Here’s the stat Duke basketball has to change to win national championship
DURHAM – Each of Duke basketball’s five national championship teams shared a common trait on their road to banner-raising seasons.
The Blue Devils didn’t have a losing record on the road in any of those years. In four of those five seasons, Duke won a nonconference road game against a Power Five opponent.
The 2009-10 team, led by senior Jon Scheyer, was the only national title squad that didn’t have a winning record (5-5) on the road or win a nonconference road game.
In Scheyer’s debut season as Duke’s head coach, the Blue Devils’ road record (4-6) was one of the few red marks on an otherwise impressive first-year resume that included 27 victories, a perfect home record and an ACC Tournament championship.
No. 7 Duke will try to right that wrong this season, starting with a trip to Arkansas on Wednesday (9:15 p.m., ESPN) for the first ACC/SEC Challenge. It’ll be the Blue Devils’ first experience at Bud Walton Arena and the program’s first road game against an SEC team since winning at LSU in 1992.
“It’s hard, bottom line. It’s hard trying to win — trying to beat good teams on the road,” Scheyer said Monday.
“Whether it’s in the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, it’s a small margin of error. For us, we talk a lot about the details and winning the details. It can be a block out and that’s the difference in winning and losing. It can be valuing the ball one more time, and that can be the difference between winning and losing.”
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Duke returns four of its five starters from last season, three of them being sophomores. The Blue Devils also have a quartet of freshmen, three of whom are averaging double-digit minutes.
“For me, you really have to focus on what the team needs to do and nothing else,” Scheyer said of playing on the road.
“Really, the rest of it doesn’t matter. The music that they’re playing, the chants they’re doing, all that stuff doesn’t matter. What matters is our focus, our attention … I do feel we have a group that isn’t fazed by any of that stuff.”
Scheyer added that he has “complete confidence” in the ability of his players to handle those tough environments.
“The only thing I would be regretful of: If they weren’t aggressive. You can’t go into an environment and second guess yourself. You can’t go in unsure,” Scheyer said.
“I want them going in confident and aggressive. No matter what, it’s November. We’re gonna learn from this. To have this opportunity is way better than not having it. We’re going in to win. We’re going in to play Duke basketball. Knowing those guys, they’ll be ready to go.”
Jeremy Roach: Duke basketball has to ‘punch’ Arkansas ‘in the mouth early’
The last time Duke went on the road in nonconference play, the Blue Devils lost at Ohio State in 2021 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. That was Jeremy Roach’s first experience in a raucous road game.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Roach didn’t get to see packed arenas as a freshman. He expects “it will be crazy” at Arkansas, but he wants the Blue Devils to have tunnel vision.
“Definitely gonna take my experiences from that (Ohio State) game and share it with the young guys. Shoot, we had a (13-point) lead going into halftime and, all of a sudden, it went (wrong),” Roach said.
“I’ll definitely share my experiences with them. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen on Wednesday. We’ll be ready.”
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When asked about Duke’s ability to set the tone at the start, Roach said it’s a “big-time” factor.
“In the first four minutes, you don’t want to give them any confidence, ‘cause once that crowd gets rolling, there ain’t no telling what can happen,” he said.
“. … We just gotta punch them in the mouth early and not give them any confidence.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: The stat Duke basketball has to improve to win national championship
