Duke basketball: Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils feeling 'hungry, angry'
Losing has to be unacceptable. That's the overriding message first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer has been expressing to the media the past few weeks as his Blue Devils (13-5, 4-3 ACC) have lost three of their past six outings while falling out of the AP Top 25 and sliding to No. 9 in the conference standings.
Yet despite lackluster performances on the road and junior captain Jeremy Roach's three consecutive absences overall, Duke has staved off a potentially disastrous losing streak by defending Coach K Court in Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the team is undefeated at 9-0.
Duke, coming off a 72-64 loss at the now-No. 19 veteran Clemson Tigers last Saturday and featuring a freshman-heavy starting lineup regardless of Roach's status, is preparing to face another more experienced bunch, but this time at home.
At noon ET Saturday, the Blue Devils host the No. 17 Miami Hurricanes, employing a guard-laden primary cast that includes zero first-year college players.
With a win in what will be Cameron's 500th consecutive sellout crowd dating back 32 years, Duke basketball would be knocking on the door for a ranking again. However, with a loss, its NCAA Tournament résumé might draw the "bubble" tag for the first time this season.
In other words, there's a lot on the line against Miami, momentum-wise.
Meanwhile, judging by Scheyer's comments to Blue Devil play-by-play man David Shumate on Thursday's "Duke Basketball Report" podcast, the Duke players are upbeat in working to overcome their recent woes, particularly on offense.
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"Practice has been great," Scheyer said. "We've really gone after it, just continuing to develop our offensive identity, building on our defensive identity — you know, our defense has been further ahead — and also just staying positive and staying with it."
Again, they could improve to 10-0 in Durham, which would be impressive. But more importantly, it would at least temporarily rid them of the bitter taste of losing.
"When you lose, you're so anxious to get a chance and play the next game," Scheyer explained. "We haven't been able to play now for...it's going to be a week's time. So for me, it makes me more hungry and angry and all those things. And I think for the team, they're feeling those things as well."
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