Duke seeks ‘championship DNA’ after loss to Kansas

INDIANAPOLIS – From start to finish, Tuesday night was a learning experience for the Duke men’s basketball team.

The trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the Champions Classic against No. 5 Kansas was the first game outside the safety of Cameron Indoor, and the first true test for coach Jon Scheyer.

That inexperience was on display during a 69-64 loss to the defending national champions.

No. 8 Duke (2-1) gave up 18 turnovers and blew a five-point lead with less than five minutes to play as the Jayhawks (3-0) ended the second half on a 15-5 run that handed Scheyer a 69-64 loss in his first top-10 matchup on a national stage. The defeat comes exactly 12 years after Scheyer’s legendary predecessor, Mike Krzyzewski, got his 903rd win at the Champions Classic to become college basketball’s all-time wins leader.

“I thought the emotions for our young guys … there are a lot of emotions you feel,” Scheyer said. “I think for our guys right now, they know we can be a lot better.”

Things didn’t go as planned from the start. Duke players lined up in the tunnel three times as they watched the night’s first game – another matchup between premier programs in Michigan State and Kentucky won by the Spartans 86-77 – go into double overtime.

The offense looked lost in the early moments of the first half, missing 14 of its first 20 shots – including seven from 3-point range – before Kyle Filipowski hit Duke’s first 3 with 6:21 left before the break. It was also the Blue Devils’ first assist. They finished with only eight.

“They were really physical, and they (Kansas) can really guard the ball,” Scheyer said. “That’s the first time we’ve faced a defense like that. And then it’s just understanding that it’s not going to happen easy in a game like that. I think this is going to give us great perspective on how hard you have to work on and off the ball to create shots.”

To its credit, Duke opened the second half on a tear, hitting six of its first seven shots as freshman Tyrese Proctor came alive for the first time in his career. He had made 1 of 12 shots in the first two games and was scoreless in the first half before scoring seven points in the opening four minutes in the second, including his first career 3-pointer that gave Duke a 41-39 lead.

Center Dereck Lively, playing in his second game after a return from a right calf injury, came off the bench again and played 20 minutes after getting 15 minutes against USC Upstate last week. The No. 1 overall recruit from the Class of 2022 finished with four points and five rebounds and was effective on the defensive end.

Freshmen scored 22 consecutive points for the Blue Devils to open the second half.

It was down the stretch, in clutch moments that will later define this team’s ultimate success, where it failed to find an answer. Junior Jeremy Roach and freshman Kyle Filipowski combined for 33 points but missed big shots late.

Kansas made its last five shots – a sign of “championship DNA” as Scheyer said postgame that Duke will need to earn under its new coach.

“These guys need to get a feel for me. We need to get a feel for each other,” Scheyer said. “I thought that hurt us down the stretch. We haven’t been in a tight game. So, knowing where Mark Mitchell likes to get the ball or how to rotate on a pick and roll, being in those moments are really important for us to be together.”

Duke returns to Cameron on Friday to play Delaware.