No. 7 Duke returns home Friday night for the second of three consecutive games against reigning conference champions as Delaware visits Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke is coming off a 69-64 loss to Kansas, which is a year removed from winning the Big XII and the National Championship in 2022.
Duke is ninth nationally in scoring defense, yielding just 50.3 points per game. Opponents are shooting .368 from the field and hitting at a .200 clip (13-of-65) from three-point range — the nation’s ninth best three-point defense. On the glass, Duke is eighth nationally in rebounding (47.3), sixth in rebounding margin (+18.3) and third in offensive rebounds (19.0). The Blue Devils are +39 in second-chance point scoring through three games.
Freshman Kyle Filipowski is tied for the NCAA lead with three double-doubles. He is the first Duke freshman all-time with three consecutive double-doubles to open a career and is the nation’s only freshman with multiple double-doubles (through Nov. 16 games). Filipowski is ranked seventh nationally in rebounds (12.0) and leads all freshmen in the NCAA; while graduate Ryan Young is 24th nationally in offensive rebounds (4.0).
Jeremy Roach and Kyle Filipowski are tied for the team lead with 14 point per game averages with Filipowski leading the team in rebounding at 12 per game. Roach is the leading assist man with a 4.3 per game average.
About the Opponent
Delaware finished 22-13 last season, winning the CAA Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The preseason poll in the CAA picked the Blue Hens third this season. The Blue Hens are 1-1 to open the season, beating Wilmington (Del.), 78-54, and falling at Air Force, 75-71 last Friday on the road. Delaware erased a 15-point deficit in the second half but couldn’t take the lead against Air Force. Preseason All-CAA pick Jameer Nelson Jr., leads the team in scoring through two games at 18.0 points, while fellow preseason All-CAA pick Jyáre Davis is averaging 17.5.
Seventh-year head coach Martin Ingelsby was a standout point guard for Notre Dame from 1997-2001 and later served on the Fighting Irish staff for 13 seasons as director of basketball operations and assistant coach. Both previous meetings between Duke and Delaware came at Cameron Indoor, with the Blue Devils winning 79-73 on Dec. 19, 1995 and 88-50 on Dec. 1, 2012. Duke is 69-8 all-time against teams currently in the CAA, including 21-5 vs. Elon and 28-3 vs. William & Mary.
Thoughts
Playing Delaware presents an opportunity for the Blue Devils, who are coming off of a loss, to right the ship. The Blue Devils turned the ball over 18 times versus the Jayhawks and displayed very little ball-movement. The 8 assists total was the lowest of the season for the Blue Devils (excluding their exhibition game where they also had 8 assists) which in some ways was expected with an obvious uptick in strength of opponent. With time now to assess what went wrong, the Blue Devils staff now have a chance to see how this team responds to both losing as well as game to game adjustments.
This game also provides an opportunity for Dereck Lively to get more reps as he works himself back into game shape and recovers from his missed time in the preseason. The Blue Hens lineup doesn’t feature a player over 6’9 so the Blue Devil interior should feast. The 4-guard lineup employed by Coach Ingelsby will test the Duke bigs in terms of guarding on the perimeter. The question will be will Duke be forced to go small or will they assert their will and play their traditional big lineup?
Look for the Blue Devils to really work to get good shots within the offense with a focus on moving the basketball.
