After leading 46-37 at halftime over the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats (3-0, 0-0 SEC) in the Champions Classic at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Tuesday night, Jon Scheyer’s third-ranked Duke basketball team scored just 26 points. after the break. As for Mark Pope’s Wildcats, they scored 40 in the final 20 minutes, resulting in their 77-72 victory over the No. 6 Blue Devils (2-1, 0-0 ACC).

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Kentucky looks energized late in the game. Duke looked gassed.

Along the way, the Blue Devils relied on the ability of freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg time and again, as the 17-year-old phenom finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks, but committed a turnover on each of Duke’s final two possessions . Meanwhile, his teammates combined to score just 12 points in the second half – zero after 6:30.

Despite the weaknesses exposed against Kentucky after the Blue Devils steamrolled four opponents between exhibition action and their 2-0 start to the regular season, the 37-year-old Scheyer explained in his opening statement to the media why he was never more encouraged by his 2024-2025 Duke basketball team:

“Well, look, this is a big college basketball game. Incredibly proud of our team. I thought we came out, played a great first half and really competed at a high level.

“And you know, give Kentucky credit for the plays that they made. You know, I think they showed incredible maturity. And their experience showed up in that second half. No doubt about it.”

“For us it’s disappointing because you win for 27 minutes and our guys competed. And they played hard. (Cooper Flagg) at 17 years old, what he does and how he competes and how he shows up I couldn’t be more proud being with him, I couldn’t be more proud of him – coaching this guy, man.

“We still have a long season to go. I feel more optimistic tonight if I lose than I did even before, because in this game you discover the character of your team, the heart that they have, and this team has a lot of heart. .

“You know, we miss Khaman (Maluach). You know, we were at – I think it was nine – when Khaman started having cramps in the second half. And that’s a big loss for us.

“Sion (James) too. You know, that was a huge sequence for us: Sion got hurt and they hit a three. You know, it was a double whammy.

“And you know, they came, they kept coming at us, shooting, and we had an answer. We just kept answering. And it came down to one more play at the end. And give them credit, put your hat on them up.

“And for us, we’re going to grow and learn from this. I promise you that. But we have a locker room full of guys (who) are disappointed – heartbroken.

‘I’m with them. And we will get better.”

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