Khaman Maluach

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

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.

Is Maliq Brown playing today? Injury updates for the Duke forward

Here are the latest updates on Duke forward Maliq Brown, who was battling a toe injury ahead of Tuesday’s game vs George Mason.

The Duke Blue Devils won their fourth straight game last week, a 72-46 triumph over Incarnate Word, but they did so without forward [autotag]Maliq Brown[/autotag].

The Syracuse transfer had been one of Duke’s best defenders through the first nine games, averaging 5.9 rebounds and a team-leading 2.1 steals, and he helped hold Auburn Tigers star Johni Broome to five first-half points in the Blue Devils’ best win of the season thus far.

However, before last week’s game against the Cardinals, Duke announced that Brown would be held out with a toe injury. The Blue Devils labeled him day-to-day with the injury, and with a week-long break before the next game, it seemed logical to assume he wouldn’t miss much time.

The team affirmed that belief with a positive update on Brown’s status ahead of Tuesday’s game against George Mason.

Maliq Brown injury update

The Blue Devils confirmed ahead of Tuesday’s game that Brown would play against the Patriots. Barring any setbacks, the toe injury will keep him out of a single game.

Duke forward depth chart

Freshmen centers [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] and Patrick Ngongba II played a larger role in last week’s win over Incarnate Word in Brown’s absence, but the Syracuse transfer should spell them both against George Mason. Maluach has started every game in the paint, but Brown averages more minutes per night than the 7-footer, a role that should resume with his return to the lineup.

The best Duke basketball photos from Tuesday’s win over Incarnate Word

Check out the best Duke basketball photos from Tuesday’s game against Incarnate Word.

Tuesday’s gritty victory over Incarnate Word served as a solid reminder of the depth in Duke’s freshman class.

The Blue Devils struggled to pull away from the Cardinals for the first 15 minutes as superstar freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] made just two of his eight shots. The superstar forward anchored last week’s victories with 20-point double-doubles, but as he struggled to generate similar production on the offensive end against UIW, Duke looked a little stuck in the mud.

Two other first-year players stepped up to pull the team out of slump. Center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] scored 10 points in the final 6:09 of the opening half, part of his team-leading 17 for the night, and [autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag] rattled home four 3-pointers off the bench after the break.

It all came together in the end for the home team, and when time expired, the Blue Devils could celebrate a fourth straight win.

Check out some of the best photos from an up-and-down night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke basketball pushes through slow start against Incarnate Word for fourth straight win

Duke’s first half against Incarnate Word on Tuesday night wouldn’t win any beauty pageants, but a win is a win for the Blue Devils.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and the Blue Devils didn’t earn any style points for their first-half performance against the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Tuesday night, but the Duke men’s basketball team eventually pulled it together for the 72-46 home victory.

After last week’s victories over the Auburn Tigers and Louisville Cardinals, Duke seemed like a runaway train with plenty of track to gain steam before the end of the calendar year. Besides, entering Tuesday’s game, UIW ranked 350th out of 364 teams in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rating, and the Cardinals’ opponents accumulated an effective field goal percentage of 53.8%. If the Blue Devils could drop 84 points on the undefeated Tigers, surely there would be carnage in store at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

But college basketball, in the most predictable fashion possible, remains entirely unpredictable. The Blue Devils took 14 shots from the floor over the first nine minutes and only made four of them, and Duke didn’t break into double-digits until the 13:39 mark of the opening half.

Flagg, fresh off two straight 20-point double-doubles, looked unable to find a rhythm on the offensive end. The 6-foot-9 forward missed six of his eight first-half attempts, including a trio of relatively open 3-pointers, to only put four points on the board through the break. The normally reliable Blue Devils missed the mark on 11 of their 13 triples as Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel combined to go two-for-seven.

Luckily for the Blue Devils, freshman 7-footer [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] showed up to work. The center from South Sudan needed to play a larger role as forward Maliq Brown recovered from a toe injury, and Maluach didn’t shrink from that responsibility. He took advantage of his size all night, rolling toward the rim for lobs and bullying the Cardinals in the pick-and-roll game.

Maluach pulled the Blue Devils ahead through sheer willpower in the final six minutes of the half. He made three baskets and four free throws over the final 6:09 of the half, powering a 12-7 run to create a 28-21 advantage and give Scheyer a little breathing room.

Thankfully for the Cameron Crazies in attendance, the offense seemed to figure something out in the locker room. Maluach made a contested bucket on the opening possession, giving him three more quick points and starting a quick 11-0 run for the home team.

[autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag], who took over the first half against the Tigers last week, put on a similar show after the break. The five-star freshman showcased the same fearless shot selection and off-ball movement that haunted Auburn, finding free space on the court and getting 3-pointers off even with hands in his face, for 14 second-half points.

While the offense needed to wake up over the course of the, Duke’s stifling defense never skipped a beat. The Cardinals could have easily taken an early lead if they weren’t getting held to 3/18 from the floor over the first 12 minutes. UIW entered Tuesday’s game making more than 41% of its 3-pointers, but the Blue Devils never gave their opponents the space to breath in a 5/23 (21.7%) display from distance.

Duke, now 8-2 on the season, gets a full week off before a home game against George Mason on December 17.

Is Maliq Brown playing today? Injury updates for the Duke forward

Duke basketball forward Maliq Brown is dealing with a toe injury. Here are the latest updates.

The Duke Blue Devils play their 10th game of the 2024-25 season and their third game in seven days on Tuesday night against Incarnate Word, so naturally, we’ve reached the point in the season when injuries start to emerge.

Duke stayed relatively healthy for the first month of the campaign, but the team announced its first major absence of the year when it declared Maliq Brown out with a toe injury against the Cardinals.

The Syracuse transfer has already made himself an indispensable part of the Blue Devils rotation. He hasn’t started a game yet, but he averaged 21.0 minutes across the first nine contests and led the team with 1.9 steals. He’s anchored the defensive end of the floor, constantly breaking up opposing plays and helping hold Auburn Tigers star Johni Broome to five points in the first half last week.

Here’s everything we know about Brown’s injury ahead of the midweek game against UIW.

How long will Maliq Brown be out?

The team ruled Brown day-to-day with his injury. Considering that the Blue Devils won’t play again until December 17 after Tuesday’s game, odds seem likely he’ll only miss the one night.

Duke forward depth chart

With Brown unavailable, five-star freshman [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] will probably play more minutes than usual. The South Sudanese 7-footer has started all nine games for the Blue Devils, but he’s only played 17.3 minutes per night. Maluach hasn’t seen the floor for more than 15 minutes since the November 26 game against Kansas, but he’ll certainly jump over 20 minutes against UIW.

Fellow freshman Pat Ngognba II, another center in the 2024 recruiting class, will also probably play in Brown’s absence, but head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] said Ngongba will be held on a strict minute count for his entire freshman season as he battles a foot injury.

Duke basketball defeats Caleb Love and Arizona thanks to Cooper Flagg’s 24 points

Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils picked up their first top-25 victory on Friday night with a 69-55 win over Arizona in Tucson.

The Duke Blue Devils avenged last season’s loss to Arizona on Friday night, defeating the Wildcats 69-55 in their own building behind a 24-point performance from star freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag].

Arizona entered Friday night as one of the nation’s best rebounding teams, averaging 51.3 per game while giving up just 27.0, but the Blue Devils used their height to revert that trend in a big way. Every single member of the Duke rotation stands at least 6-foot-5, and forwards like Flagg, [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], and Maliq Brown helped create an early advantage on the board.

The Blue Devils finished with 22 rebounds in the opening half while Arizona pulled down just 14. Despite the Wildcats recovering more than half of their misses for second-chance possessions in the first three games, they only grabbed one offensive rebound while shooting 11/26 (42.3%) from the floor.

Brown and Tulane transfer Sion James each finished the half with five boards, and three other Duke players snagged at least two. Duke ended the game with a 43-30 advantage on the glass, and the Blue Devils scored 14 second-chance points to Arizona’s eight.

One of Duke’s other big trends from last week’s loss to the Kentucky Wildcats stemmed from its 3-point shooting. Despite making more than 41% of their triples against their other three opponents, the Blue Devils went 4/24 (16.7%) in Atlanta during the five-point loss.

Tyrese Proctor buried two straight triples in the opening four minutes, and the rest of the team woke up over the closing stretch. The Blue Devils made five of their 13 second-half attempts from distance, including a trio from freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag], to finish the game at 38.5%.

After a slow start, the Wisconsin native looked like the ACC Rookie of the Week from the first two games after the break. The biggest of his three 3-pointers came with 3:56 on the clock when he hesitated for a moment before splashing a shot from a few feet behind the line, a dagger that turned the game into a 61-49 contest in Duke’s favor.

Flagg’s offensive dominance, however, was a trend that didn’t reverse from the Kentucky loss. After scoring 12 of Duke’s last 14 points against the Wildcats, the 17-year-old rattled off another long stretch as the engine on Friday. Flagg made a layup with 12:31 left on the clock to kick off a seven-minute stretch in which he scored all 10 of the team’s points, including a knockdown 3-pointer at the 8:20 mark.

Flagg scored 16 of his 24 points after halftime. Oh, and former North Carolina Tar Heels star Caleb Love? He made just three of his 13 shots, including one of his nine 3-point attempts, to finish with eight points.

Duke won’t get to bask in its first ranked win of the season for long. The Blue Devils head to Las Vegas for a Tuesday battle with the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks.

Duke basketball dominates Wofford in best first-half performance under Jon Scheyer

The Duke Blue Devils bounced back with a Saturday win over Wofford behind a scoring avalanche during the opening half.

The Duke Blue Devils knew they wouldn’t erase any lingering questions from Tuesday’s loss to the Kentucky Wildcats with one game, but they sure tried with an 86-35 home victory over the Wofford Terriers.

After missing their first four shots of the afternoon, the Blue Devils caught fire and wouldn’t cool down until the midway point. Days after Duke made just four of their 24 3-point attempts as a team in Atlanta, Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel made back-to-back triples to take the lead in the third minute.

Proctor, the only player who spent each of the past two seasons with head coach Jon Scheyer, roared out of the gates again. After he put together 10 points with two threes in the first 20 minutes against the Wildcats, he tallied nine of the Blue Devils’ first 14 points with an assist on top. He ended the opening frame with 12 points, nearly equaling the Terriers by himself, with two dimes.

After 17-year-old phenom [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] was the only Duke player to make a shot from the floor over the final 10 minutes against Kentucky, Scheyer and the Blue Devils took a different approach on Saturday. From the 15:01 to 5:28 marks in the first half, Duke outscored Wofford 27-2 thanks to eight different players getting to the basket.

Khaman Maluach, the freshman 7-footer, scored seven points in four minutes emphasized by an alley-oop dunk. Fellow first-year center Patrick Ngongba, making his collegiate debut, notched his first career points and won several rebounding battles. Isaiah Evans, yet another member of the 2024 recruiting class, tallied eight points and an assist in his first four minutes on the court thanks to a pair of 3-pointers.

Eleven different players took the court in the first half on Saturday. Nine of them scored at least two points, and eight of them recorded an assist. Despite Flagg only notching five points on five shots, the Blue Devils created a 51-14 advantage after 20 minutes for the largest halftime lead in Scheyer’s three years as head coach.

The Cameron Crazies could pick their favorite stat to detail Saturday’s dominance. Duke finished with 43 rebounds to Wofford’s 29. The Blue Devils recovered with a 16/38 (42.1%) performance from 3-point range. However blowouts can be quantified, Scheyer and his players checked the box. Flagg finished with just eight points, but he stuffed the stat sheet elsewhere with nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and three steals for his contribution.

The confidence from Saturday’s win will prove necessary in the coming 10 days. The Blue Devils get nearly a full week off before Saturday’s trip to Arizona for a battle with the Wildcats, and Duke plays top-ranked Kansas in Las Vegas just four days later.

Jon Scheyer calls the Duke basketball cramp problem ‘concerning’ after Kentucky loss

For the third time in three games on Tuesday night, a Duke basketball freshman left the game with cramps in the second half.

The Duke men’s basketball team lost to the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night, a second-half collapse that saw the Blue Devils get outscored 24-11 over the final 10 minutes.

Freshman center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag]’s absence played a big role in the late-game swing. The 7-foot-2 star finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, but he spent a large chunk of the second half on the bench as he dealt with cramps.

With Maluach needing to leave the game, cramps become an alarming trend for the first-year Blue Devils. Star forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] exited the first two games against Maine and Army with the same problem, and head coach Jon Scheyer sounded well aware of the connection after the game.

“Yeah, I mean, look, it’s concerning,” Scheyer said. “I think part of it is we have young bodies…Again, we’re not trying to just dip our toes in the water, we need Cooper to play a lot. And Khaman.”

“That’s something we’ve got to take a hard look at,” he concluded.

The Blue Devils host Wofford at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, but the following two games come against Arizona on the road and Kansas at a neutral site. So the faster any potential problems get solved, the better.

Three Duke Blue Devils go within the top 10 of ESPN’s latest NBA mock draft

ESPN released a new 2025 NBA mock draft on Tuesday with a trio of Duke basketball stars within the first eight picks.

With a recruiting class as deep as the one Duke basketball coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] landed this offseason, NBA coaches and front offices will be keeping a keen eye on the Blue Devils in 2024-25.

Superstar forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the presumed top pick in the class, has looked the part of a franchise-changing talent even as he’s battled cramps through his first two games. The 6-foot-9 Maine native notably scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before halftime against Army on Friday. However, two other five-star freshmen have made an impression, and according to ESPN analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, they remain strong lottery candidates.

Givony and Woo included a trio of Blue Devils among the top eight selections in their updated 2025 mock draft on Tuesday, and three older members of the roster made their larger rankings as second-round talents. Here’s a look at the Duke basketball stars with the highest draft stock after two games.

Cooper Flagg

Washington Wizards, No. 1 overall

Despite needing to sit for chunks of the second half against Maine and Army, Flagg has averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. He leads the Blue Devils in the latter three categories, and the passing prowess adds a wrinkle to his athleticism and defense. Even without leading the team in scoring, he’s somehow been as good as advertised. It’d be an upset if he wasn’t the top pick at this point.

Kon Knueppel

San Antonio Spurs, No. 6 overall

Knueppel emerged as the star of the offseason after teammates and analysts raved about his offensive playmaking and basketball IQ, and he proved them right by leading the Blue Devils in scoring against both the Black Bears and Black Knights. He’s averaged 18.5 points per game while making seven of his 14 3-point attempts, and he can catch and shoot or fire off the dribble with ease. On a team with at least four 40% 3-point threats, he’s the best shooter of all.

New Orleans Pelicans, No. 8 overall

Maluach might not be stuffing the offensive stat sheet like Flagg and Knueppel through two games, but the 7-footer pulled down 10.0 rebounds and blocked 1.5 shots per contest in his first week with the Blue Devils. He put together his first double-double against Army, scoring 11 points to raise his scoring average to 8.5. If this draft destination comes true, he’d join former Duke basketball stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram in New Orleans.

Other Blue Devils on the prospect rankings

33. Caleb Foster (11.0 points, 3.0 assists)

35. Tyrese Proctor (12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 50% 3PT)

51. Sion James (11.5 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals)