2 Key Takeaways From Duke’s Win Over Cal

The Duke basketball program improved to 16-1 overall and 5-0 in ACC play following a 71-56 road victory over California (13-5, 1-4 ACC) on Wednesday night. This was the first of two games for the Blue Devils on a West Coast road trip, as they will take on Stanford (14-4, 3-2 ACC) on Jan. 17.

It once again wasn't a perfect outing for the Blue Devils on either side of the floor, but another second-half surge propelled the team to its fifth straight victory in league play. Duke still has yet to put together two consistent halves of its best basketball through the conference slate, but the fact that it is still stringing together wins with so much to fix is a very encouraging sign.

Freshman phenom Cameron Boozer went for a game-high 21 points to go along with 13 rebounds, and Isaiah Evans continued his hot streak with 17 points of his own.

Especially with Duke's play down the stretch in the second half, there's plenty to take away from the victory over the Golden Bears. Here are the two biggest takeaways Duke fans should know this one.

Jan 10, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) talks to head coach Jon Scheyer during the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Duke Gets Back on Track Defensively

It was no secret that the Blue Devils had been struggling on the defensive side of the ball over their last several games, and a lot of that seemingly had to do with a simple lack of effort and connectivity. However, Duke looked back in prime form in the second half against Cal.

DUB AFTER DARK 👿 pic.twitter.com/q4XtFFZDA7
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 15, 2026

Duke had allowed four of its last five opponents to shoot 53% from the field or better, and allowed the Golden Bears to shoot 40% from the floor as Duke entered the halftime locker room with a 37-30 lead.

Then, the second half was pure dominance from Duke. Cal made just seven field goals in the second half while shooting 31.8% from the floor and 1-of-8 (12.5%) from three-point range. Duke outscored the Golden Bears 34-26 in the second half while forcing 11 Golden Bears' turnovers that turned into 20 points for the Blue Devils.

Cal fans weren't even mad about it, asking Cam Boozer to plz join the @SacramentoKings after the game pic.twitter.com/J9fR52bGCk
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 15, 2026

Duke got foul-happy early in the second half, but quickly adjusted and completely shut down any offensive rhythm Cal was trying to get into. The Blue Devils limited the Golden Bears' leading scorer Dai Dai Ames to just eight points on 3-of-11 (27.3%) shooting after Ames entered the game ranking eighth in the ACC in points per game at 17.8.

Nov 23, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Nikolas Khamenia (14) is fouled by Howard Bison forward Stefan Isailovic (1) as he drives to the basket during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Nik Khamenia Flashes Two-Way Potential

As conference play got underway, it looked like 5-star freshman Nik Khamenia was beginning to fall out of the rotation almost entirely. The Los Angeles native was averaging 11.3 minutes a game through Duke's first four ACC matchups, but showed his fantastic two-way potential against the Golden Bears.

In 25 minutes of action, Khamenia went for 10 points and four boards on 4-of-9 (44.4%) shooting from the floor, marking his first double-digit scoring outing since Dec. 6 against Michigan State, as well as the first game he's played over 20 minutes since that same contest.

Nik showed out back home in Cali

10 points
4 boards
25 minutes
+24 +/- pic.twitter.com/i0kfrQXsmc
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 15, 2026

Although all his contributions won't show up in the stat sheet, Khamenia brought intensity on defense while cutting without the basketball very well on the offensive side of the ball. The rookie was engaged his entire time on the floor and showed he deserves to play meaningful minutes for this deep Blue Devils' squad.

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