Jon Scheyer raves about Duke's defense in win over Oral Roberts

For the first time ever, Jon Scheyer has won an NCAA Tournament game as the head coach of Duke. While many were putting the Blue Devils on upset watch against Oral Roberts, Scheyer made sure his team was ready to go and took care of business. A resounding win for Duke and a lot of the praise will be sent to their defense.

Oral Roberts entered the day as the third-highest-scoring team in the country, putting up over 80 points per night. Duke initially held the Golden Eagles without a point for nearly eight minutes. When the final buzzer sounded in the second half, only 51 was on the board. An incredible performance by the boys from Durham.

“Every time I talk to you, I’m going to talk to you about the defense,” Scheyer said. “It was a consistent theme for us throughout the game, they way we collectively played it. I thought the keys moments — they made a run and our responses through the game. In the tournament, that’s what it’s all about.”

Only 30% of shots from the field dropped for Oral Roberts. The three-point percentage was even lower, hitting just eight of 32 from beyond the arc. Duke was able to contest shots and make life difficult for the upset-hungry 12-seed.

Max Abmas has been the key guy for Oral Roberts, dating back to their NCAA Tournament run back in the day. Scheyer was thrilled with how well a group of Duke players defended the star throughout. Abmas finished with 12 points on 4-15 shooting.

“Well, it helps when you have Tyrese Proctor,” Scheyer said. “It starts there. It helps when you have Dereck Lively. Tyrese gets two fouls, you switch Mark Mitchell onto him. Just the awareness. Our guys, they watch film on their own. The buy-in that they have to defend other teams. They take great ownership.”

Nobody else for Oral Roberts finished in double figures. Things just did not click for them and will now be heading home early.

Defense can take you a long way in March, especially if you have the offensive capability to perform well. Duke is going to have a second-round matchup against either Tennessee or Louisiana on Saturday — neither of which should be taken lightly.

If Scheyer can get a similar performance, the Blue Devils are going to be heading to the Sweet Sixteen in Year One.