Duke Will Need To Contain Scorching Cal Guard

The Duke basketball program (15-1, 4-0 ACC) looks to improve to 5-0 in league play as it will take on California (13-4, 1-3 ACC) on Wednesday at Haas Pavilion. This is the first contest of a two-game road trip out west for the Blue Devils, as they will visit Stanford (13-4, 2-2 ACC) following their bout with the Golden Bears on Jan. 17.

Duke moved through its first 12 games of the season looking like potentially the best defensive unit in college basketball, but that hasn't been the case as of late. Duke has allowed four of its last five opponents to shoot 50% from the field or better, while allowing three of them to shoot 47% or better from three-point range.

Jan 2, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears guard Dai Dai Ames (7) shoots over Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Braeden Shrewsberry (11) during the second half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Head coach Jon Scheyer tweaked the starting lineup ahead of the Blue Devils' most recent game, an 82-75 home victory over SMU (12-4, 1-2 ACC). Although Duke forced a season-high 21 turnovers for the Mustangs that led to 21 Blue Devil points, it still allowed SMU to shoot 57% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.

The ACC boasts a plethora of elite guards, and Duke has been able to dodge a few of them as of late. 5-star Louisville point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who contributes 16.6 points and 5.1 assists a night, was out for the Cardinals' home game against Duke on Jan. 6, and SMU leading scorer Boopie Miller, who entered last weekend leading the ACC in assists per game (7.1), while ranking fourth in the conference in scoring (20.6 points per game), was also out against the Blue Devils.

Dai Dai doing his thing 🤩

Dai Dai Ames delivered with 23 points on 9-16 shooting, and hit four threes in @CalMBBall's win over Notre Dame. @CalAthletics | #GoBears pic.twitter.com/XSKyeeRCRJ
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) January 3, 2026

However, Duke now has another opportunity to shut down an ACC foe's top scorer in California's Dai Dai Ames.

Dai Dai Ames Emerging as One of ACC’s Top Scoring Guards

In light of Dai Dai Ames returning to JPJ tomorrow night with Cal, a word of caution for UVA players…

Don’t bump into Ames in the pregame warmups ⬇️
pic.twitter.com/cSSZMoaR3H
— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) January 6, 2026

Ames is a junior who is now at his third school in as many years, which includes fellow ACC member Virginia, but the 6' 2" guard has absolutely broken onto the scene with the Golden Bears this season.

The Chicago native currently ranks eighth in the ACC in scoring average at 17.8 points per game, while ranking 11th in the conference in field goal percentage at 50% and knocking down perimeter shots at a 44.6% clip. Although, Ames has been on another level since conference play began.

In California's four league games, in which it has gone 1-3, Ames has averaged 18.3 points per game on 48% shooting from the floor and 38.9% shooting from three-point range, while attempting an average of 12.5 shots from the field and 4.5 three-pointers in that span.

The junior looks to score the majority of the time when the ball is in his hands, but simultaneously frees up teammates with the amount of attention he draws.

Duke has lacked as of late in terms of defensive intensity on the perimeter, and that could mean a monster game for Ames if the Blue Devils let that happen once again.

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