Duke pulls away in Scheyer’s debut
Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer’s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night in Durham, N.C.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open. The Blue Devils, who have 11 new players, turned a 28-24 lead to a 16-point margin by halftime behind Roach — the only returning starter from last season’s Final Four team — then pushed that margin to 25 points by midway through the second half.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. In fact, this marked the first coaching debut for the Blue Devils since Krzyzewski won his debut against Stetson on Nov. 29, 1980 — part of a college-basketball record 1,202 victories in a career that included leading Duke to five NCAA championships.
The 35-year-old Scheyer was the leading scorer on Coach K’s fourth title in 2010, then spent nine seasons on the Duke bench.
He was designated as Krzyzewski’s successor in June 2021.
at No. 1 North Carolina 69, North Carolina Wilmington 56: Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece, and the Tar Heels, who began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years, pulled away late.
at No. 9 Creighton 72, St. Thomas (Minn.) 60: Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back three-pointers in the second half as the Bluejays overcame cold shooting to win their 25th opener in 26 years.
at No. 14 Texas Christian 73, Arkansas Pine Bluff 72: Mike Miles hit a three-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put the Horned Frogs ahead to stay over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead.
at No. 16 Villanova 81, La Salle 68: Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut in the program’s first game since Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright’s sudden retirement.
MEN’S TOP 25 SCORES
No. 1 North Carolina 69, UNC Wilmington 56 No. 2 Gonzaga 104, North Florida 63
No. 3 Houston 83, Northern Colorado 36
No. 4 Kentucky 95, Howard 63
No. 5 Baylor 117, Mississippi Valley State 53 No. 5 Kansas 89, Omaha 64
No. 7 Duke 71, Jacksonville 44
No. 8 UCLA 76, Sacramento State 50
No. 9 Creighton 72, St. Thomas (Minn.) 60
No. 10 Arkansas 76, North Dakota State 58 No. 11 Tennessee 75, Tennessee Tech 43
No. 12 Texas 72, Texas El Paso 57
No. 13 Indiana 88, Morehead State 53
No. 14 Texas Christian 73, Arkansas Pine Bluff 72 No. 15 Auburn 70, George Mason 52
No. 16 Villanova 81, La Salle 68
No. 17 Arizona 117, Nicholls 75
No. 18 Virginia 73, North Carolina Central 61 No. 19 San Diego State 80, Cal State Fullerton 57 No. 20 Alabama 75, Longwood 54
No. 21 Oregon 80, Florida A&M 45
No. 22 Michigan 75, Purdue-Fort Wayne 56
No. 23 Illinois 87, Eastern Illinois 57
No. 24 Dayton 73, Lindenwood 46
No. 25 Texas Tech 73, Northwestern State 49
MEN’S PAC-12 SCORES
Florida Gulf Coast 74, USC 61 Stanford 88, Pacific 78 Arizona State 62, Tarleton 59 Washington State 83, Texas State 61 Colorado 82, UC Riverside 66 Washington 69, Weber State 52 Utah 89, Long Island 48
UC Davis 75, California 65 Oregon State 73, Tulsa 70