Duke Hosts Paulus's Purple Eagles in Friday's Brotherhood Run

Friday, November 21

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Niagara

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Patrick Ngongba celebrates with Duke Men's Basketball teammates during 2025 Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden versus Kansas

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Hosts Paulus's Purple Eagles in Friday's Brotherhood Run

11/20/2025 8:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Opening Tip

No. 5 Duke hosts Niagara on Friday, Nov. 21, in the Brotherhood Run, as the Blue Devils welcome back Greg Paulus, former Blue Devil and current head coach of the Purple Eagles.
Evan Lepler, Dan Bonner and Jim Boeheim will call the action on the ACC Network. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Paulus had a standout four-year playing career at Duke (2005-09), including three seasons as a teammate of Jon Scheyer.
A three-year starter and two-time captain, Paulus helped the Blue Devils to a 112-28 record, two ACC Tournament championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Paulus led the team in assists three consecutive seasons, finishing with 468 career assists - top 10 all-time at Duke - and scoring 1,193 points.
Friday will be the first meeting between Duke and Niagara.
Duke is the nation's No. 1 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall net rating of 30.83, and is the only team ranked in the top-eight nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.5, 3rd) and defensive efficiency (93.6, 8th) ratings. (through games on Nov. 19)
The Blue Devils rank eighth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.344), 13th in scoring defense (60.2) and seventh in scoring margin (+32.2).
Duke's 5-0 start is the best open to a season under Scheyer.
Cameron Boozer is the first ACC player with at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 20 assists in a five-game span since Craig Smith of Boston College in March 2006.
Boozer amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, connecting on 13-of-16 field goals in Duke's home win over Indiana State on Nov. 14.
Isaiah Evans has drained three or more 3-pointers in three games this season. Duke is 14-0 the past two seasons when the sophomore sharp-shooter hits three or more triples.
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.
Niagara guard Justin Page tops the Purple Eagles with 13.8 points and 3.0 assists per game, followed by junior guard Trenton Walters with 10.3 points per outing.

On This Date - Nov. 21

Duke is 11-3 all-time when playing on Nov. 21.
The Blue Devils have won all four home games on this date, including a 95-66 victory over LaSalle in 2023.
Duke has won three straight games on Nov. 21, since 2019.
The Blue Devils have been ranked inside the top 10 in all but one of the 14 games previously played on this date (2007, No. 13).
On this date in 2009, Jon Scheyer scored 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while also dishing a game-high seven assists.

Last Time Out

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 were led by Cameron Boozer, who posted his second consecutive double-double, while leading the team in points (18), rebounds (11) and assists (five).
Duke had two others score in double figures, with Isaiah Evans contributing 16 points and Patrick Ngongba II adding 13.
Cayden Boozer used a personal seven-point run in the second half to help Duke maintain control of its second-half lead, finishing with those seven points along with four rebounds and three assists. The freshman led the team in the +/- column, finishing at +17.
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.
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.
Kansas became the first team to shoot better than 40-percent against the Blue Devils this season, finishing 26-of-60 (.433).
On the glass, Duke won the rebounding battle, 41-30, finishing with a double-digit advantage on the boards for the third straight game.
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.
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.
Jon Scheyer is now 4-0 as Duke's head coach when playing at Madison Square Garden, while 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.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is the only team ranked in the top-eight nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.5, 3rd) and defensive efficiency (93.6, 8th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 1 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 30.83. (through games played on Nov. 19)
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).

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).
Following the Brotherhood Run contests, Duke will face No. 21 Arkansas in Chicago, No. 10 Florida at home and No. 17 Michigan State on the road.

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 1,269 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.

The Blue Devils Have Won Nearly 85% of Games at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Duke has posted an all-time record of 980-174 (.849) at Cameron Indoor Stadium, including a 50-3 (.943) record under head coach Jon Scheyer with unblemished home records in 2022-23 (16-0) and 2024-25 (17-0).
Duke has won more games at its current home venue than any team in college basketball.
Now in its 87th season as the home of the Blue Devils, Duke has averaged 11.1 wins since the venue opened Jan. 6, 1940 -- a 36-27 win over Princeton.

Sellout Streak Still Staying Strong

Duke has sold out 543 consecutive games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 16, 1990, against Boston College.
The sellout figure is the longest current streak (by time) in either men's college basketball or the NBA.
Duke's record at Cameron during the sellout streak is 494-49 (.910).

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.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

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