The Duke Blue Devils capped off their non-conference slate with an 106-69 victory against Queens University at historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is the fourth straight victory for the Blue Devils as they prepare to run the ACC gauntlet.
Freshman guard Jared McCain led the Duke Blue Devils with a career-high 24 points and 3 steals. Three other Duke players scored in double figures, giving the team its first 100 point game of the season. Junior guard Deyton Albury led the Royals (6-9) with 23 points, three shy of a career-high.
Takeaway #1: Three point defense returned from holiday vacation
Queens came into the game shooting 33.8% from beyond the arc, averaging 10 per game. This was one of the things that coach Jon Scheyer was anticipating in this game.
“They’re not afraid,” said the second-year head coach. “They can shoot and make a lot of threes. They’re gonna continue to play hard no matter what the score was.”
His words were not lost on his team, as they held Queens to only 7 three-pointers on 22 attempts.
This was a get right game for the Duke Blue Devils, as they had allowed their last two opponents to shoot over 40% from beyond the arc. For the season, they have allowed four teams to shoot over 40%. This includes Georgia Tech back in early December.
Four teams are currently shooting better from beyond the arc than the Blue Devils in the conference. How they respond to those teams’ three-point shooting will determine if the Blue Devils can repeat as ACC champions.
Takeaway #2: McCain is peaking at the right time
The Sacramento, CA native seemingly hit a speed bump during the Blue Devils two game losing streak at the beginning of December. He was held to a combined 4-for-17 shooting, scoring only 11 points.
Scheyer talked about a conversation he had with McCain after those two games. “I just told him that I believed in him,” Scheyer said.
Having the belief of his coach helped light a fire under McCain, who has scored over 20 points in three of his last four games. This includes breaking his career high scoring total against Queens. He also was one three-pointer shy of tying his career mark.
His attitude, according to Scheyer, was made for Duke because of how he responded to games where nothing seemingly went his way. That mental toughness will be put to the test as ACC play kicks into high gear.
Takeaway #3: Tyrese Proctor returns, shaking off the rust
The sophomore guard missed the last three games due to an ankle injury suffered in the opening minute of Duke’s loss to Georgia Tech. Scheyer even said after the Baylor game that Proctor really wanted to play, but had not participated in any practices or drills.
That changed when he was announced as active less than half an hour before tip-off. The question was then, how would he perform and would there be any rust.
Proctor was originally set to play about 15 minutes, according to Scheyer, but gave them about 18 minutes on the court. He had the third highest usage percentage. This means when he was on the floor, Proctor was used in the play even if it did not show up in the box score.
“We wanted to make sure that he was ready to go,” said Scheyer. “I was happy with what he did and I know he’s only going to grow from here.”
The Blue Devils turn their attention to the daunting ACC schedule, where they play an equally hot Syracuse team. The Orange are looking to avenge last year’s 22-point blowout.
Next game for Duke: vs. Syracuse (Jan. 2 – 9 p.m.)
Next game for Queens: at Kennesaw State (Jan. 6 – 5 p.m.