By: Caleb Zuver
December 21, 2023
When Duke's 2023-24 schedule was released, Wednesday night’s matchup against the now No. 10 Baylor Bears at Madison Square Garden was a game that the Blue Devils had circled.
Based on how the season had fared up to this point, the 78-70 win over the Bears might just be the most important of the young season for Duke. It may be a moment we point to in a few months as a turning point for the Blue Devils.
Here are four takeaways from Duke’s eighth win of the season:
Sense of urgency
The old basketball cliché of “who wants it more” can be repetitive and uninteresting. Both Baylor and Duke came into Wednesday’s game needing a big win over a quality opponent.
Duke has struggled to pick up those wins early this season. With losses to now No. 4 Arizona, Arkansas and a conference loss at Georgia Tech, this was Duke's last opportunity to get a resume building win before it gets into the thick of conference play. It was the same for the Bears, as they were coming off of a 24-point loss to Michigan State. Both teams threw haymakers in the first period.
Duke imposed their will on the defensive end in the first eight minutes of the game. Baylor was averaging 88.4 points per game coming into the game, good for eighth in the country. About eight minutes into the first, Duke had held Baylor to just ten points. The Blue Devils were disruptive and forced tough attempts late in the shot clock.
Through those first eight minutes on the offensive end, all five starters contributed in the scoring column with Jeremy Roach putting up five points and Jared McCain leading the way with nine. With Tyrese Proctor out for the third straight game, their presence was much needed. The ball was moving from side-to-side, creating open looks and driving lanes for the Blue Devils.
Baylor responded thanks to the interior play and defensive dominance of Yves Missi. With the Bears down 10, RayJ Dennis hit a layup. Then it was all Missi. He scored seven straight points off of free throws and putback dunks, contributing to a 12-0 Baylor run to take the lead.
Duke took the lead back by halftime, but the first half was an example of the team the Blue Devils could be, compared to what they have been through the first 10 games of the season.
Flip finally feasts
After back-to-back Baylor 3-pointers to give them a 48-42 lead, John Scheyer called a 30-second timeout with 14:01 left in the game. The next four offensive possessions made clear what they talked about in that timeout: get the ball to Kyle Filipowski.
Up to that point, Filipowski was 2-for-9 from the field for just four points. On the first play out of the timeout, Flip received a post touch. He spun, pump-faked and found Mark Mitchell on the opposite block for a dunk. The next two offensive possessions ended in Filipowski buckets before he got to the line, converting on two-of-three free throws. While it didn’t close the gap because of Baylor scoring on the other end, Duke was able to stay within striking distance.
A McCain three and a Caleb Foster layup eventually gave Duke the lead. Filipowski extended the advantage with a steal on one end and a bucket on the other. Duke was adamant to get him the ball in the second half and they found success in it.
McCain and Young step up
Wednesday’s game was a big moment for Jared McCain. As with other freshmen on the team, he’s been searching for his role. With Proctor out of the lineup, he’s been asked to do more.
McCain didn’t seem to be afraid of the bright lights that Madison Square Garden provides. After scoring nine points in the first six minutes of the game, he finished the half with 11. In the second, he provided steady scoring throughout. After hitting the 3-pointer earlier in the second half to give them the lead back, he hit another big three with four minutes left to contribute to a 11-0 run that put Duke up nine.
The three-pointer came off of an assist from Ryan Young, who subbed into the game earlier due to Filipowski picking up his fourth foul. With the score knotted at 61 he got the run started with a floater off the glass to give them a two point lead.
Young would pull down two defensive rebounds and tack on two free throws to cap the run before being subbed back out with 3:28 to play. In just three minutes and 34 seconds of playing time, Young made the biggest impact he has all season.
Duke North
It’s no secret that MSG has been a second home to Duke over the years. With the win, they moved to 41-18 all-time in The Garden.
A get-right game against a really good team at the world’s most famous arena is just what Duke needed. Not just for tournament resume reasons, but also to ease the worries of what this team’s ceiling is going to be this season.
As it currently stands, there will be a few opportunities to pick up quality wins in ACC play against teams like North Carolina, Clemson and Miami. Outside of that, nobody can be exactly sure what teams like Virginia or NC State are going to be. It’s important to win a game against a quality program like Baylor when they are in front of you.
Duke did just that and seemed to have their young guys like McCain and Foster grow up in the process. McCain finished with a game-high 21 points. With Proctor likely coming back as the calendar turns to 2024, we got a glimpse of what this team could be Wednesday night.
Contact Caleb Zuver via email at cmzuver@bsu.edu or on X @zuves35.
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