Duke, Michigan State in Top-10 Battle of Unbeatens

Saturday, December 6

East Lansing, Mich.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Michigan State

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Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke, Michigan State in Top-10 Battle of Unbeatens

12/5/2025 2:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Opening Tip

A top-10 confrontation between unbeaten teams, No. 4 Duke and No. 7 Michigan State, hits the Breslin Center on Saturday, Dec. 6, at noon on FOX.
Tim Brando and Jim Jackson will call the action on FOX. Chris Edwards and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Duke leads the series with Michigan State, 15-4.
Duke has won both games contested at Michigan State, a 72-50 victory on Dec. 3, 2003, and an 87-75 triumph on Dec. 2, 2019.
The Blue Devils are second the nation in field goal percentage defense (.344) and scoring margin (+29.6), and rank fourth in scoring defense (59.6).
The Spartans rank sixth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 60.4 points per game.
Duke has secured top-25 victories over No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 25 Kansas.
Duke has a record of 113-82 (.579) all-time when both teams are ranked in the top 10, including a 6-2 mark against Michigan State in that scenario.
In the only previous top-10 clash between the Blue Devils and Spartans to take place at the Breslin Center, No. 6 Duke defeated No. 5 Michigan State, 72-50, on Dec. 3, 2003.
The Blue Devils have won seven of their last 10 true road games against top-10 hosts.
The last time Duke played a true road game against a top-10 team was at No. 2 Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 3, 2014, an 80-70 Blue Devils' victory.
Duke's 9-0 start is the best open to 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 (12).
Duke is the only team ranked in the top-six nationally in both offensive efficiency (123.8, 6th) and defensive efficiency (92.6, 5th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
Duke's 19.4 assists per game is 16th-best nationally, while its 1.86 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 13th among NCAA Division I leaders.
Saturday marks just the fourth time since the AP poll began in 1948 that the Blue Devils play three consecutive non-conference regular-season games against ranked teams. The last time it happened was in November 2011, with previous instances in 1956-57 and 1953-54.Duke is 16-5 all-time when playing on Dec. 6.
The Blue Devils are the fifth-tallest team in the country with an average height of 79.4 inches. (KenPom)

On This Date - Dec. 6

Duke is 16-5 all-time when playing on Dec. 6.
The Blue Devils have won three straight and eight of the last nine on this date.
Duke's last outing on Dec. 6 resulted in a 74-62 victory over Iowa at Madison Square Garden in the 2022 Jimmy V Classic.
The Blue Devils have a 3-2 record in road games played on this date, including a 2019 win at Virginia Tech (77-63) in Duke's last road game on Dec. 6.

Last Time Out

A late three-pointer from Isaiah Evans propelled No. 4 Duke past No. 15 Florida, 67-66, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The Blue Devils were paced on offense by Cameron Boozer, who posted 29 points to help Duke secure the victory over the Gators in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Boozer and Evans (13 points) were joined in double-figures by Patrick Ngongba II, who scored 11 points, while also adding five rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
Caleb Foster posted six points, five rebounds, two assists and capped his night on the defensive end with a steal in the dying seconds of the game to solidify the Blue Devils' win.
Maliq Brown scored six points and grabbed six rebounds, while swiping two key steals – including the key deflection on Florida's final attempted inbounds pass.
Boozer drained three 3-pointers against Florida, his second game this season with at least three triples.
Boozer now has five 20-point games this season and has finished with at least five rebounds in every game.
Evans also blocked a career-high five shots and has three games this season with multiple swats.
Ngongba entered the contest with two career 3-pointers, and knocked down two of his three shots from long distance against the Gators.
Dating back to last season, Duke has won 22 consecutive games at home.
The Blue Devils are now 53-3 (.946) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in four seasons under Jon Scheyer.
Duke's defense limited Florida to 24 first-half points and 66 total points, both season lows for the Gators. Florida entered the game averaging 85.9 points per game.
The Blue Devils have held each opponent this season under their respective scoring average.
The Blue Devils' defense forced 13 turnovers and only allowed four assists on Florida's 25 field goals. The Gators entered Tuesday night averaging 16.4 assists per game,
Duke blocked 11 shots, its second game this season with double-digit swats, joining the Indiana State game (13 blocks).
The last time the Blue Devils registered at least 10 blocks, prior to this season, was against Queens on Dec. 30, 2023.
Tuesday marked the first time under Scheyer that the Blue Devils have multiple games in a season with at least 10 rejections.
The Blue Devils have now secured three victories over top-25 opponents this season, including wins over No. 22 Arkansas and No. 24 Kansas.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is the only team ranked in the top-six nationally in both offensive efficiency (123.8, 6th) and defensive efficiency (92.6, 5th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 3 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 31.14. (through games played on Dec. 3)
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 (130.1, 1st) and defensive (90.8, 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 15.0 seconds, which is the 19th 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.
Duke maximizes its 15.0 seconds with an effective field goal percentage (59.6%) that ranks 14th in the country and a two-point field goal percentage (64.7%) that's third nationally.
On the other end of the floor, Duke's defense is forcing opponents to use 19.1 seconds per possession, which is third-highest in the country.
The greater use of time has not yielded improved results for Duke opponents, as the Blue Devils' effective field goal percentage defense (40.3%) is the best in the nation.

Tracking Blue Devil Deflections

Through nine games, the Blue Devils have accumulated 204 deflections, an average of 22.7 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 59 deflections (6.6 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.

Cameron Boozer's Historical Start

Cameron Boozer is the first Duke freshman to score 35 points or more twice - amassing 35 points versus Indiana State (Nov. 14) and tallying 35 points again versus Arkansas (Nov. 27).
The freshman forward became the first NCAA Division I or NBA player in the last 30 seasons to have an eight-game span with more than 175 points, 75 rebounds and 25 assists, 10 or fewer turnovers, and an undefeated record - doing so in Duke's first eight games. (@OptaSTATS)
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. (Nov. 19)
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 Miami native has amassed 25 points or more in five out of nine games.
Boozer has been voted ACC Player of the Week twice (Nov. 17, Dec. 1) and ACC Rookie of the Week three times (Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1).

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 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).
Duke has secured top-25 victories over No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 25 Kansas.
Up next on the slate of nationally-ranked opponents, Duke confronts No. 7 Michigan State on the road.

Top-10 Clashes

Duke has a record of 113-82 (.579) all-time when both teams are ranked in the top 10.
Duke and Michigan State have met eight times with both teams ranked in the top 10, with the Blue Devils holding a 6-2 advantage in those matchups.
In the only top-10 clash between the Blue Devils and Spartans to take place at the Breslin Center, No. 6 Duke defeated No. 5 Michigan State, 72-50, on Dec. 3, 2003.

Other Notables

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 58-2 (.967) when committing 15 or fewer fouls under head coach Jon Scheyer, compared to 40-20 (.667) when the Blue Devils have 16 or more fouls. ( @EvanMiya).

Most-Watched Regular-Season College Basketball Game in More Than 30 Years

No. 4 Duke's 80-71 victory over No. 22 Arkansas at the United Center on Thanksgiving Day delivered historic numbers for CBS Sports, becoming the most-watched regular-season college basketball game on any network since the 1992-93 season, according to Nielsen.
The "CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic" averaged 6.813 million viewers, marking the largest regular-season college basketball audience on any network in more than three decades. The previous high came on Feb. 21, 1993, when Purdue faced Indiana on CBS (7.225 million).
Viewership for Duke-Arkansas also represented a 32 percent increase from the prior year's Thanksgiving Day game, underscoring the continued national appeal of the Blue Devils and the strength of a marquee holiday broadcast window.

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 fifth-tallest team in the country - third among Power-4 programs behind North Carolina (79.6") and Illinois (79.5") - with an average height of 79.4 inches. (KenPom)
Duke is one of the youngest teams in the nation with an average of 0.86 years of Division I experience, according to KenPom.com, which ranks 318th out of 365.

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.