Tag: Mike Krzyzewski

When’s the last time Duke basketball won its first 10 ACC games in a single season?

The Duke basketball team clinched a 10-0 start in conference play on Monday night. When’s the last time the Blue Devils pulled that off?

The Duke men’s basketball team won its 14th straight game on Monday night, a hard-fought 74-64 victory over the NC State Wolfpack. More importantly, however, the Blue Devils kept their perfect conference record with a 10-0 start in ACC play, something the program hasn’t done in nearly two decades.

Duke’s most recent 10-0 record against conference opponents came in 2007-08, head coach Jon Scheyer’s sophomore season. Believe it or not, that was actually the third time the Blue Devils won their first 10 ACC games in five seasons, matching that number in 2003-04 and 2005-06.

Legendary head coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] won the regular-season conference title in each of those first two campaigns, but the North Carolina Tar Heels surged past them for the 2007-08 ACC crown with a 14-2 conference record.

On an unfortunately pessimistic note, none of Duke’s last five 10-0 conference starts resulted in a national championship. But none of those teams had freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], either, so there’s a first time for everything.

Coack K calls Duke basketball freshman Cooper Flagg ‘the best player in the country’

In a Wednesday interview with Andy Katz, legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski called Cooper Flagg the best player in the country.

Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] entered his first collegiate basketball season with enough expectations to crush most phenoms, already penciled in as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. But the Maine native has somehow lived up to the wildest of expectations from the Cameron Crazies, and one five-time national champion agrees.

Mike Krzyzewski, who spent more than four decades as the Duke basketball coach, told national analyst Andy Katz on Wednesday that he considered Flagg to be the best player in the country.

“There’s not even a glimpse of anything negative,” Krzyzewski said. “There’s no negative DNA.”

“Every time he has the ball, Andy, the next thing that happens with the ball is a good decision,” he added.

A 6-foot-9 forward with remarkable speed and athleticism for his frame, fans and coaches expected Flagg to be one of the nation’s most dynamic defenders. He’s averaged 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks to fulfill that vision, anchoring KenPom’s second-ranked team defense.

What some basketball fans may not have expected, however, was Flagg’s team-leading 4.1 assists per game or his 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio since the start of December. He’s become a 63.2% shooter and a 54.5% 3-point shooter since the holiday break, a remarkable clip for his size and usage rate.

“He’s getting better,” Krzyzewski said simply. “He was really good right away, but it just keeps going up.”

Through his first 18 collegiate games, Flagg has nine 20-point games and six double-doubles. He set an ACC freshman record with 42 points in a single game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish earlier this month, and he finished that game with seven assists as well.

Former Duke player and coach Jeff Capel III leads Pittsburgh into Cameron Indoor Stadium

The Duke Blue Devils will welcome a familiar face back to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Duke Blue Devils could put some more distance between themselves and the rest of the ACC on Tuesday night when they host the Pittsburgh Panthers, one of two other unbeaten teams in conference play. However, any longtime Cameron Crazies also see the midweek battle as a homecoming game for the visiting coach.

Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel III played for the Blue Devils from 1993-97, averaging 16.6 points and 3.7 assists as a junior in 1995-96. He played 129 games across his Duke career, including a trip to the 1994 national championship game as a freshman alongside Grant Hill. He scored 14 points in that 76-72 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks, a result which withheld the Blue Devils’ third title in four years.

Capel began his coaching career elsewhere, taking over the VCU program in 2002 before being given the keys to the Oklahoma Sooners in 2006. He took Oklahoma to the Elite Eight in his third season, but he was fired in 2011 after failing to win 15 games in either of the following two years.

[autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] welcomed him back to Durham as an assistant coach ahead of the 2011-12 season, and Capel was promoted to associate head coach for the 2014-15 season. The Blue Devils, notably, won their most recent championship in that campaign.

Capel spent seven seasons on the Duke staff before taking the Pittsburgh job in 2018. He’s coached against his former program eight times with a 2-6 record against the Blue Devils, including an upset at Cameron Indoor Stadium last January.

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.

Why does George Mason’s Darius Maddox sound familiar to Duke basketball fans?

Duke basketball fans with good memories (and long grudges) might recognize George Mason’s leading scorer, a former ACC transfer.

Darius Maddox didn’t join the George Mason program until the 2023-24 season, and the Blue Devils haven’t faced the Patriots since 2006. So why does the name sound familiar?

Maddox spent three seasons with the Virginia Tech Hokies before his time in Fairfax, and his old program actually beat Duke three times in four games during his time there.

The 6-foot-5 guard admittedly didn’t play a major role in most of those games, but his best performance came in the most impactful Virginia Tech victory. Maddox came off the bench for six points and five rebounds in the Hokies’ 82-67 upset of the Blue Devils in the 2022 ACC Tournament final.

The win punched Virginia Tech’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament, but more importantly, it denied legendary Duke coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] a walk-off conference title in his final season. It served as the middle act in a trio of storybook-ending losses that season, sandwiched between losses to the North Carolina Tar Heels in Coach K’s final home game and in the Final Four.

Maddox averaged 14.0 points in his first season with the Patriots last year, and he’s put together 14.9 points to lead the team so far in 2024-25. He’s dropped a season-high 20 in three different games, including a road loss to Marquette on November 8.

Coach K announced as 2025 Naismith Outstanding Contributors to Basketball Award winner

Legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski added to the most decorated resume in the sport with another prestigious honor on Tuesday.

Duke basketball coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag], affectionately known as Coach K, added to his laundry list of trophies and hardware on Tuesday when the Atlanta Tipoff Club named him as one of two 2025 Naismith Outstanding Contributors to Basketball Award Winners.

Krzyzewski joined longtime Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw as this year’s winners for the longtime award.

“Every year, we choose individuals who have made a profound impact on players and fans alike, truly embodying the spirit of basketball,” ATOC president Eric Oberman said in a release about the award. “It’s a privilege to honor these remarkable figures who dedicated their lives to fostering and advancing the game.”

Krzyzewski spent more than four decades coaching the Blue Devils, winning five national championships and reaching the Final Four 13 times. The program named the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium after him in 2000, and the city of Durham dubbed his commute ‘Coach K Highway’ this summer.

Coach K won 1,129 games in his 42 years with the program, and he even won a trio of Olympic gold medals as the Team USA head coach.

Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl says Jon Scheyer ‘doesn’t get enough credit’

After he and the Tigers came up short in Durham on Wednesday, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl praised Jon Scheyer’s work with the Duke Blue Devils.

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.

Coach K in attendance for the Duke basketball game against No. 1 Kansas

Duke will face No. 1 Kansas in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, and the most legendary figure in program history showed p to watch.

The Duke Blue Devils remained on the West Coast for a few extra days this week ahead of a Tuesday night game against No. 1 Kansas in Las Vegas, and a certain five-time national champion will try to watch his former pupil claim a signature win.

[autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag], who retired in 2022 after more than 40 years as the Duke men’s basketball coach, was spotted in the audience at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday by NBA draft analyst Krysten Peek, who shared a video of him on social media.

Krzyzewski cut down the nets in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015 as the Blue Devils’ head coach. He finished his lengthy career with 1,202 total victories, 1,129 of those coming with Duke, and he reached the Final Four 13 times.

[autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag], the current men’s basketball coach, helped Coach K win the fourth of those national titles as a starting guard. He joined the Duke staff in 2014 as an assistant coach, was promoted to associate head coach in 2018, and took over for Krzyzewski following the 2021-22 season.

Duke’s game against the Jayhawks tips off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.

Duke basketball game against Arizona on Friday night officially sold out

The Arizona Wildcats announced their Friday night game against Duke basketball is sold out.

The Duke Blue Devils will play Arizona in the Wildcats’ home stadium on Friday night, and they’ll take the court at McKale Memorial Center in front of a packed crowd.

According to a photo from the Blue Devils official team account on Friday afternoon, the Wildcats declared the game sold out nine full hours before tipoff.

Both teams hope to come back from a loss in their most recent game against prominent opponents. Arizona lost a 103-88 game to the Wisconsin Badgers last week after John Tonje scored 41 points, making four of his six 3-point attempts and 21 of his 22 free throws.

Duke, on the other hand, gave up a nine-point halftime lead against the Kentucky Wildcats in Atlanta last Tuesday. Superstar freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], still just 17 years old, scored 12 of the team’s last 14 points to finish with a game-high 26, but two turnovers on the last two possessions set up the winning free throws on the other end.

The Blue Devils will also face former North Carolina Tar Heels star Caleb Love for the ninth time. Love, who transferred to Arizona ahead of the 2023-24 season, most notably scored 28 points when UNC beat the Blue Devils in the Final Four three seasons ago, ending legendary coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag]’s career. He’s won five of the previous eight battles with Duke, averaging 16.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in those contests.

How has Caleb Love played against the Duke Blue Devils across his career?

With one last battle against Caleb Love on the horizon, how has the former UNC star played against Duke in eight career games?

The Duke Blue Devils get one final chance at comeuppance against one of their most prominent rivals on Friday night. While the Arizona Wildcats are a worthy adversary, all of the attention in Durham will be focused on taking down former North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love.

Love spent three seasons with UNC before he transferred to Tucson ahead of the 2023-24 season, and he’s been a thorn in the Cameron Crazies’ side for years.

He played the villain in two of the biggest games in program history in 2022, scoring 22 points to defeat legendary coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] in his final home game before notching 28 points in a Final Four victory over the Blue Devils just one month later. He returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium with his new school last November and once again emerged with a win, as he’s done in five of his eight career games against the Blue Devils.

Love averaged 16.9 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in those games, but if Duke basketball fans want a silver lining, he’s been remarkably inefficient in those outings. He’s made just 11 of his 46 attempts (23.9%) from distance over the last seven meetings, and he’s shot a measly 29/84 (34.5%) from the floor in the last six. With the fifth-year senior shooting 35.1% this season and making just 26.3% of his 3-pointers, there’s little reason to think that trend changes on Friday.

No regular-season victory can erase the torment Love exacted on the Blue Devils a few years ago, but it would be undeniably sweet to end the rivalry with one last win.