Opening Tip
- No. 7 Duke looks to remain unbeaten to open the 2022-23 season with a top-10 matchup versus No. 5 Kansas in the State Farm Champions Classic in Indianapolis Tuesday night.
- The game tips at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe on the call. On the radio, David Shumate and John Roth call the action on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
- The Blue Devils and Jayhawks comprised half of last season's Final Four field in New Orleans with Kansas winning the 2022 National Championship.
- Duke is 111-78 all-time in AP top-10 matchups (2-0 last year; won four of last six).
- Duke has won four of its last five in the Champions Classic and the Blue Devils' 7-4 mark leads the four blue bloods that annually compete in the event.
- The Blue Devils have ushered in the Jon Scheyer era with wins over Jacksonville, 71-44, and USC Upstate, 84-38 -- the 82 points allowed being Duke's fewest through the first two games of a season since 1946-47. Duke is second nationally in scoring defense (through Nov. 12).
- Scheyer, a 2010 Duke graduate and four-year letterwinner for the Blue Devils who spent the previous nine years on the staff under Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, is in his first season as the Blue Devils' head coach.
- Freshman Kyle Filipowski has logged consecutive double-doubles to open his career, joining Marvin Bagley III (2017-18) as the only Duke freshmen with back-to-back double-doubles to open a season. No Duke freshman has opened a career with three consecutive.
- Junior guard Jeremy Roach, a preseason first-team All-ACC pick and a member of the watch list for the Cousy Award, returns after helping lead Duke to the Final Four, an ACC regular-season title and a 32-7 mark last season.
- Roach has hit six of Duke's 17 three-point field goals this season and is coming off a 10-point, eight-assist effort on Friday. He has 12 assists through two games.
- In total, Duke has 11 newcomers on the roster -- seven freshmen -- all recruited and signed by Scheyer which comprise the nation's No. 1 recruiting class, and four graduate transfers.
- Of Duke's newcomers, freshman Mark Mitchell (right) leads the team in scoring though two games (15.5) with a game-high 18 in the opener, while stuffing the box score with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists on Friday.
About Kansas
- No. 5 and reigning National Champion Kansas is 2-0 with wins over Omaha, 89-64, and North Dakota State, 82-59.
- Kansas freshman Grady Dick and Duke's Mark Mitchell were teammates at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas.
- Sophomore Zach Clemence also played at Sunrise Christian.
- A pair of Jayhawks are from Durham, N.C. in sophomore Bobby Pettiford Jr. (South Granville HS) and freshman MJ Rice (Prolific Prep in California).
- Redshirt freshman Kyle Cuffe Jr. and Duke sophomore Jaylen Blakes were teammates at Blair Academy in New Jersey.
- Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr., faced the Blue Devils in last season's Sweet 16 where he scored 17 points with three rebounds in a Duke victory.
- Duke leads the all-time series with Kansas, 8-5, and snapped a three-game skid in the series with a 68-65 win in the 2019 Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
- The last five meetings have come with each in the AP top 10 and the last three have been decided by a total of eight points, including KU's 85-81 win in OT in the 2018 Elite Eight in Omaha.
Duke Though Two Games...
- Duke is 2-0 for the second straight year, eighth time in last nine years and for the 21st time in the last 23 years.
- Duke is second nationally in scoring defense (41.0), trailing only the 39.0 points allowed by Iowa State (through Nov. 12 games).
- The 82 points allowed through two games are the Blue Devils fewest through the first two games of a season since 1946-47, when Duke beat High Point, 44-29 and Hanes Hosiery, 44-43.
- In the modern era, the 82 points allowed is Duke's best defensive start through two games, surpassing the 2005-06 team that surrendered 87 points in wins over Boston University, 64-47, and Seton Hall, 93-40.
- Duke's +22.0 rebounding margin is the fifth best nationally and leads the ACC (through Nov. 12 games). The field goal percentage defense of .308 also leads the ACC and is 22nd nationally.
- The team's 36 offensive rebounds are fourth most among power conference schools (through Nov. 12 games).
- Dereck Lively II, the No. 1 ranked incoming freshman, made his debut against USC Upstate after missing the exhibition and first game with a calf injury sustained in practice. Classmate Dariq Whitehead, the No. 2 ranked incoming freshman, has yet to see action after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot on Aug. 30.
On The Date
- Duke is 4-1 all-time when playing on November 15 with the lone setback coming to Kansas in 2016 Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
- The Blue Devils last played on this date in 2019 -- a 74-63 win over Georgia State at Cameron Indoor.
- Of Duke's five games all-time on this date -- three have been played at Cameron Indoor and two at MSG.
Filipowski Just Second Duke Freshman to Open with Consecutive Double-Doubles
- Freshman Kyle Filipowski opened his Duke career with a 10-point, 12-rebounds effort versus Jacksonville and followed that with a game-high 15 points and 10 boards against USC Upstate on Friday.
- He is the only freshman nationally with multiple double-doubles this season (through Nov. 12 games).
- He joins Marvin Bagley III as the only Duke freshmen all-time to post consecutive double-doubles to open the season.
- Bagley was on his way to three straight, but an eye injury 10 minutes in against Michigan State in the Champions Classic ended his night with four points and six rebounds. Bagley finished his rookie season with a Duke freshman record 22 double-doubles.
75% Winning Percentage in NBA Arenas
- For a college team that had 25 NBA players on opening-day rosters, Duke has been tough to beat when playing in NBA venues.
- Duke is a combined 92-31 (.748) in 12 current NBA venues.
- The Blue Devils have won 21 of their last 25 at NBA venues, including a 5-1 record last season by beating Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in the Champions Classic, going 2-1 at the ACC Tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and 2-0 at the Chase Center in San Francisco in the NCAA Tournament West Regional.
- The Blue Devils are 3-0 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, including Champions Classic wins over Kentucky, 118-84, in 2018 and Michigan State, 81-71, in 2014.
Duke, Kansas: Most Wins Nationally Over Last 25 Years
- In the 25-year period between the 1997-98 season and the 2021-22 season, no programs in college basketball won more games than Duke (729) and Kansas (728). In that quarter century period, both the programs posted 13 30-win seasons (no other program had more than eight) and the blue bloods combined for five National Championships -- Duke's in 2001, 2010 and 2015; Kansas' in 2008 and 2022.
- Duke and Kansas were also first and second nationally in that period in NCAA Tournament wins -- Duke 65 and Kansas 59.
Duke's Three-Point Streak
- Duke has connected on at least one three-pointer in 1,155 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally.
- It has been more than 30 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai'i.
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