If you were sleeping through the late-night West Coast tip-off, you missed a defensive masterclass. No. 6 Duke beat California 71-56 last night at a packed Haas Pavilion. Honestly, the final score doesn't quite capture how much of a "slugfest" this game felt like for about 30 minutes.
It was Duke's first-ever trip to Berkeley as an ACC opponent. Weird, right? Seeing the Blue Devils in a California gym for a conference game still feels a bit like a glitch in the matrix, but the 11,201 fans in attendance didn't seem to mind. They were loud. Like, ear-splitting loud.
What was the score of the Duke game last night?
Duke walked away with a 15-point victory, moving to 16-1 overall and staying a perfect 5-0 in the ACC. Cal dropped to 13-5. While 71-56 looks comfortable on paper, Jon Scheyer’s squad had to grind for this one.
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The Blue Devils actually trailed for a significant chunk of the first half. Cal went on a 10-0 run late in the opening frame, taking a 25-19 lead and making the Berkeley crowd believe an upset was brewing. But Duke is Duke. They closed the half on a devastating 13-0 run to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same—a lot of "hand-checking" and physical play that the refs mostly let go. Cal managed to claw back and tie things up at 41-41, but they just couldn't sustain the offense. Duke's length eventually overwhelmed them.
Key Performers and Stats
- Cameron Boozer: The freshman superstar was quiet early but ended with 21 points and 13 rebounds. That’s his eighth double-double of the year.
- Isaiah Evans: "Slim" was arguably the spark Duke needed when things got stagnant, chipping in 17 points, including some huge threes during that first-half comeback.
- Nikolas Khamenia: Solid as a rock with 10 points and some clutch defensive plays.
- Lee Dort (Cal): He was the lone bright spot for the Bears, finishing with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
The Defensive Lockdown
Duke's defense was the real story. They held California to just 26 points in the second half. That is a season-low for any half for the Golden Bears. Cal shot a miserable 21.7% from beyond the arc. When you can't hit shots and you're getting out-rebounded 44-30, you aren't beating a top-10 team.
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Interestingly, Duke didn't even shoot well themselves. They were 7-for-32 from three (21.9%) and a shaky 8-for-17 from the free-throw line. Usually, those numbers are a recipe for an upset loss on the road. But they dominated the "toughness" categories: 42 points in the paint compared to Cal's 16, and 20 points off turnovers.
Why this win matters for the ACC standings
This wasn't just a random non-conference road trip. This was a statement that Duke can travel 3,000 miles and still play their brand of "suffocating" defense. Being 5-0 in the ACC puts them in the driver's seat, especially with North Carolina looming on the horizon in February.
The Blue Devils showed they don't need to be "hot" from the field to win. They can win ugly. In March, that matters more than flashy dunks or 100-point games.
Takeaways for Blue Devil Fans
If you’re tracking this team, keep an eye on the bench rotations. Jon Scheyer experimented with some "non-Cam" lineups (sitting Boozer) late in the first half, and surprisingly, that’s when the defense actually tightened up the most. It shows the depth of this roster. They aren't just a one-man show.
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Next Steps for Following the Season:
- Watch the Stanford Game: Duke stays out west to face Stanford this Saturday, January 17, at 6:00 PM ET. It'll be on the ACC Network.
- Monitor the AP Poll: Expect Duke to potentially move up from No. 6 if teams ahead of them stumble this week.
- Check the Injury Report: Keep an eye on the physical toll of these road games; several players were seen hitting the floor hard in the Berkeley scrum.
Duke is proving they are a title contender by winning these "grind-it-out" games. If they can fix the free-throw shooting, they might be unbeatable.