Duke's Jon Scheyer Era Begins with a Loss to Army
The Blue Devils fell to the Black Knights 71-61 in Scheyer's head coaching debut.
No. 10 Duke men's basketball team dropped its season opener to Army 71-61 on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Jon Scheyer's head coaching debut.
The Blue Devils were led by freshman Dariq Whitehead, who scored 21 points. Jeremy Roach added 15 points, while Kyle Filipowski had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Army was led by Chris Mann, who scored 25 points. Jalen Rucker added 14 points, while Ethan Harrington had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Black Knights took a 10-point lead in the first half and never looked back. Duke cut the lead to five points with just over five minutes remaining, but Army hit a three-pointer to push the lead back to eight.
The loss is a disappointing start to the season for Duke, which was ranked No. 10 in the preseason AP Poll. The Blue Devils will look to bounce back on Friday when they host Jacksonville.
Scheyer's debut was a tough one, but he remains optimistic about the future of the Duke program.
"We're going to learn from this," Scheyer said. "We're going to get better. We're going to be a good team."
Scheyer, who replaced Mike Krzyzewski after 42 seasons, is one of the most successful players in Duke history. He was a two-time national champion and a two-time ACC Player of the Year.
Scheyer has a lot of talent to work with at Duke. The Blue Devils have four McDonald's All-Americans on their roster, including Whitehead, Filipowski, and Dereck Lively II.
Duke is also scheduled to play Kansas, Gonzaga, and Kentucky this season. The Blue Devils will be tested early and often, but Scheyer is confident that his team can compete with anyone in the country.
Here are some additional takeaways from Duke's loss to Army:
- The Blue Devils shot just 38.5% from the field, including 25% from three-point range.
- Duke was outrebounded by Army 40-33.
- The Black Knights hit 10 three-pointers, while Duke hit just five.
- Duke had 12 turnovers, while Army had just six.
