Duke, Louisville Square Off in Top-20 Showdown

Tuesday, January 6

Louisville, KY

7 p.m.

Duke University

Louisville

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Jack Scott, Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr of Duke Men's Basketball celebrate at Florida State (01-03-25)

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke, Louisville Square Off in Top-20 Showdown

1/5/2026 7:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Opening Tip

No. 6 Duke and No. 20 Louisville meet on Tuesday night in a rematch of the 2025 ACC Tournament championship game.
Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden will call the action on ESPN. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Duke is in game two of a five-game stretch with four road contests.
Duke has won 24 of its last 25 games against conference opponents.
No. 20 Louisville is Duke's sixth nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Blue Devils have a 4-1 record against top-25 teams.
Duke is seventh 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 seven teams ranked in the top-16 nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.8, 11th) and defensive efficiency (95.9, 16th) ratings. (KenPom)
The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are ninth nationally in scoring margin (+21.8).
On the glass, Duke ranks 14th in the country in rebound margin (+10.5 - best in ACC), 28th in rebounding (41.4 rpg) and 22nd in defensive rebounding (28.8).
Isaiah Evans scored a career-high 28 points, highlighted by six three-pointers, a career-high eight field goals and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, at Florida State.
Evans has drained three or more 3-pointers in seven games this season. Duke is 18-0 the past two seasons when the sophomore sharp-shooter hits three or more triples.
Cameron Boozer is the nation's third-leading scorer with 23.0 points per game, ranks 21st nationally with 9.8 rebounds per contest and sits 13th with seven double-doubles.
Boozer's nine assists against Florida State are the most by a Blue Devil in the past three seasons (10 assists by Tyrese Proctor against Pitt in the 2023 ACC Tournament).
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 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).

About the Louisville Cardinals

Duke has won 10 of the last 13 meetings with Louisville, including seven straight, and leads the all-time series 17-9.
The Blue Devils are 6-4 at Louisville with three consecutive triumphs since 2021.
The Blue Devils and Cardinals have played 11 times when both teams are ranked, with Duke holding a 6-5 edge, including last season's ACC Tournament final.
No. 1 Duke defeated No. 13 Louisville, 73-62, in the 2025 ACC Tournament championship game in Charlotte.
Louisville leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally with 12.2 3-pointers made per game on 34.6 attempts per contest.
The Cardinals have been beating their opposition by an average of 21.2 points, which ranks 11th in the nation.
Louisville tops the ACC and sits 17th nationally with 19.1 assists per contest, while ranking 14th in the country with 42.4 rebounds per outing.
Ryan Conwell is seventh in the nation with an ACC-high 3.71 3-pointers per game, averaging a team-best 19.6 points.

On This Date - Jan. 6

Duke is 24-8 overall and has won 13 of its last 16 games played on Jan. 6.
The Blue Devils have a 7-5 road record on this date, having lost three of the last five contests on the opponent's court.
The Blue Devils last played on this date in 2024, a 67-59 road victory over Notre Dame.

Last Time Out

Fueled by a career night from Isaiah Evans, No. 6 Duke defeated Florida State, 91-87, on Saturday at Donald L. Tucker Center.
Evans scored a career-high 28 points, highlighted by six three-pointers, to help Duke earn a conference victory in its first road test of the league calendar.
Evans scored his 28 points on a career-high eight field goals, and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Cameron Boozer logged a game-high nine assists, the most by a Blue Devil in the last three seasons, while also scoring 17 points, grabbing five rebounds and collecting a game-high four steals.
Duke finished with five total players scoring in double-figures, with Evans and Boozer joined by Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr, who each posted 13 points, and Patrick Ngongba II's 10 points.
Cayden Boozer tallied six assists, joining his brother, Cameron, to combine for 15 of Duke's 23 total assists.
With the Blue Devils' 23 helpers on their 28 made field goals, Duke finished with at least 20 assists for the seventh game this season and registered a season-high assist rate of 82.1%.
The Blue Devils iced the road victory with key free throws from Cameron Boozer, Evans and Foster. As a team, the Blue Devils went 23-of-25 (.920) from the free-throw line, a season-best shooting performance, including making their first 16 attempts from the charity stripe.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is one of just seven teams ranked in the top-16 nationally in both offensive efficiency (124.8, 11th) and defensive efficiency (95.9, 16th) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 9 rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 28.92. (through games played on Jan. 4)
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 15.4 seconds, which is the 24th 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 15.4 seconds with an effective field goal percentage (58.1%) that ranks 14th in the country and a two-point field goal percentage (62.6%) that's fourth nationally.
On the other end of the floor, Duke's defense is forcing opponents to use 18.4 seconds per possession, which is 22nd-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 (45.0%) is 19th-best in the nation.

Tracking Blue Devil Deflections

Through 14 games, the Blue Devils have accumulated 286 deflections, an average of 20.4 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 79 deflections (5.6 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.

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 14 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 five times (Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Jan. 5).
The freshman forward is currently the nation's third-leading scorer with 23.0 points per game, ranks 21st nationally with 9.8 rebounds per contest and sits 13th with seven double-doubles.

Other Notables

Duke has won 24 of its last 25 games against conference opponents.
Duke has a record of 59-2 (.967) when committing 15 or fewer fouls under head coach Jon Scheyer, compared to 43-21 (.672) when the Blue Devils have 16 or more fouls. (@EvanMiya)
Maliq Brown is the national leader in 2-point field goal percentage (83.7%), having made 36-of-43 shots inside the arc.
Duke's 11-0 start was the best open to a season since the 2017-18 campaign.
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.