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Duke

Jon Scheyer calls Champions Classic loss a great learning experience for him, team

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•11/16/22•

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Duke head coach Jon Scheyer (Jared C. Tilton via Getty Images.)

Jon Scheyer experienced his first head coaching loss in one of the biggest environments the college basketball regular season offers – the Champions Classic.

No. 6 Kansas took down No. 7 Duke 69-64 in Game 2 of the Champions Classic double header. Michigan State stunned No. 4 Kentucky 86-77 in double overtime in the opening matchup – two games that are contenders for game of the year through the first two weeks of the season.

Scheyer spoke postgame about how invaluable the experience of getting to watch, and then play against some of the best competition in the country did for his team Tuesday night.

“There’s no question that’s the best form of learning,” Scheyer said about the loss. “Just being in these moments, there’s no way to simulate it. That doesn’t mean I’m happy or I’m enjoying this loss by any means. You have to hate it and learn from it, grow from it.

“But playing in the Champions Classic every year, of course you want to come away winning, but you probably learn more when you lose. Even if we won that game, we would’ve won not being at our best with the way we took care of the ball and some of the plays we can make and do a better job of. But absolutely playing in this makes you better as a team and as a program.”

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The loss might be the first, but it won’t be the last – but that’s what makes champions. The ability to triumph after tragedy is something Mike Krzyzewski embodied for over four decades at the helm of the Blue Devils’ program, and it will be important to see how Scheyer and his first Blue Devils team responds to the tough loss.

Coming up, Duke has Delaware and Bellarmine over the next week – two games that the Blue Devils will be heavily favored to win. They’ll turn their attention to the Phil Knight Legacy tournament where they’ll take on Oregon State and then either Florida or Xavier, depending on who wins or loses each game. After that, Duke’s schedule gets a bit tougher before heading into ACC play before the Holidays.