All-Time Duke Basketball Defenses Have One Face in Common

The 2024-25 Blue Devils are on track to become the first Duke basketball squad since 1950 to allow fewer than 60 points per game.

Duke basketball / Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

As a Duke basketball player, en route to becoming a 2,000-point scorer, Jon Scheyer specialized more in sharpshooting and mistake-free playmaking than defense. Even so, he was a starting guard on a couple of Blue Devil squads that excelled in getting stops.

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Now, as head coach in Durham, there's no denying that Scheyer has been impressive in landing and developing daunting defenders.

Following Tuesday night's 76-47 home win over Pitt, Scheyer's 2024-25 Blue Devils, featuring a defensive and offensive phenom in freshman Cooper Flagg, are now averaging just 58.4 points allowed per outing. That mark stacks up at No. 5 out of 364 Division I teams.

And if the season ended today, the Blue Devils' scoring defense would go down as No. 1 among Duke basketball teams since 1950.

No. 2 on that list is the 2009-10 national champions, who featured Scheyer as a senior and allowed 61.0 points per game. The program's No. 3 mark, 62.0, came in 2006-07 when Scheyer was a freshman.

That's not to mention No. 5 on the list, as Scheyer's debut 2022-23 bunch limited opponents to 63.6 points per contest.

So, adding it up, Jon Scheyer has been either a player or head coach for what are currently four of the top five Duke basketball scoring defenses, including the top three.

He and his Blue Devils (13-2, 5-0 ACC), aiming to extend their utterly dominant winning streak to 10 games, next face Notre Dame (7-8, 1-3 ACC), averaging 74.6 points per game. They host the Fighting Irish in Cameron Indoor Stadium at noon ET Saturday (ESPN).

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