Top-25 Matchup between Duke, Kansas in Champions Classic at MSG

The Opening Tip

No. 5 Duke and No. 24 Kansas clash inside Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 18, in the State Farm Champions Classic. The game is slated for a 9 p.m. start on ESPN.
Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden will call the action on ESPN. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Tuesday night marks the ninth straight meeting between Duke and Kansas with both teams ranked inside the top 25.
The last five games between the Blue Devils and Jayhawks have been decided by a total of 16 points, and there has only been one double-digit margin of victory in the last 10 clashes.
Among the nation's top scoring defenses this season, Duke ranks 15th (58.8 points allowed per game) and Kansas is 18th (60.3).
Duke is the nation's No. 1 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall net rating of 29.70, and is one of two teams ranked in the top-nine nationally in both offensive efficiency (123.2, 6th) and defensive efficiency (93.5, 9th) ratings.
The Blue Devils rank fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.323), and have held each foe this season to less than 37% shooting from the field.
Duke's 4-0 start is the best open to a season under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Cameron Boozer amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, connecting on 13-of-16 field goals in Friday's win over Indiana State.
Boozer became the first major conference freshman to reach 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no more than one turnover since Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony in 2003 (ESPN), and joined Zion Williamson (2019) and Christian Laettner (1990) as the third Duke player in the past 45 years to score at least 35 points in a double-double performance.
Duke has forced each opponent into more turnovers than assists, an average of 16.3 turnovers and 10.5 assists per contest.
The 55-point margin of victory over Army was Duke's largest road win in program history.
Duke is coming off its 18th Final Four appearance, 23rd ACC Tournament title and 21st ACC regular-season championship, finishing with a 35-4 overall record last season.

The Kansas Jayhawks

The Jayhawks have captured the last two meetings, with Kansas claiming a 69-64 victory in the 2022 Champions Classic and a 75-72 win in last season's matchup in Las Vegas.
Overall, Duke leads the series, 8-7, but the Jayhawks have picked up six of those wins in the last eight contests.
The Jayhawks' 7.0 blocks per game ranks 12th in the nation.
Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, who is averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per outing, has missed the last two games due to injury.
Peterson was named Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was the top-ranked recruit in the 2025 class (247Sports).
Flory Bidunga averages 17.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, while shooting 76.3% from the field.

On This Date - Nov. 18

Tuesday will be just the sixth game Duke has played on Nov. 18.
The Blue Devils own a 5-0 record on this date, since the first Nov. 18 contest in 2011, an 82-69 win over Davidson at Cameron Indoor.
Duke last played on this date in 2022, defeating Delaware, 92-58.
Duke's only Nov. 18 game away from Durham was against No. 19 Michigan State in the 2014 Champions Classic, an 81-71 victory.
All games previously played on this date involved a Duke team ranked inside the top 10 of the Associated Press poll.

Last Time Out

Cameron Boozer's 35-point double-double powered No. 4 Duke past Indiana State, 100-62, on Friday, Nov. 14 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In addition to 35 points (23 in the first half), the freshman added 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks.
Boozer matched Zion Williamson and Jared McCain for the second-most points by a Duke freshman and became just the third Duke player in the last 45 years to have at least 35 points in a double-double performance. Boozer joins Williamson versus Syracuse (35 points, 10 rebounds) on Jan. 14, 2019, and Christian Laettner versus Charlotte (37 points, 11 rebounds) on Dec. 1, 1990.
Boozer became the first major conference freshman to reach 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no more than one turnover since Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse in 2003.
Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr also reached double-figures, with 14 and 10, respectively.
On defense, Duke blocked 13 shots and held Indiana State to 22-of-61 (.361) shooting. The Blue Devils also swiped 13 steals and forced a total of 18 turnovers.
Friday was the 50th home win for head coach Jon Scheyer. In Scheyer's tenure, the Blue Devils are 50-3 (.943) when playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke eclipsed 100 points for the second consecutive game, after scoring 114 at Army West Point in its last outing. The last time the Blue Devils reached the century mark in back-to-back games was versus Evansville (104-40) on Dec. 20, 2017, and versus Florida State (100-93) on Dec. 30, 2017.
The Blue Devils logged 22 assists on 37 made field goals. After finishing with 21 assists versus Western Carolina and 25 at Army West Point, Duke has three consecutive games with at least 20 assists since doing so in a three-game stretch against NC State, Florida State and Syracuse during the 2021-22 season.
On the glass, Duke won the rebounding battle, 48-27. The Blue Devils have finished with a margin of +21 in consecutive games, having registered the same 48-27 advantage on the glass in Duke's last game, at Army.
Duke's defense forced 18 turnovers while limiting Indiana State to just 14 assists. The Blue Devils have forced more turnovers than assists allowed in each of their last three games, the first time under Scheyer that a Duke team has accomplished the milestone in three consecutive games.
Duke swept the specialty stats for the third game in a row, leading in points off turnovers (26-11), points in the paint (54-26), second-chance points (23-5), fast-break points (27-9) and bench points (27-16).
Duke's defense held Indiana State to 62 points. The Sycamores entered the game averaging 81.3 points per game. The Blue Devils have held each opponent this season under their respective scoring average. The Sycamores are the first team to score more than 60 points on the Blue Devils' defense this season.
Duke registered four scoring runs of at least 10 points, with stretches of 13, 11, 11 and 11 consecutive points during the game. The Blue Devils have 11 double-digit scoring runs this season and have not allowed any from their opponents.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is one of only two teams ranked in the top-nine nationally in both offensive efficiency (122.7, 6th) and defensive efficiency (93.0, 7th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 1 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 29.70. (through games played on Nov. 16)
The 2024-25 Blue Devils achieved the best offensive efficiency rating (130.1) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season).
Last season, Duke was the only team in the country ranked among the top-five in both offensive (1st) and defensive (5th) adjusted efficiency (KenPom).

Madison Square Garden: Has Seen More Duke Wins Than Any Arena Outside of N.C.

Tuesday's contest at Madison Square Garden marks Duke's 61st game at current MSG, and the Blue Devils are 42-18 (.700) in the venue all-time.
Duke has won eight straight and nine of its last 10 at the World's Most Famous Arena.
Tuesday's game is head coach Jon Scheyer's 28th at MSG as a Duke player, assistant coach and head coach (22-5).
Duke is 48-24 in all versions of MSG, dating back to a Jan. 1, 1944, matchup with LIU Brooklyn.
Duke has played at least once at MSG in 12 of the last 13 seasons, in 22 of the last 24, and 25 of the last 28.
Current MSG has seen the fifth-most Duke wins (42) of any venue in the country, behind only Cameron Indoor Stadium (980), Greensboro Coliseum (102), Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh (83), and former Duke home venue Card Gym (57).

Nearly 75% Winning Percentage in NBA Arenas

Duke is a combined 104-35 (.748) all-time in 13 current NBA venues.
The Blue Devils have won 34 of their last 43 at NBA venues, including a 5-0 mark last season.
Duke has a 14-5 (.737) record in NBA facilities under head coach Jon Scheyer, including an 11-2 ledger in the past three seasons.
During the 2025-26 campaign, the Blue Devils will play five regular-season contests at NBA venues - Spectrum Center (Charlotte Hornets) on Nov. 4 vs. Texas, Madison Square Garden (New York Knicks) on Nov. 18 vs. Kansas and Dec. 20 vs. Texas Tech, United Center (Chicago Bulls) on Nov. 27 vs. Arkansas, and Capital One Arena (Washington Wizards) on Feb. 21 vs. Michigan.
The ACC Tournament returns to the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, on March 10-14, 2026.

The 2025-26 Duke Blue Devils

Entering the 2025-26 campaign under fourth-year head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke returns six players from a squad that finished 35-4 overall last season, capturing the program's 23rd ACC Tournament title, 21st ACC regular-season crown and advancing to its 18th Final Four.
The Blue Devils also welcome the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class - the seventh top-ranked recruiting class for Duke since Scheyer joined the coaching staff.
The Blue Devils are the fourth-tallest team in the country - second among Power-4 programs behind Illinois (79.4") - with an average height of 79.3 inches. (KenPom)
Duke is one of the youngest teams in the nation with an average of 0.80 years of Division I experience, according to KenPom.com, which ranks 311th out of 365.

Strength of Schedule

Duke's 2025-26 non-conference lineup features eight opponents that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Texas (Nov. 4; Charlotte, N.C.), Kansas (Nov. 18; New York, N.Y.), Arkansas (Nov. 27; Chicago), Florida (Dec. 2; Durham), Michigan State (Dec. 6; East Lansing, Mich.), Lipscomb (Dec. 16; Durham), Texas Tech (Dec. 20; New York, N.Y.) and Michigan (Feb. 21; Washington, D.C.). Of those teams, five advanced to the Sweet 16, with three reaching the Elite Eight.
The Blue Devils will play 10 games against teams ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25 - No. 2 Florida, No. 6 Louisville (twice), No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 22 Kansas, No. 24 NC State and No. 25 North Carolina (twice).

AP Poll Streak Extends

With the release of the Associated Press preseason poll on Oct. 13, Duke was ranked No. 6 -- extending a notable streak.
The Blue Devils have now been ranked in the top 10 at least once in 30 consecutive seasons -- the longest active streak nationally. The next closest program is Kansas, which has held a top-10 ranking at some point in each of the last 20 seasons.
The No. 6 ranking also marked the 18th consecutive season that the Blue Devils made their debut in the top 10.
Duke's current run in the AP top-25 poll is 47 consecutive weeks - the fourth-longest active streak. (as of Nov. 17)

Duke's Three-Point Streak

Duke has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,268 straight games, the longest streak nationally.
It has been more than 35 years since Duke was held without a three-point field goal -- Dec. 30, 1989, versus Hawai'i.

All-Access with Coach Jon Scheyer

The weekly television show, "Duke All-Access with Jon Scheyer," is back for its fourth season in 2025-26.
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 is also available regionally across the FanDuel Sports Network on Fridays at 12 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.