TUCSON, Ariz. — In order to play — and win — a grown man’s game, Duke first had to make its freshman mistakes. This is why, in many ways, the Blue Devils’ narrow loss to Kentucky in the Champions Classic is the gift that keeps on giving.
Against the nation’s fifth-oldest team, coach Jon Scheyer’s squad looked, well, young, especially late. Case in point: Duke only had four second-half possessions against Kentucky in which it completed three or more passes. It was iso ball at the most inopportune time, and ultimately, it cost Duke that game.
Advertisement But at No. 17 Arizona on Friday, in a sold-out, frothing-at-the-mouth McHale Center, Duke looked mature. Surprisingly so, for a team that starts three freshmen.
But when Scheyer built this squad in this fashion — about as against-the-grain a move as any coach can make in today’s era — it was with the hope that his team would grow up in real time, right before the nation’s eyes. Duke 69, Arizona 55. Hypothesis confirmed.
Let’s be clear: If Duke hadn’t lost in the fashion it did against Kentucky, there’s no telling if it would’ve been able to match Arizona ’s physicality Friday. A whopping one personal foul was called in the first seven minutes of the game — when Khaman Maluach shoved fellow 7-footer Motiejus Krivas in transition, completely out of the play — which set the tone for the rest of the game. And considering Arizona is another legitimate top-55 team in terms of experience, that’s.
