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Duke Basketball Manhandles Cal: 3 takeaways

Kyle Nachtsheim
Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg goes for a dunk in the second half (Photo Credit: Kyle Nachtsheim, CBB Review)

Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg goes for a dunk in the second half (Photo Credit: Kyle Nachtsheim, CBB Review)

Duke basketball rebounded after their first conference loss, defeating Cal 78-57 on Wednesday night.

Duke Basketball got off to a fast start, with Tyrese Proctor scoring five of the team’s first seven points. However, it was Cooper Flagg who was dominating the floor for the Blue Devils. The freshman recovered from an underperforming game against Clemson by leading all scorers with 27 points while adding five boards. Jeremiah Wilkinson, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week, rebounded from a slow first half to lead the Golden Bears with 21 points.

Takeaway #1: Khaman Maluach’s big game helps get Duke back on track.

For over a month, the freshman out of South Sudan had been held in check offensively. Maluach had only scored over six points and recorded over six rebounds once each in the previous six games. Wednesday’s performance against California helped to remind opponents how dangerous he can be on the floor.

He notched 10 points and 12 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season and first since mid-January.

“I thought Khaman [Maluach] was terrific today,” said coach Jon Scheyer. “Seven offensive rebounds, double-double, he’s so unselfish. He has three assists, and to be 7’2”, to play with that big of a motor, and then still be a great decision maker and play hard, where you get 12 rebounds.”

The good news for the Cameron Crazies, all four of his double-doubles have come inside the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Takeaway #2: The growth of Wilkinson as a freshman

Stepping into an iconic venue like Cameron Indoor for the first time as a college player could make even the most talented of players wither under the spotlight. For Wilkinson, the first 10 minutes of the game looked like his name would be added to that list.

Then, a switch seemed to flip inside him and hit a three-pointer at the 10:40 mark of the first half to end a stretch of four straight missed shots from the Golden Bears.

“It’s been incredible the growth that he’s had,” said Cal coach Mark Madsen. “He came in as a great player, and he’s just gotten better every single day. He had a strong effort tonight, the four-point play, getting to the rim, finding the open man. It was great to see his continued steady play.”

That strong effort was on full display in front of that Duke crowd to start the second half, with a fast break bucket trying to set a tone of Cal.

Takeaway #3:  Sion James defensive presence helps Duke clinch victory

In the past five games, James had not made an impact on the defensive glass by combining for nine total defensive boards. In Duke’s loss against Clemson, he was held to just three total rebounds.

Then, as a byproduct of Cal giving more attention to Flagg and fellow freshman Kon Knueppel, the Tulane transfer notched nine rebounds with all but one of them being on defense. Although Duke could not capitalize on those offensive possessions, it added another wrinkle to Duke’s game plan.

“It’s been a real luxury for us having Sion in that spot where he’s such a utility guy,” Scheyer said. “He’s such a winning player and his rebounding is a big part of it. And his versatility on defense.”

Duke will welcome the ACC’s other California team on Saturday when Stanford visits Cameron Indoor Stadium.

 

Next up for Duke basketball (21-3, 13-1): vs. Stanford (16-9, 8-6) – Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. EST

Next up for Cal basketball (12-13, 5-9): at Georgia Tech (12-13, 6-8) – Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. EST

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