Jon Scheyer says Duke's foul trouble 'wasn't ideal'

Duke fell to Tennessee 65-52 in the Round of 32 and head coach Jon Scheyer couldn’t help but notice the foul trouble affected the game. The Blue Devils couldn’t play exactly how they wanted, but trailed at halftime and never recovered.

Ultimately, it led to five players playing over 30 minutes in the game while Jacob Grandison played just 17 during the contest.

Scheyer was asked how much the early foul trouble ultimately affected the game against Tennessee.

“Well, it wasn’t ideal,” Scheyer said. “That’s part of how it goes. They did a great job of attacking the basket. I thought we probably settled a little too much in the first half. But look, if Jeremy getting fouls, Flip, any of these guys next to me, that’s a big deal. We still played those guys, and they did a good job playing through it.

“But you end up managing the game as opposed to being really aggressive and instinctive, which is what we’ve done a great job of doing.”

Tyrese Proctor led the way with 16 points, two rebounds and six assists. Jeremy Roach and Kyle Filipowski had 13 points each.

Duke got hot at end of the season and many were surprised at the team’s No. 5 seed. In the end, it was a 1-1 stint in March Madness.

“Well, one, congratulations to Tennessee,” Scheyer said. “They played an outstanding game. They’re incredibly well-coached. They’re tough. They’ve been through it before. They made some big-time plays. I’m incredibly proud of our team. We’ve had really a great season, and it’s hard to reflect on all of that right now in the moment.”

Scheyer opened up how he felt about his first team as Duke head coach.

“I’m hurting for these guys,” Scheyer said. “They’ve given us everything you could ask for. They’ve fought through adversity. They’ve stuck together when things weren’t looking as good and came into this game one of the hottest teams in the country, and we felt like we were supposed to win this game, as did they. Really felt like a Sweet 16, Elite Eight game type of game. 

“They’re really good, and credit them, they shoot almost 50 from three, and Nkamhoua has one of his best games, maybe his best game ever, and you’ve got to tip your hat to him. But really proud of our team and what we’ve done. It hurts. It stings. It’s going to be that way for a while. But really proud of our guys and these guys next to me right here.”

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