Preview: KU takes on freshman-led Duke in Las Vegas - Pizzeriasanciriaco

Preview: KU takes on freshman-led Duke in Las Vegas

November 27, 2024 | Taylor Reeves

Nick Krug

Kansas head coach Bill Self calls a play for the second half on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, at Allen Fieldhouse.

After a short break that included two home games against middling opponents, both of which the Jayhawks handled fairly well – “get-better games,” as point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. called them – Kansas’ schedule is about as difficult to ramp up again .

KU will travel to Las Vegas for the Vegas Showdown event against No. 11 Duke on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Central Time. It’s another battle of powerhouses amid a nonconference schedule for KU that has already included North Carolina and Michigan State and still includes matchups at Creighton, Missouri and against NC State.

The hustle and bustle doesn’t stop for the Jayhawks, even though they just experienced one of their only week-long breaks of the entire season. Six full days between games is KU’s second-longest break all year, just behind the eight days the Jayhawks have for their holiday break between Brown (December 22) and West Virginia (December 31). The Big 12’s 20-game league schedule does not include any breaks this year.

Duke has had a little less rest after earning an impressive ranked win on the road against another Big 12 opponent, Arizona, 69-55, on Friday.

Under Jon Scheyer, the new-look Duke took a step forward in the 2023-24 season when it surpassed Scheyer’s first NCAA Tournament finish by two rounds, upsetting No. 1 seed Houston in the Sweet 16 and reaching the Elite Eight. This will be KU coach Bill Self’s first game against Scheyer since Scheyer replaced Mike Krzyzewski, as Self was suspended when the Jayhawks beat Duke 69-64 two seasons ago.

“He’s done a great job,” Self said Friday. “And let’s just call it what it is: Duke was really, really good for a long time, in large part because of Coach (K), but also because of the culture they built over time by having other great ones Recruited players and…what Jon has done in a short period of time is very impressive.”

From last year’s team, Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain went to the NBA, and Mark Mitchell and Jeremy Roach moved along with five other players. As the Blue Devils instead look to return to the heights of the Krzyzewski era, this year’s team depends on several fearsome newcomers, led by preseason 6-foot-1 All-American winger Cooper Flagg, who is widely considered a generational prospect . Self equated him with other previous talents like Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Michael Beasley.

“He would cause problems for anyone who played him,” Self said. “He’s great. We recruited him, I guess we made it to the final three. Talent, athleticism, skill, but there is another element that sets him apart and that is that he is so competitive and tough.”

Flagg scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Kentucky in the Champions Classic, Duke’s first high-major appearance of the year, but he showed his youth (he transferred from the Class of 2025) with two turnovers in the final 12 seconds Wildcats claim a 77-72 victory. He later scored 24 against Arizona.

Duke’s young roster also includes freshmen Kon Knueppel, a double-digit scorer himself with 14.4 points per game, and Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2 center, as well as returning guards Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor.

AP Photo/Darryl Webb

Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Tucson, Arizona.

AP Photo/Darryl Webb

Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Tucson, Arizona.

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Duke center Khaman Maluach (9) reacts after a Blue Devils basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Atlanta.

“Everyone will talk about one, but the other two are potential lottery picks, if not lottery picks,” Self said of the rookies. “They have a really good squad. And then when you add Proctor and Foster into the mix, it’s pretty good. That’s as good a talent as you’ll see in the starting lineup all year.”

While KU’s rotation relies heavily on fourth- and fifth-year players, Proctor, a junior, is the Blue Devils’ most experienced player – at least in the starting lineup. He and Knueppel each shoot over 40% from deep. They also have transfers like Maliq Brown (Syracuse), Mason Gillis (Purdue) and Sion James (Tulane) coming off the bench.

“We’ve definitely gotten better with our ball-screen defense,” KU guard Rylan Griffen said. “That’s something we need to continue to improve at Duke because they’re so good, so big and athletic and everything.”

Duke has fielded a top-notch defense despite a lack of continuity from previous seasons, holding teams to 57.4 points per game; The Blue Devils also outscore their opponents an average of 11 times per game, with that number boosted by their dominant performances against Maine, Army and Wofford.

It will be a tough matchup for KU, possibly the toughest of the many preseason tests. As the Jayhawks look to forge their identity early in the year, newcomer Griffen notices one particular area that could also help them greatly against Duke.

“I feel like we look better in transition now because we can just push the ball forward and get easy layups, easy lobs and easy threes,” he said. “It’s also easier to compete against an exposed defense. I feel like we’re at our best then and we can play even better in transition.”

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (5-0) vs. No. 11 Duke Blue Devils (4-1)

• T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, 8 p.m. Central Time

• Transmitted: ESPN

• radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KMXN FM 92.9)

Keep an eye out

Everything inside: For the first time in years, KU will have a sparse Thanksgiving week after playing three games in four days in 2021-22 and three games in three days each of the last two seasons as part of various multi-team events. Self said tournaments like the Battle 4 Atlantis or the Maui Invitational “actually give you a chance to be a team,” and called Thursday night’s double-overtime duel between Baylor and St. John’s in the Bahamas one that “Give in” could give you momentum for next month.” The Jayhawks could get some momentum if the Duke game goes their way, but they don’t play again until Saturday. That means both KU and Duke will worry less about MTE-style personnel management: “This will be a game where I’m sure both teams will play to win, regardless of the bench situation and such,” Self said.

Post presence: Self said he realized KU needs to play two big basketball games with Flory Bidunga and Hunter Dickinson five to seven minutes per game as he wants to get Bidunga to 20 minutes. Since Duke can threaten from within with Flagg and Maluach, it could be beneficial for Self to utilize this group of personnel even more, especially when paired with some of the Jayhawks’ top shooters. (Granted, KJ Adams could also be very valuable in this matchup.) Self has said he expects Bidunga to be at 100% for Tuesday’s game after starting the UNCW game with a slight in the first half Ankle problem left.

Turn it up: Dajuan Harris Jr. played an exceptional game against UNCW, scoring 17 points and six assists while holding the Seahawks’ Donovan Newby to seven points and 2-for-9 shooting. After the game, he himself suggested that Harris had found a different gear defensively, in contrast to his performance in the 2023/24 season. Tuesday will be his next chance to continue his strong form against the Blue Devils’ dynamic guards.

Observation out of balance

Self said he had never been to Cameron Indoor Stadium but drove past it once when he was in town trying to recruit a potential transfer. He added that he would “love to go home with Duke,” like KU is currently doing with North Carolina (the Jayhawks play in Chapel Hill next year), while working on scheduling logistics for the potential Champions Classic.