Jon Scheyer assesses Duke's first half against Syracuse

At one point, No. 6 Duke led Syracuse by one on Saturday. But the Blue Devils took a 36-22 lead into halftime — not leaving much for Jon Scheyer to be unhappy about.

The Duke associate head coach spoke with ESPN’s Holly Rowe heading into halftime to discuss his group’s performance on Saturday. He first talked about how Duke has done penetrating Syracuse’s zone defense, which helped create some separation.

“Just having poise,” Scheyer told Rowe. “They do a great job of making you stand up. We need to be stronger with the ball. AJ Griffin gave us a great lift at the beginning. Our defense has been really good.”

Despite the 14-point advantage, Paolo Banchero — the Blue Devils’ leading scorer — has just four points. But Scheyer said his star freshman has done more to offset that, but acknowledged he needs to get some shots to fall after halftime.

“He can play better, but [Syracuse] stands you up,” Scheyer said. “He’s done a good job of creating shots for others when he gets the ball in the middle, he needs to continue to do that. We need to get him going here in the second half.”

Trevor Keels injury status updated ahead of Duke’s game vs. Syracuse

Trevor Keels, one of the top players on Duke’s roster, is out for Saturday’s game against Syracuse.

The freshman averages 11.9 points per game for the Blue Devils and is also a top-notch defender. If Duke wants any chance of performing at their very best this season, they’re going to need him healthy.

The 6-foot-5, 221-pound guard suffered the injury in the second half against Florida State on Jan. 18.

“It’s not a knee, it’s a calf injury,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game. “But we don’t know the extent of it.”

Keels splashed onto the scene when he erupted for 25 points, three blocks, and two steals in Duke’s season-opener against the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 9.

Duke won the game 79-71. In what was his first game as a true freshman, Keels showed little or no fear in driving the ball in the lane right at UK big man Oscar Tshiebwe. The talented center is one of the nation’s leading candidates for National Player of the Year.

His NBA Draft stock continues to skyrocket after stuffing the stat sheet with absurd double-double numbers on a routine basis. He’s averaging over 16 points and just over 14 rebounds per game.