With head coach Jon Scheyer back in Durham, Duke basketball delivered a dominant win in Dallas on Saturday afternoon.
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils got another sterling showing from Cooper Flagg in an 89-62 road win at SMU. Playing inside the 7,000-seat Moody Coliseum, which is a few thousand seats smaller than Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke (12-2, 4-0 ACC) corralled the Mustangs (11-3, 2-1) to win its eighth straight game and snap a seven-game winning streak for SMU.
Flagg logged his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Kon Knueppel (14 points) and Tyrese Proctor (14 points) joined Flagg in double figures, combining to make 7-of-15 shots from 3-point range.
Duke, which has won its first four road games for the first time since 2020, will be back on Coach K Court to play Pitt on Tuesday.
Here are observations from the Blue Devils’ ACC road win at SMU.
Cooper Flagg in complete command for Duke basketball at SMU
Cooper Flagg has been good all year, but he’s been in complete command of his game since the win vs. Auburn. Flagg had 15 points, making 4-of-8 shots and each of his six free-throw attempts, with five rebounds in the first half as Duke carried a nine-point lead into halftime. It was Flagg’s highest-scoring first half of the season. He then scored nine of Duke’s first 13 points in the second half to push the margin into blowout territory.
Duke basketball defense shuts down SMU’s high-scoring offense
SMU entered its opportunity against Duke as the ACC’s highest-scoring team, averaging 87.2 points per game. The Mustangs didn’t get close to that number against the Blue Devils, who have the top scoring defense in the ACC at 59 points per game. Using its length, athleticism and connectivity, Duke’s defense limited SMU to a season-low 62 points on 34% shooting.
Sion James shows off assist skills for Blue Devils vs Mustangs
Sion James seems to fill whatever role the Blue Devils need at any particular moment. In the first half at SMU, James served as Duke’s primary facilitator with a season-high seven assists. The Blue Devils assisted on 12 of their 14 baskets in the first 20 minutes. James finished with eight assists and Duke had 22 assists on 33 buckets in one of the Blue Devils’ most efficient offensive games of the season.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
