No. 5 Duke Pulls Away from No. 24 Kansas, 78-66, in Champions Classic

Tuesday, November 18

New York, N.Y.

9 p.m.

Duke University

5-0,0-0ACC

Kansas

3-2,0-0Big 12

Kansas

Duke

No. 5 Duke Pulls Away from No. 24 Kansas, 78-66, in Champions Classic

11/18/2025 11:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)Photo Gallery

NEW YORK – No. 5 Duke used an 11-2 scoring run across the final five minutes to defeat No. 24 Kansas 78-66, inside Madison Square Garden in the State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils (5-0) were led by Cameron Boozer who posted his second consecutive double-double, while leading the team in points (18), rebounds (10) and assists (five).

Duke had two others score in double figures, with Isaiah Evans contributing 16 points and Patrick Ngongba II adding 13. Across the final 4:59 of the game, Duke did not allow a made field goal, helping the Blue Devils to pull away for the top-25 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Cameron Boozer began the game with an open dunk, less than 15 seconds into the contest. Kansas scored eight of the next 11 points, taking an early 8-5 lead at the 17:34 mark.
The Jayhawks grew their lead to as large as six, 18-12, before a three-point play from Isaiah Evans pulled Duke within two, 20-18, out of the under-12 timeout. Back-to-back dunks by Kansas triggered a Duke timeout with 8:23 remaining in the first half.
Duke responded with four quick points of its own, leading to a Kansas timeout and the Blue Devils trailing by just two, 26-24. Two free throws by Boozer knotted the score at 28, shortly before the final media timeout of the first half.
The Blue Devils' defense held the Jayhawks without a made field goal for nearly five minutes, before a layup by Kansas leveled the score at 30. The Blue Devils used a hook shot by Patrick Ngongba II and a fast-break dunk by Evans to increase the margin to five, 35-30, forcing another Kansas timeout.
An extended stretch of 2-of-13 shooting by Kansas to end the first half, and a late three-pointer by Evans with less than five seconds on the timer, sent Duke into the break with its largest lead of the night, 41-33.
Boozer connected on his first triple of the night, less than two minutes into the second half, pushing the freshman into double figures. The Blue Devils' lead grew to double digits, 51-41, courtesy of a corner triple by Dame Sarr.
A personal seven-point run by Cayden Boozer helped Duke remain in front by multiple possessions as the clock ticked towards the halfway mark of the second half.
Duke remained in front, 67-64, with five minutes to play but Duke moved back in front, 72-64, after Evans drilled a contested shot from deep at the end of the shot clock with 3:49 remaining.
The Blue Devils' defensive effort held Kansas without a made shot over the final five minutes, as Duke closed out the 78-66 victory.

NOTES

The victory marked head coach Jon Scheyer's 94th with the Blue Devils.
Tuesday night was the ninth straight meeting between Duke and Kansas with both teams ranked inside the top-25.
After carrying a brief two-game losing streak to the Jayhawks into Tuesday night, Duke won its first game against Kansas since a 68-66 victory on Nov. 5, 2019, also at Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Devils hold a 9-7 advantage in the all-time series with the Jayhawks.
The last six games between the Blue Devils and Jayhawks have been decided by a total of 28 points, and Tuesday was just the second double-digit margin of victory in the last 11 clashes.
The Blue Devils entered the game ranked fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.323)
- Kansas became the first team to shoot better than 40-percent against the Blue Devils this season, finishing 26-of-60 (.433)
Kansas ranked 12th in the nation for blocked shots per game (7.0) entering Tuesday night, but the Blue Devils only had four shots turned away.
On the glass, Duke won the rebounding battle, 41-30.
- The Blue Devils have finished with a double-digit advantage on the boards for three straight games, having finished +21 on the glass at Army West Point and versus Indiana State.
After committing six turnovers in the first half, the Blue Devils only posted two giveaways in the second half en route to a season-low eight turnovers.
Duke finished with advantages in second-chance points (15-13) and bench points (18-5).
Duke's defense held Kansas to 66 points. The Jayhawks entered the game averaging 80.3 points per game.
- The Blue Devils have held each opponent this season under their respective scoring average.
- The Jayhawks are the first team to score more than 62 points on the Blue Devils' defense this season.
Duke closed the first half on an extended 17-5 run, limiting Kansas to a shooting stretch of 2-of-13 spanning the final 8:24 of the opening frame.
Tuesday's contest at Madison Square Garden was Duke's 61st game at current MSG, and the Blue Devils are 43-18 (.705) in the venue all-time.
- Scheyer is now 4-0 as Duke's head coach when playing in MSG.
- Duke has won nine straight and 10 of its last 11 at the World's Most Famous Arena.
The Blue Devils are a combined 105-35 (.750) all-time in 13 current NBA venues.
Cameron Boozer registered his second double-double in as many games, securing team highs in points (18), rebounds (10) and assists (five).
Isaiah Evans scored 11 points in the first half and finished with 16 total points.
- The sophomore drilled two three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, including one with less than five seconds before halftime.
- Evans continued the clutch shooting in the second frame, draining a contested triple as the shot clock expired after the under-four media timeout.
Patrick Ngongba II reached double figures for the fourth time in five games this season, scoring 13 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.
- Ngongba II added seven rebounds and has reeled in seven boards in each of Duke's last four games.
Cayden Boozer used a personal seven-point run in the second half to help Duke maintain control of its second-half lead.
- Boozer finished with those seven points along with four rebounds and three assists.
- The freshman led the team in the +/- column, finishing at +17.

QUOTES

"I'm really proud of our win tonight. I thought that was the epitome of our team, the fact that all nine guys scored, and all nine guys made big contributions. I have a ton of respect for Kansas, their program and Coach Self. Unfortunately, [Darryn] Peterson being out changes their team, but you also know that those other guys are going to step up. I thought the game that [Tre] White and [Melvin] Council had is what we thought. They put a ton of pressure on us, but I'm proud of the fact that we showed a great resiliency with real game pressure on us and we found a way to get stops. I thought the key was our defensive rebounding. That's been an issue we've had to address. Our guys did that and held them to single digit (offensive) rebounds. We valued the ball in the second half. I think there were only two turnovers and that was a big deal. Then guys just making key offensive plays, finding a way to score, which wasn't easy. It's never going to be easy against Kansas, but I'm really proud of this team." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer

UP NEXT