Duke Basketball Report Card: What Stood Out Against SIUE

The Duke Blue Devils etched their third win of the season on Friday night.

Duke took down SIU Edwardsville 90-47 at Cameron Indoor Stadium to improve to 3-1 overall on the 2026-27 campaign. Now, it's hard to really gauge how much the Blue Devils learned about themselves tonight, given SIUE barely cracks the top 300 at KenPom, but it was a tune-up performance nonetheless before No. 3 Illinois comes to town on Tuesday.

After Tuesday night's Champions Classic defeat to Michigan State, it wasn't necessarily the most inspiring performance from Duke. Let's break down what stood out in the one-sided victory.

Nov 13, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) drives to the basket as SIU-Edwardsville Cougars guard Dehrio McCaskill (11) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defense: A

Again, it's hard to tell just how much better Duke got on Friday night, but the only reasonable grade here seems to be an "A." The Blue Devils held the Cougars to 30% shooting from the field and 3-of-22 (14%) shooting from three-point range. Duke also turned 19 SIUE turnovers into 20 points and outrebounded the Cougars 51-33.

The Blue Devils were thoroughly outplayed defensively by the Spartans, but Duke is still one of the elite defensive ball clubs in college basketball.

The Glass: A

Nov 13, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (30) during the second half against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The offensive glass has been a big strength for Duke so far this season. It currently ranks 16th nationally at KenPom in offensive rebounding percentage and grabbed 18 offensive boards on Friday against SIU Edwardsville, which turned into 16 second-chance points.

When Duke struggled to find clean looks offensively against Michigan State, the offensive glass and free-throw line kept it in the game. That will be a big key for the Blue Devils going forward. They also went 21-of-29 (72%) from the stripe against SIU Edwardsville.

Three-Point Shooting: C

The perimeter is an interesting case for the Blue Devils right now. In the preseason, Duke showed flashes of being a vastly improved outside shooting team from a season ago, but it hasn't totally clicked yet this year. Jon Scheyer's club went 9-of-29 (31%) from the perimeter and currently ranks 230th nationally in team three-point shooting percentage (30.4) at KenPom.

Duke has the personnel to be a really good three-point shooting team, and it shouldn't turn into a weakness this season.

Turnovers: B+

Turnovers have been this team's biggest Achilles' heel so far in 2026-27, totaling 41 through its first three games. Duke surrendered just nine turnovers against the Cougars, a season low.

This wasn't a perfect performance from Duke on the offensive end at all, but it took better care of the basketball for the most part.

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