Duke walked into Chicago ranked No. 2, with one of the deepest rosters in college basketball and a coach who said he wanted his team tested. Hours later, the Blue Devils had been tested, and they did not pass. For the first time this season, Duke lost, and Jon Scheyer did not try to dress it up.
After Duke fell to Michigan State 79-73, Scheyer admitted his team had been outplayed.
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“They outplayed us in every facet of the game, I thought. Our lack of connectivity on offense was not good enough. We’re going to fix it. We have things to address and we’ll fix it. It’s a long season ahead,” he said.
The final score told only part of the story. Michigan State never allowed Duke to take the lead at any point in the 40 minutes, keeping the Blue Devils chasing from the opening tip.
And the Spartans made sure that chase started early. They made their first four shots and ripped off an 11-2 run, forcing Scheyer to call a timeout just 2:33 into the game. Duke turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes, and nothing seemed to fall.
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The Blue Devils missed 11 of their first 13 shots and went 0-of-8 from three-point range to start. By halftime, Duke had made just 7-of-27 shots, while Michigan State carried a 34-25 lead into the break.
That early struggle eventually became the bigger problem Scheyer pointed to: Duke’s lack of connectivity on offense. The Blue Devils had looked smooth in their first two games, averaging 98.5 points while shooting a combined 55%. Against Michigan State, however, the ball stopped moving with the same rhythm. Duke finished with 13 turnovers and shot 33.3% overall (20 of 60) and about 24% from three.
John Blackwell led Duke with 17 points, but it took him 16 shots to get there. Deron Rippey Jr., meanwhile, went 1 of 5.
Michigan State deserves plenty of credit for that offensive breakdown. The Spartans played the kind of defense that makes even a talented team look lost. Jordan Scott, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, recorded six of Michigan State’s eight blocks, doing so after never having more than two in a game. Five of those came in the first half alone.
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While Scott protected the paint, Jeremy Fears Jr. took charge on the other end. He finished with 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. He already had eight assists by halftime and scored or assisted on 22 of Michigan State’s 34 first-half points. The Spartans’ bench also outscored Duke’s 35-28.
Simply put, Michigan State brought more physicality and intensity. Duke struggled to match it, and that difference showed throughout the night.
The Blue Devils also made their task harder at the free-throw line. They went 26 of 37, leaving 11 points on the table in a game they lost by six. Patrick Ngongba II, who finished with 11 points, was just 7 of 13 from the stripe.
To be fair, Duke did win some of the other battles. It outrebounded Michigan State 40-38, including 18-9 on the offensive glass, and scored 14 second-chance points compared to the Spartans’ six. But when a team struggles to make shots in the half court, extra possessions can only do so much.
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In fact, Scheyer had expected Michigan State to present a different kind of challenge. Before the game, he said, “There’s no question Michigan State is gonna test us in ways we haven’t seen yet.”
The Spartans certainly delivered. Duke did make a late push, with a 12-6 burst cutting the lead to 73-68 on two Caleb Foster free throws with 2:03 left. But Scott answered with a driving layup, and Fears sealed the win at the free-throw line.
For Michigan State, the victory carried plenty of meaning. It was Tom Izzo’s first win over Scheyer and the program’s first victory against Duke since December 1, 2020. Izzo now has a 4-15 record against the Blue Devils.
For Duke, the focus now shifts to what comes next. The Blue Devils host SIU Edwardsville on Friday before welcoming Illinois to Cameron Indoor Stadium. Within the next month, they will also face No. 1 Florida and No. 4 UConn.
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Those games will give Scheyer plenty of opportunities to address the issues he saw in Chicago. If Duke finds its offensive rhythm again, Tuesday could become just an early bump in a long season. If not, the headlines from Chicago may only be the beginning.
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