Duke basketball's Jon Scheyer's 'sick' feeling after tough loss to Kentucky
11/13/2024 11:11 AM
No. 6 Duke basketball lost a heartbreaker to No. 19 Kentucky 77-72 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday. With 12 seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 72, Kentucky junior guard Otegah Oweh stole the ball from Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, was fouled in transition and made the go-ahead free throws to clinch the win for the Wildcats.
After the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer spoke about the crushing defeat to Duke play-by-play broadcaster David Shumate.
“I'm sick–our guys played their hearts out, they competed like crazy,” Scheyer said. “Cooper is an absolute warrior with what he did in willing us in this environment. It's not how we wanted tonight to go, but we'll learn from this.”
Scheyer’s Blue Devils led Kentucky by as many as 10 points in the first half and nine points in the second half before eventually giving up the lead.
While the final result is disappointing, Duke is still a very young team. This was their first competition against a ranked opponent this season. There are still a lot of promising things to take away from this loss to build on for Duke basketball.
Duke basketball’s performance against Kentucky in the Champions Classic
Despite his crucial late-game turnover, Flagg still put together an impressive performance against Kentucky. The star freshman and likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft had 26 points and 12 rebounds, both game-highs, along with two assists and two blocks.
Some of Duke basketball’s other freshmen, forward Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach, also played very well. Kneuppel scored 14 points and Maluach scored 10 points to go along with seven rebounds.
Despite being ranked higher than Kentucky, Duke, while arguably the most talented team in the country, is still very inexperienced. All of Kentucky’s starters are upperclassmen compared to Duke, where junior guard Tyrese Proctor and sophomore guard Caleb Foster are the only starters with any sort of previous college basketball experience.
If Duke is able to grow from this loss to Kentucky and clean up their late-game execution, it is clear that they will be one of the best teams in the country. Later in November, Duke will play No. 9 Arizona on the road and No. 1 Kansas on a neutral court. Those will both be excellent opportunities for Flagg and the young Blue Devils to get another shot at some elite competition.
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