With 2 Upsets in a Row, Is Duke’s NCAA Campaign Going off Track?

The Blue Devils have faltered yet again against an unranked team this season. On a disappointing Saturday, Duke was handed their third defeat of the season by Georgia Tech in their ACC/SEC opener. In a back-and-forth battle, Duke wasn’t able to overcome their first-half deficit and lost 68-72 to the Yellow Jackets at Altlanta.

After making a promising start to their campaign, the Blue Devils are now struggling to find their rhythm in the tournament. Currently ranked No.7 in the season, John Scheyer’s squad now has a lot to think about before his next encounter.

The struggling Devils

The Blue Devils have now been at the receiving end of two back-to-back upsets. After their disappointing 80-75 outing against Arkansas, Scheyer faced another humiliating night at Atlanta. The six-time NCAA champions have had a rusty campaign ever since they secured their last victory against Southern IN. In both the games after that, Duke were seen performing like an underdog team and was lacking in their will to win. They had a dismal field goal percentage of 35.8 in their clash against the Razorbacks. In addition to this, they could land only 6 out of their 22 three-pointers and committed 24 personal fouls.

Similarly, against Georgia Tech, their accuracy from the three-point range got worse. Apparently, they had only 25 % successful 2-pointers throughout the night. Although their field goal percentage improved a little to 41.9, their free throws conversion rate of 60% cost them dearly. Furthermore, they committed 14 personal fouls in comparison to Georgia Tech’s 12.

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To make matters worse for Duke, their shooting guard Tyrese Proctor now faces injury concerns.

Tyrese Proctor got out of court

The explosive No.5 of the Blue Devils–Tyrese Proctor–injured himself within the opening minutes of Duke’s ACC opener. The 6 ft 5 in guard took a roll onto his left ankle with over 18 minutes left in the first half. Consequently, he was unable to put any weight on his left ankle. Following this, he didn’t return to the court after carried out by his teammates Stanley Borden and Neal Beogvich.

After the game, head coach John Scheyer provided more details about Proctor when he addressed the media: “We’ll get an X-ray this weekend and we’ll see, but no update. It was a tough day for us. One, losing Tyrese right away is a thing you have to react to in real-time.”

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Duke now has a difficult road ahead following their consecutive defeats to unranked opponents. Nonetheless, they still have a lot to play for and they can turn the season around. However, they will have their tasks cut out when they host the Charlotte 49ers at home next.