THE ATMOSPHERE INSIDE CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM ON TUESDAY NIGHT WAS ELECTRIC, THE KIND OF ENERGY THAT MAKES A TEAM NOT JUST PLAY HARDER, BUT BELIEVE DEEPER. THIS YEAR’S DUKE BLUE DEVILS, NOW CHARGING THROUGH THEIR SCHEDULE WITH A PURPOSE THAT FEELS DESTINED, HAVE DISCOVERED SOMETHING MOST TEAMS NEVER MASTER: THE ART OF LEARNING WHILE WINNING.
EVEN FOR A PROGRAM FAMOUS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP EXPECTATIONS, THE BLUE DEVILS DID NOT ARRIVE HERE WITHOUT BEING MOLDED BY FIRE. LAST SEASON THEY ABSORBED PAINFUL LESSONS IN CLOSE LOSSES TO KENTUCKY AND KANSAS, GAMES WHERE POSSESSION IN THE FINAL SECONDS SLIPPED AWAY AND TURNED INTO MISSED OPPORTUNITIES. THOSE HEARTBREAKS FORESHADOWED AN EVEN DEEPER CUT — A LATE MELTDOWN AGAINST HOUSTON IN THE FINAL FOUR THAT DENIED DUKE A SHOT AT A NATIONAL TITLE. AND AS FLORIDA CELEBRATED ITS CHAMPIONSHIP LAST APRIL, DUKE LEFT WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT EXECUTION, TOUGHNESS, AND CLOSING.
BUT THOSE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED THIS SEASON WITH A RESOUNDING, GROWLING, HEART-POUNDING “YES.”
ON THIS NIGHT, AGAINST THE REIGNING NATIONAL CHAMPION FLORIDA GATORS, DUKE FACED THE SAME MOMENT THAT HAD HAUNTED THEM BEFORE. A DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD HAD VANISHED. FLORIDA HAD TAKEN ITS FIRST LEAD IN FOREVER WITH JUST 35 SECONDS REMAINING. THE AIR GREW TENSE. EVERY BLUE DEVIL FAN HELD THEIR BREATH. IT WAS THE KIND OF MOMENT WHERE TEAMS EITHER COLLAPSE OR CLAIM THEIR IDENTITY.
THIS TIME, DUKE CLAIMED IT.
ISAIAH EVANS — WHO HAD MISSED HIS FIRST SEVEN THREES — STEPPED INTO THE BIGGEST SHOT OF THE GAME AND DRAINED A 3-POINTER WITH 19.7 SECONDS REMAINING. THE CROWD EXPLODED. THE BENCH ERUPTED. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, DUKE SHOWED THE GROWTH JON SCHEYER HAD BEEN WAITING FOR.
THEN CAME THE STOP. CALEB FOSTER AND CAM BOOZER, LOCKED IN TOGETHER, CUT OFF BOOGIE FLAND’S PATH TO THE BASKET. WITH DEFENSIVE COMMUNICATION AS SHARP AS ANY DUKE TEAM IN RECENT MEMORY, THEY FORCED FLAND TO LOSE HIS HANDLE. THE BALL TRICKLED AWAY. FOSTER SCOOPED IT UP. GAME OVER. DUKE 67, FLORIDA 66.
AND JUST LIKE THAT, A TEAM THAT ONCE STRUGGLED IN THE FINAL MINUTE HAS BECOME A TEAM THAT OWNS IT.
JON SCHEYER SAID IT BEST: “I THINK IT SHOWS THERE’S A MENTAL TOUGHNESS TO THIS GROUP… A LOT ABOUT THE CHARACTER, A LOT ABOUT THE TOUGHNESS.”
AND IT SHOWS IN THE RECORD. DUKE IS 9-0 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2017-18. NO NOVEMBER LOSSES. NO EARLY STUMBLES. JUST BIG-TIME WINS STACKED ONE AFTER THE OTHER — A 78-66 VICTORY OVER NO. 21 KANSAS IN NEW YORK, AN 80-71 WIN OVER NO. 24 ARKANSAS IN CHICAGO, AND NOW A WIN OVER NO. 15 FLORIDA.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A TEAM LEARNS TO BE HUNGRY IN VICTORY, NOT JUST HUMBLE IN DEFEAT.
SCHEYER BUILT A SCHEDULE DESIGNED TO TEST HIS TEAM EARLY, BUT EVEN HE DIDN’T EXPECT THEM TO GATHER THIS MANY NCAA-TOURNAMENT-LEVEL WINS BEFORE CHRISTMAS. STILL, HE KEEPS HIS MESSAGE SIMPLE: WINNING CAN MAKE YOU SOFT — IF YOU LET IT. AND THIS TEAM IS DETERMINED TO RUN THE OTHER WAY, USING EVERY SUCCESS AS FUEL RATHER THAN A CUSHION.
AND NOW, A NEW CHALLENGE LOOMS. NO. 7 MICHIGAN STATE. TOM IZZO. EAST LANSING. A TOP-10 CLASH THAT WILL DEMAND EVERY OUNCE OF THE TOUGHNESS DUKE HAS BEEN BUILDING. BUT AFTER THIS FLORIDA GAME, THERE IS NO DOUBT THEY ARE READY.
BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE FINAL SECONDS TOLD THE FULL STORY OF THIS TEAM’S GROWTH. WHEN FLORIDA SCORED TO TAKE THE LEAD, DUKE DID NOT PANIC. THEY RAN THEIR OFFENSE. THEY TRUSTED THEIR READ-AND-REACT SYSTEM. CAM BOOZER, WHO HAD DOMINATED ALL NIGHT WITH 29 POINTS, DREW TWO DEFENDERS AS HE DROVE. MOST PLAYERS WOULD HAVE FORCED A TOUGH, HEROIC ATTEMPT. BUT BOOZER MADE THE WINNING DECISION, KICKING THE BALL TO THE WIDE-OPEN EVANS.
EVANS NAILED THE SHOT — JUST AS FOSTER HAD PREDICTED EARLIER, TELLING HIM TO KEEP SHOOTING BECAUSE A BIG ONE WAS COMING.
THAT IS WHAT CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS DO. THEY MAKE THE EXTRA PASS. THEY BELIEVE IN THE GUY NEXT TO THEM. THEY TALK. THEY TRUST. THEY FINISH.
DUKE DID ALL OF THAT IN THE FINAL 20 SECONDS, AND THEY DID IT AGAINST THE DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. IF THAT DOESN’T SHOW WHO THEY ARE BECOMING, NOTHING WILL.
AS SCHEYER SAID: “YOU GOT TO WIN THAT WAY SOMETIMES… AND I THOUGHT OUR GUYS MADE BIG-TIME WINNING PLAYS.”
AND NOW, THIS DUKE TEAM — TOUGHER, SHARPER, MORE CONNECTED THAN EVER — MARCHES ON, STILL UNBEATEN, STILL IMPROVING, STILL PROVING THAT THE MOST DANGEROUS TEAM IN MARCH IS THE ONE THAT LEARNS HOW TO WIN IN DECEMBER.
