Fourth-ranked Duke has played some tough teams in the early going so excuse the Blue Devils if they are looking forward to a relative breather.
Battled-tested Duke looks to stretch its winning streak to four games when it hosts Incarnate Word on Tuesday night at Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils (7-2) have beaten then-No. 2 Auburn and then-No. 17 Arizona among four Top 25 foes. Duke lost to then-No. 1 Kansas and then-No. 19 Kentucky.
Incarnate Word (5-4) falls into the category of nonconference opponents the Blue Devils easily handled, like their 51-point win over Wofford, a 42-point victory over Army, a 34-point triumph over Maine and a 22-point win over Seattle University.
On Sunday, Duke rallied for a 76-65 victory over Louisville to open Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The Blue Devils trailed 30-16 with 8:36 left in the first half before turning the game around. Duke trailed by four at halftime and outscored Louisville 43-28 in the second half to post the program’s top comeback win since overcoming a 16-point deficit against visiting Boston College in an 83-82 win on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Couldn’t be more proud,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said afterward. “It’s been a heck of a stretch. Heck of a nine games for us. Just proud of these guys for their competitiveness and will to win.”
Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his second straight double-double and fourth of the season. Flagg has scored 20 or more four times while leading the team with averages of 17.0 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor each average 12.4 points per game with Proctor knocking down a team-best 26 3-pointers and shooting 43.3 percent from distance.
Proctor said the Blue Devils kept their poise against Louisville despite falling into the big hole.
“I feel like we just weathered the storm … and got stops and scores when we needed to,” Proctor said.
Still, Duke led for just 8:37 of the contest in what proved to be an arduous test in the conference opener.
“It was just a tough win,” Scheyer said. “And I think this group has already shown in this short season, the character and heart that we have.”
Incarnate Word (5-4) is coming off a 65-53 home victory over East Texas A&M on Saturday.
Davion Bailey led the way with 19 points and Dylan Hayman added 11 for the Cardinals.
Incarnate Word is shooting a solid 42.6 percent from 3-point range, which ranked fourth nationally through this past weekend’s games. Bailey has made a team-best 32 shots from 3-point range and Hayman has made 16 of 29 for a scorching 55.2 percent.
Bailey leads the Cardinals with a 17.7 scoring average. Jalin Anderson is averaging 14.7, followed by Hayman at 14.3 and Jordan Pyke at 11.9.
Second-year coach Shane Heirman sees the results after nine games and it’s making his words before the season look true.
“We have a team that plays fast and plays fun,” Heirman said.
Incarnate Word is 1-3 away from home this season with the losses coming at Cal Baptist, Northern Arizona and South Alabama. The neutral-court win came against Western Illinois in a Thanksgiving week tournament at Mobile, Ala.
–Field Level Media
