Season by the Numbers
Duke Basketball '23-'24
2023-2024
Duke Blue Devils
27-9 overall (15-5 ACC)
Final AP Poll #9
NCAA South Region 4-seed
The guys will get together one last time tonight for the team banquet in Cameron. It was such a fun group to pull for - this team showed resilience all year, and should be proud of their season. The #9 ranking in the final AP poll marks the 40th time Duke finished the season in the top ten. Here are some other numbers to recap the year:
24 - appearances in the Elite Eight for Duke, tied for the third most all-time.1 The Blue Devils are now 17-7 when playing for a trip to the Final Four. Of course, I hoped Duke would continue to advance, but I’ll never take the Elite Eight for granted.
1,469 - career points for Jeremy Roach. Two games into the season, the senior captain became the 68th Duke player to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. Roach’s four-year total currently puts him at #32 on Duke’s all-time scoring list, 14 points ahead of Associate Head Coach Chris Carrawell.2 Roach led Duke in three-point shooting (42.8%) and minutes played (1,143) - and certainly added to his list of clutch buckets. Teammate Kyle Filipowski also joined the 1,000 point club in late-February.
19 - point turnaround for Duke in the second half against Baylor. The Blue Devils trailed 54-48 with 11:19 remaining in Madison Square Garden. Duke used a 27-8 run over the next ten minutes, including this dime from Ryan Young, to lead 75-62 with 1:19 to go. Final Score: Duke 78 Baylor 70.
14 - consecutive points for Mark Mitchell to start the second half at Notre Dame. No one else scored for Duke after halftime until the 11:02 mark. It was the first career double-double for Mitchell, finishing with 23 points (19 in the second half) and 14 rebounds, in Duke’s 67-59 victory.
12 - lead changes in the Clemson game, along with 11 ties. I re-watched the final 12 minutes of this game a few days ago - those two teams traded big time plays down the stretch in Cameron. The Tigers held a four-point lead at the 2:15 mark, before Jared McCain (3 steals), Kyle Filipowski (3-point play), and Tyrese Proctor (2 clutch free throws) helped secure a 71-70 win for Duke.
2 - Duke games I attended in person this season. My buddy and I saw the Blue Devils put up 106 points against Queens in the last game of 2023, and my brother-in-law went with me to the Boston College game. I still get chills when I walk into that building.
47 - combined points for Jared McCain in the first halves against Florida State (25 pts) and James Madison (22 pts). McCain combined to make 13 of 16 three-pointers, while setting the Duke record for made threes in an NCAA Tournament game with eight against JMU. Jared finished a couple of made free throws shy of the 50/40/90 club - shooting 52.1% on twos, 41.4% on threes, and 88.5% from the free throw line.
9 - consecutive games missed by Caleb Foster to close the season. Foster was obviously a key member of Duke’s rotation, averaging 25.5 minutes per game (including 15 starts), while shooting 40.6% from three-point range on the season. Foster had a career-high 18 points in Duke’s 74-65 win over Michigan State, including back-to-back daggers from beyond the arc.
+26 - points in the paint advantage for Duke against Virginia, their second highest margin of the season (+32 vs. Dartmouth). Duke jumped ahead 40-18 at halftime, before securing the 73-48 win. The final margin was a stark contrast from the previous five Duke/UVA games in Cameron, which were decided by a total of seven points.3
116.6 - points per 100 possessions in ACC games for Duke, the best offensive efficiency in the conference. The Blue Devils also led the ACC in three-point shooting, knocking down 38.5% from beyond the arc in conference games.
2.95 - assist-to-turnover rate for Tyrese Proctor on the season, second best in the conference.4 In what would have been his freshman season prior to reclassifying and arriving in Durham a year early, Proctor led Duke with 118 assists in 32 games (though he played just 1:16 in Atlanta). The Blue Devils had two other guys hit the 100 assist mark - Jeremy Roach (114) and Kyle Filipowski (100) - and led the ACC with 551 assists (15.31 per game).
+9.6 - advantage in “line” points per game (3P+FT)5 for Duke on the year, up from +4.3 last season. The Blue Devils were +12.9 in wins, compared to -0.3 in losses.
52 - different players have now earned All-American recognition for Duke, with Kyle Filipowski joining the list this season. Filipowski was a consensus second team selection (the only consensus underclassman), while posting 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Flip improved his effective field goal percentage to 55.1%, up 7% from last year, while shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc and dishing out 44 more assists than a season ago.
3 - points Vermont scored in the final 7:13 against Duke in the Round of 64. The Blue Devils advanced 64-47. Duke’s defense was stout for all but a half during their NCAA run, allowing just 174 total points through the first seven halves of the tournament (24.9 points per half).
1.45 - points per possession for Duke in the Round of 32 versus James Madison, a season-high. The Blue Devils made 14 three-pointers, also a season-high, and posted a 3.67 assist-to-turnover ratio in the 93-55 win.
10 - wins for Duke versus a #1-seed, the most all-time, with a 54-51 victory over Houston in the Sweet Sixteen (seeding began in 1979). There are some classics on the list,6 including three re-watches.
54 - wins for Coach Scheyer in his first two years as Duke’s Head Coach. In the past two seasons, only nine schools have won at least 50 games and been to an Elite Eight.7 Duke is the only ACC team on the list, and Jon Scheyer is my (bleeping) guy.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Most Elite Eight Appearances: Kentucky (38), North Carolina (29), Duke & Kansas (24), UCLA (22); five schools tied (14)
Coach Carrawell is tied with Vince Taylor at 1,455 career points. Just ahead of Jeremy Roach? Carlos Boozer with 1,506 career points.
Duke 68 UVA 69 (2022); Duke 66 UVA 65 (2021); Duke 72 UVA 70 (2019); Duke 63 UVA 65 (2018); Duke 63 UVA 62 (2016)
ACC Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 3.03 - Reece Beekman (UVA); 2.95 - Tyrese Proctor (Duke); 2.55 - Michael O’Connell (NCSU); 2.37 - Jaland Lowe (Pitt); 2.35 - RJ Davis (UNC); 2.33 - Jeremy Roach (Duke)
Line Points = Points from 3PT line + Points from FT line
Duke 55 Kentucky 54 (1980 - Sweet 16); Duke 71 Kansas 67 (1986 - Final Four); Duke 63 Temple 53 (1988 - Elite 8); Duke 85 Georgetown 77 (1989 - Elite 8); Duke 79 Connecticut 78 OT (1990 - Elite 8); Duke 77 UNLV 75 (1991 - Final Four); Duke 69 Purdue 60 (1994 - Elite 8); Duke 68 Michigan State 62 (1999 - Final Four); Duke 68 Wisconsin 63 (2015 - National Championship)
Connecticut, Purdue, Alabama, Florida Atlantic, Texas, Tennessee, Gonzaga, and San Diego State are the other eight teams with 50+ wins and an Elite 8 in the past two seasons.
Sources