No. 6 Duke Starts Road Stretch at Florida State

Saturday, January 3

Tallahassee, FL

3:45 p.m.

Duke University

Florida State

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Cameron Boozer and Dame Sarr celebrate versus Georgia Tech (12-31-25)

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 6 Duke Starts Road Stretch at Florida State

1/2/2026 8:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Opening Tip

No. 6 Duke begins a five-game stretch with four road contests, as the Blue Devils visit Tallahassee on Saturday to face Florida State, starting at 3:45 p.m.
Brad Nessler and Bill Raftery will call the action on CBS. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Duke is 45-11 all-time versus the Seminoles, with the teams splitting the last four games at the Tucker Center since 2017.
The last time Duke visited Florida State, on Feb. 17, 2024, Jared McCain set a Duke freshman record with eight three-pointers and tied the Duke freshman record (at the time) with 35 points.
Duke has an 18-7 record on Jan. 3. The Blue Devils have won five straight, nine of their last 10, and 17 of their last 20 contests played on this date.
Duke is fifth in the NET rankings and is tied for the most Quad 1 wins (4).
Duke has secured top-25 victories over No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 25 Kansas.
Duke is one of just six teams ranked in the top-13 nationally in both offensive efficiency (123.4, 13th) and defensive efficiency (93.5, 8th) ratings. (KenPom)
The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are ninth nationally in scoring margin (+23.2).
On the glass, Duke ranks 20th in the country in rebounding (42.2 rpg), 17th in defensive rebounding (29.4) and 15th in rebound margin (+10.8 - best in ACC).
Cayden Boozer finished one point shy of his career high, scoring 13 points, while recording a career-best three steals versus Georgia Tech in his first collegiate start.
Cameron Boozer leads the nation in scoring with 23.5 points per game, ranks 15th nationally with 10.2 rebounds per contest and sits 12th with seven double-doubles.
On Dec. 16, Jon Scheyer broke the ACC record for the fastest coach to 100 wins (122 games), exceeding the standard set by Duke's Vic Bubas in 1964 (128 games).
Duke's 11-0 start was the best open to a season since the 2017-18 campaign.
Duke posted a record of 36-3 (.923) in 2025, to tie the ACC record for most wins in a calendar year, equaling the 1992 Blue Devils (36-2) and North Carolina in 2008 (36-3).

The Florida State Seminoles

Two-time NBA champion (as Warriors' player development coach) and former FSU player Luke Loucks was named Florida State's head coach on March 9, 2025.
FSU ranks second in the nation in 3-point shots per game (36.5) and ninth in turnovers forced per game (16.9) - both tops in the ACC.
Robert McCray V leads the ACC and ranks fifth nationally with 100 assists (7.1 per game), and tops the Seminoles in scoring with 13.4 points per contest.
Alex Steen is 19th in the nation with an ACC-best 3.7 offensive rebounds per game.

On This Date - Jan. 3

Duke has an 18-7 record on Jan. 3.
The Blue Devils have won five straight, nine of their last 10, and 17 of their last 20 contests played on this date.
Duke last played on Jan. 3 in 2015, an 85-62 triumph over Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils faced Florida State on this date in 1955, with Duke defeating the Seminoles, 97-75, in Durham under head coach Harold Bradley.

Last Time Out

No. 6 Duke won its ACC home opener for the 19th consecutive season, defeating Georgia Tech, 85-79, on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
The Blue Devils move to 54-19 in ACC openers all-time, defeating the Yellow Jackets for the 20th time in the last 22 meetings.
All five Duke starters scored in double figures, led by Cameron Boozer's 26-point, 12-rebound double-double. Cayden Boozer finished one point shy of his career high, scoring 13 points, while logging a career-high 31 minutes and recording a career-best three steals in his first collegiate start.
Isaiah Evans was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line and added two three-pointers en route to 17 points. Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 and 11, respectively.
As a team, the Blue Devils finished with a 42-28 rebounding advantage, including a 21-5 edge on the offensive glass.
The Blue Devils have outrebounded their opponent in 10 games this season.
Duke grabbed a season-high 21 offensive boards and have finished with at least 20 offensive caroms in two of its last three games (vs. Lipscomb, vs. Georgia Tech).
Wednesday marked the second time this season that Duke has held an opponent to zero second-chance points (vs. Lipscomb)..
Cameron Boozer finished with nine of Duke's offensive caroms, setting a new benchmark for individual offensive rebounds by a Blue Devil in a game this season.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is one of just six teams ranked in the top-13 nationally in both offensive efficiency (123.4, 13th) and defensive efficiency (93.5, 8th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 8 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 29.88. (through games played on Jan. 1)
The 2024-25 Blue Devils achieved the best offensive efficiency rating (130.1) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season).
In 2024-25, Duke registered the second-highest overall rating (39.29) in KenPom history, trailing only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils (43.01).
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 15.2 seconds, which is the 22nd 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 15.2 seconds with an effective field goal percentage (57.7%) that ranks 19th in the country and a two-point field goal percentage (62.7%) that's seventh nationally.
On the other end of the floor, Duke's defense is forcing opponents to use 18.6 seconds per possession, which is 15th-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 (43.5%) is seventh-best in the nation.

Tracking Blue Devil Deflections

Through 13 games, the Blue Devils have accumulated 268 deflections, an average of 20.6 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 77 deflections (5.9 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.

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. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 25 Kansas.

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 is the only Division I player in the last 30 seasons to collect at least 250 points, 100 rebounds and 40 assists through his first 11 career games. (Dec. 17; OptaSTATS)
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 seven out of 13 games, including 35 points against No. 22 Arkansas and 29 points versus No. 15 Florida.
Boozer has been voted ACC Player of the Week three times (Nov. 17, Dec. 1, Dec. 8) and ACC Rookie of the Week four times (Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec. 8).
The freshman forward currently leads the nation in scoring with 23.5 points per game, ranks 15th nationally with 10.2 rebounds per contest and sits 12th with seven double-doubles.

Duke's Three-Point Streak

Duke has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,277 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.

Other Notables

Duke has a record of 59-2 (.967) when committing 15 or fewer fouls under head coach Jon Scheyer, compared to 42-21 (.667) when the Blue Devils have 16 or more fouls. (@EvanMiya)
Maliq Brown is the national leader in 2-point field goal percentage (87.2%), having made 34-of-39 shots inside the arc.
The 55-point margin of victory over Army West Point (Nov. 11) was Duke's largest road win in program history.

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.