Duke Basketball is in dire need of a palate cleanser after suffering the worst loss of the John Schaer era this week.
The No. 16 Blue Devils (11-5, 2-2 ACC) were humbled in Raleigh on Wednesday night, failing to score in the first eight minutes and losing 84-60 to North Carolina State.
“This year has been a long one. Unfortunately, when I took this job, I knew there would be moments where people could doubt you or us as a team. “Sometimes the best way to learn is to experience it.”
It’s an experience Duke won’t soon forget, and a hopeful wake-up call that the ACC season is now in full swing.
Here’s what you need to know as the Blue Devils head to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College (8-7, 2-2) at 1pm on Saturday at the Conte Forum (ACC Network). Duke won his 75–59 victory in the team’s first meeting of the season on December 3 in Durham.
Dive deep for Duke:‘This Wound’: Duke hopes embarrassing loss to North Carolina will serve as valuable lesson
Losses at Raleigh:Duke’s Basketball Missed First 13 Shots, Suffering North Carolina’s Worst Loss in 50 Years
WOLFPACK POST-GAME SCHEYER:Here’s what Duke Basketball coach John Scheer said after their crushing loss to North Carolina State.
road trouble continues
Impossible as it may seem, Duke has only played two true road games this season. Both were unmitigated disasters.
The Blue Devils were flat and unmotivated when they lost 81-70 to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on December 20, and Wednesday’s performance against the Wolfpack speaks for itself.
Boston College hasn’t been one of the better ACC teams this season, but the Eagles are 6-2 at home, beating Virginia Tech (70-65) and Notre Dame (70-63). increase.
After the loss to North Carolina State, Shire took responsibility for Duke’s performance on public roads so far.
“The theme is they beat us and beat us,” Shire said of his two road losses.
Duke will play four of the next six games away.
Need more lively performance
Underwhelming is an understatement at this point for freshman Dereck Lively II.
The No. 1 prospect from the 2022 class didn’t matter this season, averaging just 16.7 minutes per game and scoring in double figures just once in 13 attempts.
Against North Carolina State, Lively scored one point from a free throw, attempted one shot, had three rebounds, blocks, steals and two turnovers in 12 minutes.
“Some games aren’t my games,” Lively said Wednesday. “I know my team can pick it up for me. .”
Stepping up in place of Lively is grad school transfer Ryan Young. The 6-foot-10 Young has scored his 13th straight field goal in the past three games, including against Florida State where he went 7-7 and against North Carolina where he went 4-4. 6.9 rebounds average.
Duke vs Boston College Score Prediction
Duke 70, Boston College 59: Learn about the character of this Duke team to Boston College. The Blue Devils are in dire need of a return to performance and their first true road win of the season. Things can start to get worse when things go south in Chestnut Hill.
