Duke Basketball Notches Impressive Win in Front of 2001 Champs

With the 2000-01 Duke basketball squad on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the program's third of now-five national championships and the famed Cameron Crazies back from their winter break at full volume, the No. 6-ranked Blue Devils (15-1, 4-0 ACC) recorded a 82-75 victory over the visiting No. 24 SMU Mustangs (12-4, 1-2 ACC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

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Duke extended the program's home winning streak to 25 games and improved to 6-1 versus ranked foes this season.

Less than two and a half minutes into the game, Duke faced an 11-0 deficit, marking its latest in a string of slow starts of late. Just over six minutes later, though, the Blue Devils had climbed back via lockdown defense and aggressive drives on the other end of the floor to get the Mustangs out of their comfort zone and seize an 18-17 advantage, the first time Jon Scheyer's bunch has held a first half lead across its past three contests.

zone buster 🔨 pic.twitter.com/AXPCGVYCG7
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 10, 2026

By halftime, the Blue Devils enjoyed a 41-35 lead behind a widespread scoring attack and thanks in large part to 14 turnovers by the Mustangs, who were without the services of their top scoring threat in senior point guard Boopie Miller (illness). Seven Duke players tallied three points or more apiece across the first 20 minutes of action.

Their efforts ensured a celebratory mood in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the halftime ceremony at halfcourt honoring the legendary 2001 bunch and its coach, retired Hall of Famer Krzyzewski.

Duke Basketball Catches Fire Early After Break

Back-to-back 3-point splashes by sophomore wing Isaiah Evans in the first two minutes of the second half grew the Blue Devils' lead to 12 at 47-35. Duke basketball freshman guard Cayden Boozer followed suit with a three of his own just a couple of minutes later, giving the team a 50-38 lead at the time.

The Mustangs crawled back to as close as five at 62-58 midway through the first half and pulled within three at 73-70 with under two minutes to play. However, the Blue Devils continued to assert their versatility and efficiency on offense, as Evans drained a three with just over a minute to play to give Duke a 76-70 lead.

Duke basketball guard Cayden Boozer versus the SMU Mustangs — Jan 10, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cayden Boozer (2) shoots over Southern Methodist Mustangs center Samuel Yigitoglu (24) during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

As a unit, Duke shot 49.0 percent from the field, 42.3 percent beyond the arc, and 77.8 percent at the foul line for the game.

Four Blue Devils finished with double-digit scoring totals: freshman forward Cameron Boozer (18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals), Cayden Boozer (12 points, two boards, four dimes, two steals), Isaiah Evans (21 points, 4-for-8 from deep), and sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II (17 points, five rebounds).

BIG PAT 🙆‍♂️🙆‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/rClYBk1ihU
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 10, 2026

Duke basketball will now gear up for back-to-back conference road outings in California. The Blue Devils square off against the unranked Cal Golden Bears (13-3, 1-2 ACC) in Haas Pavilion at 11 p.m. ET Wednesday (ACC Network) before visiting the unranked Stanford Cardinal (13-3, 2-1 ACC) in Maples Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. ET (ACC Network).

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