The Blue Devils and the Michigan Wolverines are set to square off in the Nation’s Capital in the Edward Jones Capital Showcase.
The matchup features 2 of the country’s top 5 teams, with Michigan taking the top spot. The game will mark the seventh meeting between the Blue Devils and Wolverines on a neutral floor and the 31st overall meeting dating back to 1963. Duke leads the series 22-8, including a 79-69 win in their last meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in 2013. The Edward Jones Capital Showcase marks the return of both teams to the host venue, following Duke’s appearance in the 2024 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena and Michigan’s conference title win during the 2017 Big 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Duke and Michigan have met 30 times, with the Blue Devils leading, 22-8, including a 6-0 record in neutral-site contests. Duke has won three straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Wolverines. There have been three clashes between the Blue Devils and Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament—all Duke triumphs, including the 1964 national semifinal and the 1992 national championship game in Minneapolis.
Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines currently sit with the best record among major conference teams at 25-1; they are 12-1 at home and 15-1 in conference. They enter the weekend as the number 1 team in the nation and sporting an 11-game winning streak. Before a 3-point loss to Wisconsin, they boasted a 14-game winning streak. Michigan ranks second in the nation in scoring margin (+21.8) and fourth in scoring offense (90.6 ppg). The Wolverines are second nationally in field goal percentage defense (37.1%) and eighth in field goal percentage (51.4%).
Six Wolverines score more than 9.0 points per game, topped by Yaxel Lendeborg with a 14.4 scoring average, along with a team-high 7.5 rebounds per outing. 3 of Michigan’s leading scorers are in their front court. Forward Morez Johnson, a sophomore, leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage at 67% overall and 68% from 2-point range; he scores 13.5 points per game and is a tick behind Landeborg at 7.3 rebounds per game. Spanish big man Aday Mara is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game to go along with his 11.2 points. Mara is the nation’s fifth-leading shot blocker with 71 blocks (2.7 bpg). 2 members of the Wolverine frontcourt are averaging 10 and 10.1 points each per game in Trey McKenney and starting point guard Elliot Cadeau. Cadeau leads the team in assists at 5.5 per game.
Last Time Out:
The top-ranked University of Michigan men’s basketball team defeated seventh-ranked Purdue 91-80 on Tuesday night (Feb. 17) at Mackey Arena. The contest featured five lead changes in the first six minutes, but Michigan took the lead and did not give it up for the final 33 minutes of play. Six Wolverines dropped double digits, led by Elliot Cadeau’s 17 points while adding four rebounds and seven assists. Yaxel Lendeborg added 13 points (10 in the first half), seven assists, and two blocks. Trey McKenney and L.J. Cason each contributed 13 points off the bench, combining for four triples and an 8-for-8 performance from the free-throw line. Morez Johnson Jr. added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Aday Mara added a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. It was the first time Michigan had six players with double-figure scores since Dec. 29 against McNeese. Down 11-10 with 12:50 remaining in the first half, six Wolverines combined for a 16-0 run over three and a half minutes. Cason and Tschetter led the way, rattling off three-pointers and going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe while missing just two field-goal attempts until the 9:28 mark. In the middle of the run, Cason’s triple brought the lead to double digits, and it did not drop below 10 points for the next 28 minutes, with just over two minutes remaining in the second half.
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils enter the week with a 22-2 overall record and an 11-1 record in conference. Clemson marks the 10th nationally ranked opponent for the Blue Devils. Duke and Clemson have the ACC’s top-scoring defenses, allowing less than 65 points/game. Duke is No. 3 in NET rankings and is tied as the national leader with 10 Quad-1 wins. (Feb. 12) Duke has secured top-25 victories over No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville (twice), No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU, and No. 25 Kansas. Duke is one of just two teams ranked in the top-seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (126.1, 7th) and defensive efficiency (89.5, 2nd) ratings. (KenPom) Michigan is the other team. The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are fifth nationally in scoring margin (+19.8). They top the conference and ranks eighth in the country in rebounding margin (+9.8). The Blue Devils rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.2 ppg).
Cameron Boozer is the nation’s fifth-leading scorer with an ACC-high 22.8 points per game and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.0 rpg), is seventh in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (3.9 apg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.582). Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in all 26 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS). Isaiah Evans ranks second in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.880), and is the ACC’s 10th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 17.1 points per league game. Evans and Patrick Ngongba both are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 14.7 and 10.6 points per game overall, respectively.
Last Time Out:
No. 3 Duke scored 61 points in the second half, defeating Syracuse 101-64 on Monday, Feb. 16. The Blue Devils (24-2, 13-1) dished 21 assists, while only committing a season-low four turnovers, and eclipsed 100 points for the fourth time this season.
Final Thoughts
You can’t talk about Duke vs. Michigan without talking about the front court. Duke is big, but Michigan is gigantic. Starting at 6’9, 6’9, and 7’3, I can’t imagine there’s another front court in college basketball with 3 players of that size and skill level in the game at the same time. All 3 can score and defend; Lendeborg gets a lot of the attention, but Morez Johnson Jr. ranks fourth in the country with a field goal percentage of 67.0%. For Duke’s frontcourt, which is also a championship-caliber group, they have to stay out of foul trouble. Michigan is going to force the issue, and so this game, if allowed to be physical, could favor Duke in that they have a lot more to lose if it’s called tightly, whereas Michigan can go smaller and still remain formidable on the interior.
Where Duke should have an advantage is on the perimeter. Duke has to force the Wolverines into long possessions. Ball pressure and making them operate in the half court could be Duke’s strongest weapon defensively. Offensively, I believe the Blue Devil guards have to play a strong floor game; turnovers are death in a game like this. Michigan is one of, if not the best, defensive teams in the country, and the team that can play a strong floor game will also have a decided advantage. Duke, as of late, has been playing at a much slower pace, and if they can force that style of play in this game, it could definitely literally and figuratively slow down the Wolverines. Surviving the initial onslaught from this team and not having to play from behind are important for the Blue Devils. Duke will need huge games from their big 3 in Boozer, Evans, and Ngongba, but who steps up from the supporting cast? Dame Sarr, Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer, Maliq Brown, and Nik Khamenia have to be solid for the Blue Devils; if there is any slippage from the supporting cast, Michigan will pounce.
- Survive the early onslaught
- Defend without fouling
- Take care of the ball
- Make Michigan play in the halfcourt
