playing on his birthday.

Flagg, the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, turned 18 years old on Saturday, and Duke will face Georgia Tech on the road the same day.

The phenom reclassified from the Class of 2025 as a high school student, explaining his young age even for a freshman, but he hasn’t exactly looked overwhelmed against his older peers. Through his first 11 games with the Blue Devils, he’s put together four double-doubles and scored at least 20 points in five different games (including three of his last four). As of Saturday morning, he’s within the top 12 in the ACC in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game.

Flagg has averaged 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.0 steals so far in December, and a similar performance against the Yellow Jackets would likely help him celebrate with a victory.

Duke basketball schedule: Are Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils playing today?

Are the Duke Blue Devils playing today? Here’s a look at the men’s basketball schedule and the games to come.

Will the Duke men’s basketball team be on the court today?

Following a Tuesday victory over the George Mason Patriots, freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and the Blue Devils travel to Atlanta for a road game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Flagg, who celebrates his 18th birthday on Saturday, scored 24 points in the 68-47 victory over the Patriots. It was the forward’s fifth 20-point outing of the year and his third in the last four games, following a 22-point night against the Auburn Tigers and a 20-point game against Louisville.

The Yellow Jackets will be Duke’s second conference opponent of the season, but the Blue Devils are off to an undefeated start in ACC play. The preseason favorites beat the Cardinals by 11 points on the road two weekends ago, the first conference game for new Louisville coach Pat Kelsey.

With the calendar creeping closer to 2025, here’s a refresher on the upcoming Duke basketball schedule.

TEAM 2024 schedule

Dec. 21: at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Dec. 31: vs Virginia Tech Hokies
Jan. 4: at SMU Mustangs
Jan. 7: vs Pittsburgh Panthers
Jan. 11: vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Jan. 14: vs Miami Hurricanes
Jan. 18: at Boston College Eagles
Jan. 25: at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Record: 9-2