No. 4 Duke Faces No. 22 Arkansas in Chicago on Thanksgiving

The Opening Tip

No. 4 Duke battles No. 22 Arkansas at the United Center in Chicago in the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic on Thursday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.
Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Jon Rothsein will call the action on CBS. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was a McDonald's and Parade All-American as a senior in 2006 at Glenbrook North High School, less than 25 miles from the United Center.
Duke's 7-0 start is the best open to a season under Scheyer. A win on Thursday would be the Blue Devils' most victories to begin a season since winning the first 11 games in 2017-18.
Duke is tied for the nation's second-longest active win streak, trailing only Nebraska (10).
Duke has won 16 out of 17 games played on Nov. 27.
The Blue Devils own a 9-2 record at the United Center.
On Dec. 3, 1994, Duke beat Illinois, 70-65, in the first college basketball game played at the United Center.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 2 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 31.87.
Duke is one of just two teams ranked in the top-seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (125.4, 3rd) and defensive efficiency (93.5, 7th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils lead the nation in scoring margin (+36.6), rank third in scoring defense (57.0) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.330).
Duke's 20.9 assists per game is eighth-best nationally, while its 2.09 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks seventh among NCAA Division I leaders.
The Blue Devils are the fourth-tallest team in the country - second among Power-4 programs behind Illinois (79.5") - with an average height of 79.3 inches. (KenPom)
Cameron Boozer, the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, earned his second ACC Rookie of the Week award on Nov. 24.
Arkansas leads the series with Duke, 3-2.

On This Date - Nov. 27

Duke has won 16 out of 17 games played on Nov. 27.
The Blue Devils were victorious in 16 consecutives outings on this date from 1976 until 2018.
Duke's lone setback on Nov. 27 was against Purdue (75-56) in 2022, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
On Nov. 27, 2009, the Blue Devils beat Connecticut, 68-59, as Jon Scheyer scored a game-high 19 points, while adding five assists, four rebounds and three steals at Madison Square Garden.

Last Time Out

No. 5 Duke closed the Brotherhood Run weekend with a 93-56 victory over Howard on Sunday, Nov. 23.
The Blue Devils scored a season-high 52 first-half points, while holding Howard to just 18 points in the opening 20 minutes.
As a team, Duke shot 36-of-59 (.610) overall, its best shooting percentage of the season and its first regular-season game shooting 60-percent or better since going 40-of-64 against Stanford on Feb. 15, 2025.
Cameron Boozer led the Blue Devils, posting a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double. The freshman shot 10-of-12 (.833) from the field and also dished four assists and tallied two steals.
Patrick Ngongba II scored in double-figures for the third consecutive game, notching 16 points on 8-of-9 (.889) shooting from the field.
Isaiah Evans also scored double-digits with 11, highlighted by three thunderous slam dunks.
Dating back to last season, Duke has won 21 consecutive games at home. The Blue Devils are now 52-3 (.945) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in four seasons under head coach Jon Scheyer.
The Blue Devils entered the game ranked sixth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.334). Duke held Howard to 17-of-56 (.304) shooting from the field, and has held all but one opponent under 40% shooting from the field.
On the glass, Duke won the rebounding battle, 43-26. The Blue Devils have finished with a double-digit advantage on the boards for five straight games.
Duke's defense held Howard to 56 points. The Bison entered the game averaging 75.3 points per game. The Blue Devils have held each opponent this season under their respective scoring average. The Bison are the fourth Duke opponent to finish with less than 60 points this season.
The Blue Devils distributed 21 assists – the fifth time in seven games Duke has tallied at least 20 helpers.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is one of just two teams ranked in the top-seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (125.4, 3rd) and defensive efficiency (93.5, 7th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 2 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 31.87. (through games played on Nov. 25)
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).

Pace of Play

Duke's offense is playing at a faster pace this season than any prior campaign under head coach Jon Scheyer, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils' average length of possession on offense is 14.2 seconds, which is the ninth quickest use of time nationally.
In comparison, Duke's average length of offensive possession was 17.1 seconds in 2024-25, 17.5 in 2023-24 and 18.7 in 2022-23.
Arkansas is currently 14th in the nation at 14.6 seconds per offensive possession. The Razorbacks rank fourth in the nation in fastbreak points (25.3 per game).

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 (79.5") - with an average height of 79.3 inches. (KenPom)
Duke is one of the youngest teams in the nation with an average of 0.84 years of Division I experience, according to KenPom.com, which ranks 322nd 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).
Up next, Duke confronts No. 22 Arkansas in Chicago, No. 10 Florida at home and No. 11 Michigan State on the road.

Nearly 75% Winning Percentage in NBA Arenas

Duke is a combined 105-35 (.750) all-time in 13 current NBA venues.
The Blue Devils have won 35 of their last 44 at NBA venues, including a 4-1 mark last season.
Duke has a 14-6 (.670) record in NBA facilities under head coach Jon Scheyer, including an 11-3 (.786) ledger in the past three seasons.
During the 2025-26 campaign, the Blue Devils 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 Blue Devils own a 9-2 record at the United Center. Duke won the first seven games in the home of the Chicago Bulls from 1994-2009, before dropping two in-a-row (Kansas, 2013; Kentucky, 2015) and winning that last two (Michigan State, 2017 and 2023).
The ACC Tournament returns to the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, on March 10-14, 2026.

Scheyer Homecoming

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was a McDonald's and Parade All-American as a senior in 2006 at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois, less than 25 miles from the United Center.
Scheyer closed his high career as the fourth-leading scorer in Illinois high school basketball history with 3,034 points.
A two-time Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year, Scheyer was named to the 100 Legends of Illinois Basketball in 2007.
As a senior at Duke, Scheyer scored 31 points to lead the fifth-ranked Blue Devils to an 86-65 win over Iowa State at the United Center on Jan. 6, 2010.

Tracking Blue Devil Deflections

Through seven games, the Blue Devils have accumulated 166 deflections, an average of 23.7 per game.
Duke amassed a season-best 32 deflections versus Niagara (Nov. 21), topping the previous high of 30 against Indiana State (Nov. 14).
Maliq Brown, described as a "defensive menace" by head coach Jon Scheyer, tops Duke with 44 deflections (6.3 avg.).
Brown, who was selected to the 2023-24 ACC All-Defensive Team after leading the league with 71 steals as a sophomore at Syracuse, recorded 12 deflections against Niagara (Nov. 21), the most by a Blue Devil this season.

Duke's Three-Point Streak

Duke has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,271 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.

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 48 consecutive weeks - the fourth-longest active streak. (as of Nov. 24)

Other Notables

Cameron Boozer became 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. The freshman forward accomplished that standard in his first five college contests.
Cameron Boozer amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, connecting on 13-of-16 field goals in a win over Indiana State on Nov. 14, becoming 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.
The 55-point margin of victory over Army West Point (Nov. 11) was Duke's largest road win in program history.
Duke has a record of 56-2 (.966) when committing 15 or fewer fouls under head coach Jon Scheyer, compared to a record of 40-20 (.667) when the Blue Devils have 16 or more fouls. (per @EvanMiya).

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".

#GoDuke

No. 4 Duke Faces No. 22 Arkansas in Chicago on Thanksgiving

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Boozer

Maliq Brown

Isaiah Evans

Patrick Ngongba II

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No. 4 Duke Faces No. 22 Arkansas in Chicago on Thanksgiving

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cameron Boozer

Maliq Brown

Isaiah Evans

Patrick Ngongba II

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Duke information