No. 8 Blue Devils Meet Xavier in Phil Knight Legacy Semifinals

Friday, November 25

Portland, Ore.

3:30 p.m.

Duke University

Xavier

No. 8 Blue Devils Meet Xavier in Phil Knight Legacy Semifinals

11/25/2022 9:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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Opening Tip

No. 8 Duke and Xavier clash on Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the Phil Knight Legacy at Portland's Moda Center, with either Gonzaga or Purdue as the opponent on Sunday.
Doug Sherman and Cory Alexander are on the call on ESPN, while David Shumate and John Roth broadcast the game on the radio as part of the Blue Devils Sports Network from Learfield.
Duke is coming off a 54-51 win over Oregon State Thursday afternoon, thanks in part to a 45-29 rebounding advantage and clutch free throw shooting in the home stretch.
The Blue Devils are five years removed from winning the inaugural Phil Knight event in the Portland -- the PK80 -- beating Portland State, Texas and Florida to claim the title.
The Blue Devils have ushered in the Jon Scheyer era with a priority on defense and rebounding, ranking top-10 nationally in rebounding and allowing the third fewest points through the first six games of season in the program's modern era (since 1948-49).
Duke has posted a double-digit advantage in rebounding margin in each of the first six games this season -- the longest such stretch (at any point in a season) in program history.
Entering the Phil Knight Legacy, Duke was 10th nationally in scoring defense, third in rebound margin, ninth in rebounding and fifth in offensive rebounds.
Through the first six games, Duke has a 106-44 (+62) advantage in offensive rebounds and is +80 (115-35) in second-chance scoring.
Duke has held each of the six opponents this season to less than 70 points and five opponents to less than 60. For the season, Duke's scoring defense is 52.8 points.
The ACC Rookie of the Week in each of the season's first two weeks, Kyle Filipowski scored a career-high 19 points with 14 rebounds in Thursday's win for his fourth double-double.
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 the newcomers, graduate transfer Ryan Young also posted a career game against the Beavers with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, including eight offensive. It was Young's first double-double since 2019 when playing for Northwestern.
Duke is a combined 92-32 (.742) in 12 current NBA venues, including 4-0 in Portland's Moda Center. The Blue Devils have won 21 of their last 26 at NBA venues.

On This Date: November 25

Duke is 14-0 all-time when playing on November 25 with nine of the victories coming at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke's average margin of victory on this date is 28.4 points.
The Blue Devils last played on this date in 2015, beating Yale, 80-61, in Durham.

About Xavier

Duke is 4-0 all-time versus Xavier, with two of the four meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament.
The programs last met on Dec. 20, 2008 -- an 82-64 victory by Duke at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., behind a game-high 23 points from now head coach Jon Scheyer.
Head coach Sean Miller returned to Xavier this season after five years in the position from 2004-09. He spent the last 12 years as the head coach at Arizona.
Miller is 2-1 versus Duke as a head coach -- 0-1 while at Xavier and 2-0 while at Arizona.
The balanced Musketeers have five players averaging double figure points, led by Jack Nunge's 16.8 points on .569 shooting from the field, while Zach Freemantle averages 15.2 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds.
Xavier defeated Florida, 90-83, in Thursday's Phil Knight Legacy quarterfinals. XU also has wins this season over Morgan State, Montana and Fairfield. The loss was an 81-79 setback to Indiana.
Duke's 66-63 win over Xavier in the 2004 NCAA Tournament regional final in Atlanta sent the Blue Devils to the Final Four