Jan 17, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer looks on against the Stanford Cardinal in the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

When Duke Basketball Established Its Identity This Season

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 11:00 AM ET

After allowing at least 73 points to its opponents in each of its past six outings, fourth-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer challenged his now-No. 5-ranked Blue Devils (17-1, 6-0 ACC) ahead of last week's California road swing. And the squad, which hasn't lost since falling to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Dec. 20, responded by delivering impressive defensive-minded performances in their 71-56 victory over the Cal Golden Bears and 80-50 blowout of the Stanford Cardinal.

"I mean, I think we took a step," freshman wing Dame Sarr noted during his appearance on ACC PM this week. "We were talking to Coach Scheyer before the trip, and he told us that he thought we would get to know which type of team we are. So, I think we established who we want to be. And we have to keep rolling with that."

Dame jumped on ACC PM today @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/Te5aM9VPdj
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 22, 2026

For the season, Duke basketball is giving up 65.1 points per game to its opponents, now stacking up at No. 17 out of 365 Division I teams in that metric.

Duke Basketball Looks to Build on Its Winning Efforts

The 50 points that Stanford scored marked the lowest total by any high-major foe on the Blue Devils' schedule thus far.

"It's probably the most collective performance we've had on both ends of the ball," Scheyer said during his postgame press conference in Maples Pavilion. "A ton of respect for Stanford, ton of respect for the teams they've beaten, especially here. We knew that it's hard to come out here on the West Coast and get two wins. I think it's only been done once before last year. And so, for us, we viewed it as a challenge.

"I'm really proud of our guys for their maturity, their preparation, and then being able to not just get the win but also grow and get better."

Duke basketball, now sitting alone atop the ACC standings as the only unbeaten unit in conference play, is gearing up to host the unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-8, 2-4 ACC) in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 5:45 p.m. ET Saturday (The CW Network). Then, the Blue Devils will have a short turnaround before welcoming the No. 23 Louisville Cardinals (13-5, 3-3 ACC) to Durham for a showdown at 7 p.m. ET Monday (ESPN).

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