Basketball Preview: MSU Vs. Duke

It is going to be a clash of the titans on Saturday at the Breslin Center when a pair of top ten blue blood teams square off with their perfect records on the line. The game is at Noon ET and will be televised on FOX. It is easy to say that Duke Basketball has been Michigan State’s biggest roadblock throughout the Izzo years. In our coach’s career, MSU has gone 3-14 against the Blue Devils, and that includes losing to them four times in the NCAA Tournament. Even though Duke is no longer coached by Mike Krzyzewski (I would not be surprised to see him in the audience on Saturday), their new coach, Jon Scheyer, has picked up where his predecessor left off when he got the win in the 2023 Champions Classic.

But as is the case in college basketball, each year is a new team. We already know about the new look of this year’s Spartans. Now let’s get into the Blue Devils 2025-26 squad. Unless you have been living under a rock, then you know the star of the show is Cameron Boozer. Nine games into his collegiate career, the Blue Devil legacy is averaging 23.6 points per game, tied for 2nd in the country. Amazingly, Cameron (his father definitely named him after Duke’s home stadium, right?) also leads Duke in rebounds (9.3), assists (3.7), and steals (1.7). He is shooting the ball at a 56.2% rate including 37.5% on his 3s. He will most likely be named player of the year when it is all said and done and go on to be the first pick in the next NBA Draft.

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What we need to determine is if Duke is a one-man show or if there are other names that could give MSU some issues. Outside of Boozer, three other players have had one game where they led the team in scoring. Patrick Ngongba and Isaiah Evans, who both are averaging 12.6 PPG, each did it once, as did Dame Sarr (6.7 PPG) when he put up 19 against Army. Duke matches MSU in depth. They are playing nine guys who are averaging at least 13 minutes a game, six of whom are over 20, and all 9 are averaging at least 5 points…

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Publish date : 2025-12-05 12:00:00

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