Jon Scheyer happy with progress on offense vs. Miami

The Duke Blue Devils were able to defend their home court on Saturday against the Miami Hurricanes. Duke knocked off the No. 17 ranked team in the country by a narrow margin, 68-66. After the game, Blue Devils head coach John Scheyer explained how his team was able to pick up the victory, highlighting the progress of their offense.

“Yeah, I was proud of our offense. I thought we came out really clicking and sharing the ball. We had 38 points at the half,” said Scheyer. “So, our offense was good; it was more our defense. Miami’s a team; you can have a high-scoring game against them. And in the second half, to hold them to 28 points, that’s a big deal. Like, that’s not an easy thing to do. So, I’m proud of the defense, but really our offense. The way we shared it, we didn’t really have turnovers just by being careless with the ball. It was more just learning how to play through contact and play through resistance. You know, sometimes on drives, they do a good job when you get downhill of attacking the ball, and we need to be stronger in those areas.”

Duke had a well-rounded attack on the offensive end, with four players finishing the game in double-digits scoring. Arguably the player of the game for the Blue Devils was freshman big man Kyle Filipowski, who finished the game with 17 points on 5-12 shooting from the field. Filipowski also recorded a double-double on the night with 14 rebounds pulled down.

Scheyer assesses Jeremy Roach, Duke’s first half against Miami

Duke and Miami certainly delivered some exciting basketball in the first half as both squads played well offensively en route to a 38-38 tie at the break. For Duke, it was a balanced effort, with no Blue Devil reaching double figures in the first half. Kyle Filipowski led the home team with nine while former Kansas State gunner Nijel Pack caught fire early for the Hurricanes, knocking down four threes and totaling 14 points in the first period.

As the teams headed towards the locker rooms, ESPN caught up with Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, who shared that this game will be a hard-fought 40-minute contest:

“It’s a hard-fought game. Played well, they’re really good. It’s going to be a 40-minute game,” said Scheyer. He then assessed starting point guard Jeremy Roach‘s first half of basketball after missing the previous three games with an injury.

“Jeremy, for us, his poise and presence on the floor — he’s been in these games. He’s shaking off some rust still, but the fact that he’s out there says a lot about him and the boost it’s given our team,” said Scheyer.