RALEIGH, N.C. — Chants of “Let’s go, Duke!” filled the Lenovo Center as the top-seeded Blue Devils were putting the finishing touches on a dominant 89-66 victory over No. 9 Baylor. Fans who made the short 30-minute drive from Durham to Raleigh were treated to yet another spectacular show from their team.
“The preparation for this game started with great respect for [Baylor coach] Scott Drew, his program, how good of a coach he is, his coaching staff and their players,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said afterward. “They have really good talent. So for us to win by this margin, I think speaks to the level of killer instinct that our guys have, the competitiveness and the connectivity.”
It certainly helps that 6-foot-6 junior guard Tyrese Proctor can’t seem to miss right now. After hitting six three-pointers in Duke’s 93-49 rout of No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, Proctor nailed seven more shots from behind the arc against Baylor. He is the first Duke player to sink five or more threes in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games since… Jon Scheyer in 2010. “I think it’s just my preparation, just behind the scenes putting in the work and trusting myself,” Proctor said. “When I’m on the court, just playing free and just having fun out there, just trying to cherish every moment I get with these guys.”
In his postgame press conference, Scott Drew jokingly referred to Proctor as “Steph Curry.”
The Blue Devils put on the type of stellar performance their passionate fan base has come to expect. When they crank up the intensity on defense and get rolling, they look unbeatable. Trailing by one with just under eight minutes left in the first half and star Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward, dealing with foul trouble, Duke went on a 24-6 run to take a commanding 47-30 advantage into the break. Given the team’s recent history of squandering big leads — it nearly lost to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament after being up 45-24 at halftime — the message was to keep the foot on the gas. “Whenever we come to the locker room and we have a huge lead, we still talk about the Carolina game and how they came back,” 7-foot-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach said. “So when we go back for the second half, in our minds it’s 0-0.”
Duke never looked back, cruising to the 23-point victory to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. Flagg continued to appear unaffected by the ankle sprain he suffered during the ACC Tournament, registering 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Freshman Kon Knueppel, a 6-foot-7 wing, pitched in 12 points. As a team, the Blue Devils shot a scorching 64.4 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three, while holding the Bears to 36.8 percent and 32.0 percent, respectively. “When we stick to our defense, stick to our habits, we’re a really hard team to score on,” Proctor said. “Once we started getting loose balls and rebounds, we could push in transition and play our offense.”
VJ Edgecombe, a 6-foot-4 freshman guard and projected top-five pick in the 2025 NBA draft, led Baylor with 16 points and 6 rebounds. “Duke is a well-executed team, well-coached team,” Edgecombe said. “They play hard. They made shots. We had a ton of mistakes, and they separated. Basketball is a game of runs, and they went on a run.”
Inside the Reset That Took Cooper Flagg to Another Level
Exclusive: Hoops HQ talks to the Duke star as he solidifies his status as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft — and readies for a March run at an NCAA championship
“Humble Superstar” VJ Edgecombe Has Blossomed for Baylor This Season
He and the Bears will face No. 1 Duke on Sunday with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line
2025 NBA Mock Draft: Cooper Flagg Highlights a Class of Fantastic Freshmen
Now that the NCAA Tournament is over, we take a new look at the NBA Draft, set for June 25
The Blue Devils’ “killer instinct,” as Scheyer put it, is why they are the favorite to cut down the nets in San Antonio and why there was little panic in the crowd when they fell down early on Sunday. This team has another gear it can reach that not many others — if any — can match. Of Duke’s 33 wins this season, 21 have come by at least 20 points. The program has the highest net rating on KenPom (+39.04) since the 1998-99 Blue Devils.
Of course, it was hard to imagine a juggernaut like Duke falling in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but after its showing this weekend, a run to the Final Four seems even more likely. The Blue Devils will face either No. 4 Arizona or No. 5 Oregon on Thursday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. “I’m really proud of this win. Sweet 16 sounds great,” Scheyer said. “We know it’s a quick turnaround, but we’re going to enjoy this one tonight and get back to it.”
