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7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
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Tuesday, December 17
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
vs
George Mason
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Hosts George Mason in Clash of Top-5 Shooting Defenses
12/16/2024 3:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Opening Tip
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Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
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#GoDuke
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- No. 5 Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium to host George Mason on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m., on the ACC Network.
- Matt Schumacker and Dan Bonner will call the action on the ACC Network. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
- Tuesday will be the fourth meeting between the Blue Devils and Patriots with Duke winning all three contests at home.
- In the last meeting on Dec. 9, 2006, Duke freshman Jon Scheyer collected 18 points, six assists and two rebounds.
- Tuesday's matchup features two of the top five field goal percentage defenses in the nation, with George Mason ranking third (35.4%) and Duke fifth (36.2%).
- The Blue Devils rank fifth in the country in field goal percentage defense (.362), 11th in scoring defense (59.9), and 14th in scoring margin (+19.8).
- KenPom ranks the Blue Devils second nationally in adjusted defense efficiency (89.0).
- Khaman Maluach scored a game-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, while grabbing seven rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, in just 22 minutes of action during a 72-46 win over UIW on Dec. 10.
- Cooper Flagg tops Duke in points (159), rebounds (90), assists (36) and blocks (14).
- George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Virginia, competes as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
- The Patriots have won five straight since a double-overtime loss at East Carolina on Nov. 16, including a road win at James Madison on Nov. 29 and a victory over Tulane on Dec. 7.
- George Mason ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.354) and 15th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.273).
- Four Patriots score in double figures, topped by 6-5 senior guard Darius Maddox with 14.9 points per game and 6-8 senior forward Jalen Haynes with 11.6 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
- Former George Mason standout guard Tony Skinn is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater and was a key starter on the 2006 George Mason Final Four team and one of the best all-around guards in GMU history.
- In his first season guiding the Patriots in 2023-24, Skinn led George Mason to 20 regular season (pre-conference tournament) wins for the first time since 2011-12.
- Twelve first-half points from Khaman Maluach helped propel Duke to an eventual 72-46 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
- Maluach finished the contest with a career-high 17 points in 22 minutes, as the freshman went 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, while also reeling in seven caroms.
- Cooper Flagg and Sion James paced the Blue Devils with eight boards, and Mason Gillis matched his career high with a team-leading five assists.
- Duke's defense was stifling, highlighted by holding UIW scoreless for over six minutes to start the second half and just 15 points through the first 16 minutes of the second frame.
- The Cardinals entered the contest with the fourth-best shooting percentage in the nation from deep (.426), but the Blue Devils held the visitors to just 5-of-23 (.217) from beyond the arc.
- Duke improved to 334-32 (.913) all-time inside Cameron Indoor Stadium when playing as a top-five team, and is now 21-3 when playing on Dec. 10, including 13 consecutive wins on this date.
- The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle, 44-26, and have now finished with an edge on the glass in eight of Duke's first 10 contests this season.
- Duke started the contest ranked eighth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.366) and limited the Cardinals to 32.1% shooting from the field.
- The Blue Devils held UIW to 46 points – 32.8 points below the Cardinals' scoring average.
- Isaiah Evans poured in 14 points, fueled by a 4-for-6 performance from beyond the arc, all coming after intermission.
- Kon Knueppel was the third Blue Devil to reach double-figures, scoring 10 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
- Patrick Ngongba II had a career day, setting new benchmarks in points (six), made field goals (three) and minutes (18), while also adding five rebounds.
- Duke is at the top of KenPom.com's list of tallest teams in the country with an average height of 79.6 inches, better than 6-7 per Blue Devil.
- The Blue Devils' starting lineup for the first five games features 6-5 guard Caleb Foster, 6-6 guard Tyrese Proctor, 6-7 guard/forward Kon Knueppel, 6-9 guard/forward Cooper Flagg and 7-2 center Khaman Maluach, for an average height of 6-8.
- Duke is once again one of the top defenses in the country.
- KenPom ranks the Blue Devils second nationally in adjusted defense efficiency (89.0).
- This season, Duke ranks fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.362) and 11th in the nation in scoring defense (59.9).
- Last season, the 2023-24 Blue Devils ranked 28th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 66.3 points per game.
- In 2022-23, Jon Scheyer's first season as head coach, Duke ranked 24th in three-point percentage defense (.305), 27th in field goal percentage defense (.406) and 30th in scoring defense (63.6).
- Duke has found a way of overcoming double-figure deficits this season.
- The Blue Devils trailed by 11 points (16:20-1st) versus Auburn (Dec. 4), battled to take a 12-point lead (18:23-2nd), and won by six points, 84-78.
- Duke trailed by 14 points (8:36-1st) at Louisville (Dec. 8), stormed back for a 13-point advantage (0:47-2nd), and won by 11 points, 76-65.
- The Auburn and Louisville victories were the first time the Blue Devils overcame double-digit deficits in consecutive wins since February 2020, when Duke defeated Boston College, 63-55, after trailing by 10 points (Feb. 4, 2020), and then beat North Carolina, 98-96 in overtime, after being down by 13 points (Feb. 8, 2020).
- The Blue Devils also trailed by 13 points (15:49-1st) versus Kansas (Nov. 26), rallied to take a two-point lead (5:53 2nd), but lost by three points, 75-72.
- Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, secured a spot on the 2024-25 Associated Press preseason All-America Team.
- The 6-9 guard/forward was also announced as the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year and named to the Preseason All-ACC First Team, as chosen by a select media panel.
- Flagg collected 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the season-opener against Maine to become the first freshman in Duke history to have at least 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in their debut.
- Flagg was the first Duke player in the last 40 years to amass 50+ points, 25+ rebounds and 10+ assists in his first three career games, per ESPN.
- Flagg was voted as the ACC Men's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week on Nov. 25, becoming the first player to earn both honors in the same week since Feb. 3, 2020, when Duke's Vernon Carey, Jr., accomplished the same feat.
- Flagg has posted four double-doubles this season, including three with 20 points or more and two of those against ranked opponents, collecting 26 points and 11 rebounds versus No. 19 Kentucky and 22 points and 11 caroms against No. 2 Auburn.
- Flagg is the only 17-year-old in NCAA history to register multiple 20-point double-doubles, according to Real Sports.Â
- In Duke's four top-25 matchups, Flagg averaged 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
- After registering a pair of 20-point double-doubles without committing a turnover against No. 2 Auburn and at Louisville, Flagg was declared the Associated Press and Lute Olson National Player of the Week and the ACC Rookie of the Week (Dec. 9).
- Flagg currently leads Duke in points (159), rebounds (90), assists (36) and blocked shots (14), and is second in steals (15).
- During a six-game stretch (Nov. 12-Dec. 4) before conference action begins, Duke played four teams that were ranked in the Associated Press preseason top-25 poll (No. 1 Kansas, No. 10 Arizona, No. 11 Auburn and No. 23 Kentucky) and were at least a 4-seed in last season's NCAA Tournament.
- The Blue Devils posted a 2-2 record in those ranked contests with a road win at No. 17 Arizona and a home victory over No. 2 Auburn.
- Duke plays three true road games before Christmas for the first time since the 1990-91 season.
- The Blue Devils are currently 2-0 on the road with a trip to Georgia Tech on Dec. 21 remaining before the calendar turns to 2025.
- Duke has a 16-8 record on Dec. 17.
- The Blue Devils have earned victories in 13 of their last 15 games on this date, including five straight triumphs since 1984.
- Duke is 6-2 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 17, winning all six home contests since 1947.
- The last time the Blue Devils played on Dec. 17 was in 2008, a 99-56 home win against UNC Asheville.
- The weekly television show, "Duke All-Access with Jon Scheyer," is back for its third season in 2024-25.
- The 30-minute show features Jon Scheyer and his Blue Devils team. Presented in magazine format and produced by John Roth, the show also includes informative player features and behind-the-scenes access to the Duke program.
- A production of Blue Devil Sports Properties from LEARFIELD, the show airs locally on ABC-11 WTVD on Sundays at noon ET and is live streamed on ABC11.com Saturdays at 10 a.m. ET. It also available regionally across on FanDuel Sports Network on Fridays at 3 p.m. ET; and on MASN Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. ET. It can also be viewed via the Duke Athletics YouTube Channel and archived on GoDuke.com.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
Â
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
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#GoDuke
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